6P6C Cat3 Jack with Heavy Gold — TE 216564-1
The TE Connectivity 216564-1 is a 6P6C modular jack — the six-position, six-contact footprint that accepts RJ11, RJ12, RJ14, and RJ25 plugs. It is a vertical through-hole part, unshielded, with gold-plated phosphor bronze contacts at 47.2 µ" (1.20 µm) thickness. The Cat3 rating limits the usable frequency to 16 MHz — fine for analog voice lines and 10BASE-T Ethernet, but not for 100BASE-TX or higher-speed data. The housing is polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), a common telecom-grade thermoplastic with good dimensional stability through reflow.
What the Cat3 Rating and Gold Plating Mean for Your Design
Cat3 is the original telephone-grade performance level. It certifies the jack for frequencies up to 16 MHz with controlled impedance and crosstalk — enough for a POTS line, a fax machine, or a 10BASE-T Ethernet drop inside a shielded enclosure. If the application needs 100BASE-TX or PoE, step up to a Cat5e or Cat6 jack. The jack carries no LED indicator, so if the design requires link/activity status lights, a separate LED assembly or a different jack with integrated LEDs is needed.
Vertical orientation — the plug inserts straight down, parallel to the PCB. Through-hole solder termination with board locks: the tails go into plated through-holes and the board locks snap into non-plated holes for mechanical retention. The tab direction is user-selectable, meaning the latch on the mating plug can face either way depending on how the jack is oriented on the board. Single-row, single-port construction.