The TE Connectivity 5557791-1 is a shielded RJ45 jack with 8p8c (8 position 8 contact) layout, terminated through-hole at a 90° right angle. The gold-plated phosphor bronze contacts and shielded shell make it a fit for environments where EMI rejection matters — think industrial control panels, telecom equipment, or any enclosure where a non-shielded plastic jack would let noise couple into the signal pair.
Orientation and Mounting — Board Layout Fit
Right-angle orientation means the cable plugs in parallel to the board surface, not perpendicular. That saves vertical clearance inside the enclosure and keeps the patch cord run flat against the panel. The through-hole solder tails give a stronger mechanical anchor than an SMT version would — important when the cable gets tugged during service. Tab direction is down, so the latch on the mating plug faces the board side.
This jack is rated Cat3, which means it's tested to perform at frequencies up to 16 MHz — fine for 10BASE-T Ethernet, analog phone lines, and RS-485 serial links. It is not rated for Cat5e (100 MHz) or Cat6 (250 MHz) signaling. If your BOM calls for Gigabit Ethernet or PoE+, this jack will pass the DC power but the signal integrity at higher frequencies will fall short of the standard. The shielded shell helps with common-mode noise rejection, but the Cat3 limit is in the internal PCB trace routing and contact geometry, not just the shield.