This year, 3M and the telecom industry are celebrating the 50th anniversary of 3M’s invention of the Scotchlok connector, a small but powerful tool that has changed very little in that 50 years but helped make a world of difference in the industry. Communications craftspeople and electricians use Scotchlok connectors as they install broadband, voice, data and video wiring in homes and businesses. A commemorative promotional sweepstakes with instant prizes and a Harley-Davidson Sportster grand prize are part of the anniversary celebration this fall.
From September through December – or as long as supplies last, game pieces will be inside 50-count packages of Scotchlok connectors available at participating communications and electrical distributorships. Using the code on each game piece, craftspeople and electricians can go online to see if they are instant winners of leather motorcycle jackets, 1957 Chevrolet die cast car replicas, 1950s classic pay phones replicas, or T-shirts. Every time a code from a game piece is entered, the player is automatically entered in the sweepstakes for the 50th Anniversary Harley Sportster. The winner will be announced in December.
The 3M Scotchlok Connector, which is an insulation-displacement connector (IDC) or “U” connector, came on the scene when most households had just one phone, which was rented from the phone company for a monthly fee. Touch-tone dialing was yet to come, and long-distance conversations were costly (and usually brief). The world of communication is vastly different today, with cell phones, satellite communications, e-mail and global positioning satellites – but the demand for wire splicing endures.
In the late 1950s, phone companies were adopting a new plastic-insulated copper wire that was more reliable but more difficult to splice. That resulted in demand for an efficient splicing method, and 3M inventors came up with the IDC, reducing splicing to a single step. More than a million Scotchlok connectors sold that first year. Today, billions of Scotchlok connectors are connecting the world’s telecom infrastructure, and more are installed around the globe each day. 3M Scotchlok connectors include butt, tap and inline connectors and are available dry or gel-filled. Flame-retardant versions are also available.
For more information about 3M Scotchlok Connectors, contact the 3M Communication Markets Division, A130-2N-14, 6801 River Place Blvd., Austin, Texas 78726-9000, USA, or call 800-426-8688. For more information about 3M communication products, go to www.3M.com/telecom.
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3M, Scotchlok, Scotch, Post-it, Scotchgard, Thinsulate, Scotch-Brite, Filtrete, Command and Vikuiti are trademarks of 3M. All other trademarks used here are the property of their respective companies.
3MMary Kay Kniefmkknief at 3M dot com
