Does the metal shell of a connector, such as USB and HDMI, serve a conducting purpose? The metal shell of my TV's HDMI terminal is corroded. Should I make effort to have it contacting and conducting well?
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\$\begingroup\$ How badly is it corroded and how do you know it does not make a good contact? \$\endgroup\$– JustmeCommented Aug 24, 2023 at 11:09
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3 Answers
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Yes. That metal shell, sometimes called a backshell, serves as the continuation of the shield on the cable, and should be connected to chassis ground. A bad connection there reduces the shielding effectiveness of the cable.
We strive for a 360 deg contact area, and less than 2 milli-ohm resistance between the connector backshell and the chassis.
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The HDMI connector also has several gold plated ground terminals. In most cases they will be sufficient.
answered Aug 24, 2023 at 10:34
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The chassis of the connector is important before any data is sent, it will catch any static charge and carry equalisation currents between devices.
This is essential to prevent blowing up transceiver chips.
