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ITT Cannon - A Century of Innovation

Here at DesignSpark, we like to think that we know something about staying power. Although DesignSpark is a mere 5 years old, our parent companies RS Components and Allied Electronics have decades of history to their names. RS Components began life as Radiospares in 1937, supplying radio repair shops with spare parts. Since then, RS has grown into a global presence and a trusted source for hundreds of thousands of engineers. Allied Electronics has an even more distinguished pedigree - established in 1928 to provide a very similar service, Allied has delivered nearly 9 decades of excellence to the engineers of the USA.

These achievements pale slightly when we take a look at the century of history that global connector giant ITT Cannon is celebrating this year. Whether the name of Cannon is familiar to you (and it's hard to imagine someone in the electronics industry who hasn't at least heard the name), you will have come into contact with Cannon at some point in your lives. In some circles, the name of Cannon is synonymous with connectors in the same way that Hoover is used to refer to a vacuum cleaner, regardless of its brand.

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It is easy to see how this has happened. One of the most recognisable connectors of the last 60 years is the humble D connector. Now established as an IEC, DIN and Military standard, the D-subminiature connector is a Cannon invention, and has graced the vast majority of personal computers for 3 decades or more. This, however, is just the tip of the ITT Cannon iceberg.

titleThe original company was founded in California in 1915 by inventor James Cannon. In common with innovators of his time, his business started in backyard sheds before he established his reputation and started to grow. James' first inventions ranged from electric toasters to the first telegraphic fire system for the city of Los Angeles. But it is as a manufacturer of connectors that Cannon has claimed his place in history. The easiest way to truly understand what 100 years in business means is to go beyond simple connectors, and look at the impact that Cannon has had on our society.

In the 1920s, the Cannon M plug came to revolutionise the moving pictures industry, and in 1927 was instrumental in the filming of the very first talking picture, The Jazz Singer starring the legendary Al Jolson.

In the 1930s, a new connector from Cannon, the AF series, established a place in the DC series of aircraft. A few years ago, I wrote a blog which celebrated the 75th birthday of the Douglas DC-3. It is interesting to think that without Cannon, one of my favourite aircraft might have been very different.

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In fact, this involvement with Douglas and their revolutionary aircraft started a trend that has continued throughout the history of aviation, from the dark days of the 1940s through to the dawn of the jet age with Boeing's ground-breaking airliners and beyond. Cannon connectors even went to the moon with Neil Armstrong in 1969.

Since then, Cannon has grown its influence, and it is hard to imagine any aspect of modern life that hasn't benefitted from Cannon's approach to innovation - radio, television, fibre-optics, cellphones, medicine, personal computing. Bringing the story bang up to date, Cannon's latest miniature connectors are playing key roles in emerging fields such as wearable technology and medical electronics.

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James Cannon was an innovator and inventor, whose fertile mind simply overflowed with ideas.  After 100 years, it's good to see that Cannon (or ITT Cannon as it is now) still holds the spirit of James Cannon dear, and continues to be in the vanguard of connector design.

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RS Components and Allied Electronics are proud to distribute ITT Cannon connectors.  Please click here to see our ranges.

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Connector Geek is Dave in real life. After three decades in the industry, Dave still likes talking about connectors almost as much as being a Dad to his two kids. He still loves Lego too. And guitars.
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