11/27/2017 25-pair color code - Wikipedia

25-pair color code

The 25-pair color code, originally known as even-count color code,[1] is a
color code used to identify individual conductors in twisted-pair wiring for
telecommunications.

Contents
1 Color coding
2 25-pair telco cable pinout Single-core 25-pair/50 conductor
cable
3 Larger cables
4 Extra pairs and colors
5 Memorizing the colors
6 See also
7 References

Color coding
With the development of new generations of telecommunication cables with polyethylene-insulated wire by Bell
Laboratories for the Bell System in the 1950, new methods were developed to mark each individual conductor in cables.[2]
Each wire was identified by the combination of two colors, one of which is the major color, and the second the minor color.
Major and minor colors are chosen from two different groups, resulting in 25 color combinations. The color combinations
are applied to the insulation that covers each conductor. Typically, the major color was a solid, background color on the
insulation. The minor color was a tracer, consisting of stripes, rings, or dots, applied over the background. The minor color
always matches the major color of its paired conductor.

The major, or primary group of colors consists of the sequence of white, red, black, yellow, and violet. The minor, or
secondary color was chosen from the sequence blue, orange, green, brown, and slate.[3][4]

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25-pair color code

Pair
Major color Minor color
no.
1 Blue
2 Orange
3 White Green
4 Brown
5 Slate
6 Blue
7 Orange
8 Red Green
9 Brown
10 Slate
11 Blue
12 Orange
13 Black Green
14 Brown
15 Slate
16 Blue
17 Orange
18 Yellow Green
19 Brown
20 Slate 25-pair color coding using twisted pairs with
solid color coding only, without tracers. This
21 Blue
method was rarely used.
22 Orange
23 Violet Green
24 Brown
25 Slate

The wire pairs are referred to either directly by their color combination, or by the pair number. For example, pair 9 is also
called the red-brown pair. In technical tabulations, the colors are often suitably abbreviated.

Violet is the standard name in the telecommunications and electronics industry, but it is sometimes referred to as purple.
Similarly, slate is a particular shade of gray. The names of most of the colors were taken from the conventional colors of
the rainbow or optical spectrum, and in the electronic color code, which uses the same ten colors (though in a different
order).

When used for POTS, the first wire is known as the tip or A-leg (U.K.) conductor and is usually connected to the positive
side of a direct current (DC) circuit, while the second wire is known as the ring lead or B-leg (U.K.), and is connected to
the negative side of the circuit. Neither of these two sides of the line has a connection to the local ground. This creates a
balanced audio circuit with common-mode rejection, also known as a differential pair. The tip and ring convention is

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based on the 1⁄4″ (6.5 mm) TRS phone connectors, which were employed in telephone switchboards in the 19th and 20th
centuries, where the tip contact of the connector is separated from the ring contact by a spacer of insulation. The
connection furthest from the cable is known as the tip, the middle connection is the ring, and the (largest) connection
closest to the wire is the sleeve.

25-pair telco cable pinout

A common application of the 25-pair color code is the cabling for the Registered Jack interface RJ21, which uses a female
50-pin miniature ribbon connector, as shown in the following table. The geometry of the pins of the receptacle (right hand
image) corresponds to the pin numbers of the table. The left column of pins are the ring (R) conductors, while all tip (T)
conductors are on the right.

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Color (R) (T) Color

(minor/major) (major/minor)
Pin No.
blue/white 1 26 white/blue
orange/white 2 27 white/orange
green/white 3 28 white/green
brown/white 4 29 white/brown
slate/white 5 30 white/slate

blue/red 6 31 red/blue
orange/red 7 32 red/orange
green/red 8 33 red/green
brown/red 9 34 red/brown
slate/red 10 35 red/slate

blue/black 11 36 black/blue
orange/black 12 37 black/orange
green/black 13 38 black/green
brown/black 14 39 black/brown
slate/black 15 40 black/slate

blue/yellow 16 41 yellow/blue
orange/yellow 17 42 yellow/orange
green/yellow 18 43 yellow/green
brown/yellow 19 44 yellow/brown
slate/yellow 20 45 yellow/slate

blue/violet 21 46 violet/blue
orange/violet 22 47 violet/orange View of the corresponding
order of the pins in the
green/violet 23 48 violet/green
RJ21 interface.
brown/violet 24 49 violet/brown
slate/violet 25 50 violet/slate

Larger cables
For cables with over 25 pairs, the first 25 pairs, called a binder group, are marked with mylar ribbons using the colors of
the color code starting with a white/blue ribbon, the second binder group with a white/orange ribbon, and so on through
the 24th binder group, which has a violet/brown ribbon, and forming a "Super binder" of 600 pairs.[3][4]

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In cables of more than 600 pairs, each of the 100-pair binder groups within the 600 pair of 24 binder groups is wrapped
with a mylar binder ribbon, or string, matching the "tip" colors of the color code, starting with white. The pattern then
starts over with the first 25 pair group as white/blue, and continues indefinitely, in multiples of 600 pairs or parts thereof.
For example, a 900-pair cable will have the first 600 pairs in 24 groups of 25 pairs in a white binder, and the remaining
300 pairs in 12 groups of 25 pairs wrapped in a red binder.[3][4]

Some cables are "mirrored" or "clocked" with a pattern that is known throughout the telephone industry. Starting with the
first binder group in the center, the technician counts the cable's groups in a spiral direction depending on the location of
the Central Office or switch. If looking at the cable's core and the switch is in that direction, you count the groups counter-
clockwise. If the cable is the "field side", you count the groups clockwise. There are indicators on the mylar ribbons to
know where to begin for each layer and a diagram for the different cable sizes should be readily available for reference.[3][4]

Other color schemes are sometimes used for outdoor cables, particularly outside the U.S., but this color code is common
for aerial and underground cables up to several thousand pair in North America. In the UK, the British Post Office (later
BT) used this colour code for what is now known loosely as CW1308 spec cables, referring to the Post Office's "Cable and
Wire" specification No. 1308.

Extra pairs and colors

When working on aerial cable splicing and installation, it is common to use a telephone
lineman's set or "Butt Set" to communicate over long distances. To facilitate this, extra
pairs of wires are embedded in cables. One extra pair (Red-White) may be embedded
into cables that are 6 to 75 pairs; two pairs (Red-White and Black-White) may be
encapsulated in cables of 100 to 300 pairs; and three pairs (Red-White, Black-White,
and Yellow-White) may be included in cables of 400 to 900 pairs.[4] These extra pairs
are often referred to as 'talk pairs', and are never used to deliver dial tone. Colors of additional pairs in
multi-pair cable as per Bell
Optical fiber cables use a twelve-color code, where the first ten are the same as in the Standards
25-pair color code, and the last two are Rose and Aqua.[5]

Memorizing the colors

Various mnemonics have been used to remember the color coding of the major color groups:

"Why Run Backwards, You'll Vomit"[6]

See also
20-pair colour code (Australia)

References
1. AT&T, Bell System Practices, Section 461-200-101 Issue 7, Connector Cables—Identification (May 1979)
2. F.W. Horn, Even-Count Cable, Bell Laboratories Record 37(6), 208 (June 1959)
3. Highhouse, John (1997). A Guide for Telecommunications Cable Splicing. Cengage Learning. ISBN 9780827380660.
4. "Section G50.607.3 – Even PIC Cables" (http://etler.com/docs/BSP/G/G50.607.3_I2.pdf) (PDF). Bell System
Practices – Outside Plant Construction and Maintenance. American Telephone and Telegraph Company. February
1959. Retrieved September 26, 2013.

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5. Color for Fiber Optic Cables (http://www.daenotes.com/electronics/communication-system/fiber-optics-color-code)

6. Abruzzino, James: Communications Cabling (2E), page 187. CNC Press, 2000

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