Bel Stewart Connector 11118 Susquehanna Trail South Glen Rock, PA 17327 Phone: (717) 235-7512 Fax: (717) 235-7954 January20,2012 ProductChangeAlert:PassiveRJ45JacksandICMProductlines BelStewartConnectorCustomersandSalesForce, BelStewartcontinuesstrivingtoprovidethehighestqualityproductsatcompetitiveprices.We, alongwiththerestofthemanufacturersintheelectroniccomponentindustry,havecontinued toseeourmanufacturingcostsincreaseoverthelastseveralyearsduetoincreasingcostsof bothdirectlaborandrawmaterials.Wehaveworkeddiligentlytominimizetheeffectsofthese costincreasesonourcustomersthroughefficiencyimprovementsinourmanufacturing processes,includingincreasedautomation,moreefficientuseofrawmaterials,andreduced profitmargins.However,inthecurrentenvironment,alloftheseeffortshavenotbeenenough tokeepthesecostincreasesfromimpactingourbusiness. Wehaveundertakenanevaluationoftheuseofalternativematerialsincontinuingeffortsto combattheseindustryfactorsandmitigatefuturecostincreases,whilestillprovidingproducts thatmeetallofourexistingstringentproductperformancespecification.Thefirstareawe investigatedwasanalternatetotheuseofgoldinourcontactplating.Goldisourmainplating materialandascanbeseenfromthechartbelow,hasseenaverydramaticriseinpriceoverthe last10yearsandthistrendshowsnosignsabatinginthefuture. Analreadyacceptedindustrystandardequivalenttogold,whichhasbeenaroundformany yearsandonewhichisusedinmultipleconnectorapplicationstoday,ispalladiumnickel(PdNi). Palladiumisapreciousmetalandhasalsoseenincreasedpricesoverthelast10years however, itisnottothelevelexperiencedwithgold.Theindustrystandardequivalentto50ingold platingisacombination30inofPdNiundera5ingoldflash.Becausethespecificationincludesagoldflashtoplayer,therewillbenovisiblechangeintheappearanceofthecontacts ortheconnectortotheenduser.ThechangetoPdNidoesnotaffecttheRoHSorREACH complianceoftheproducts. WehavebuiltselectedsamplesfromourtraditionalRJ45connectorsusingPdNiplatedcontacts andsubjectedthemtothetestingoutlinedinourproductspecificationsperthetablebelow.All partstestedhavepassedtherequirementsasoutlinedintheassociatedtestreportperthetable below.Uponrequest,anyoftheproductspecificationsandthetestreportresultscanbesent forreference.Baseduponthesepositiveresultswearegoingtoadd30inPdNiwitha5in goldflashasanapprovedcontactplatingspecificationoptioninthematingareaofourRJ45 connectorsandICMs,alongwiththecurrentlyapproved50ingoldoption,onshipmentsafter April,30,2012.Thismeansgoingforwardwhenanorderisplacedforthepartsoftheidentified seriesbelow,ifthatordersshipsafterApril30,2012itwouldbeplatedwitheither50inof goldor30inofPdNiundera5ingoldflash.Wefeelthatthiseffortwillhelptominimizethe effectsourcustomerswillseeasaresultoftheongoingincreasesingoldprices. RJ45ConnectorSeries Product TestReport Specification x8xxxxxxxxICM WORKQUALCU QualTestReportfor08xxxxxxxxPdNi GxxxxxxxxxICM WORKQUALCU QualTestReportfor08xxxxxxxxPdNi SIxxxxxxxICM WORKQUALCU QualTestReportfor08xxxxxxxxPdNi SS60000xxxconnectors PR02601 QualTestReportforSS60000xxxPdNi (1) SSxxxxxxxxconnectors PR02202 QualTestReportforSSxxxxxxxxPdNi (1) SeriesexcludedfromthisPCNare:SS60300,SS61,SS62SS65,SS71vertical,SS80&SS82 Pleasecontactyourlocalsalesrepresentativeifyouwouldliketoreceivesamplesofthese connectors.Ifyouhaveanyissueswiththesechanges,contactyourlocalBelStewartSales representativebyMarch1,2012,otherwisewewillconsiderthischangeacceptableandmove forwardwiththeimplementationofthisadditionalplatingoption. Thankyou, JohnHess,JeffBiss,JeffKringandDerekImschweiler RJ45ConnectorProductManagers