68-Pin VHDCI Cables: Digital Instrument Cable Guide

Overview

This guide addresses many common questions for the most popular NI Digital 68-pin VHDCI cables: the SHC68-C68-D4 and C68-C68-D4. NI 68-pin VHDCI cables are primarily used on many of the NI Digital hardware family models, such as NI 653X series, the NI 654X series, the 655X series and the 657x series. The cables feature 0.8 mm 68-pin VHDCI connections, with the option for an unshielded cable, enhanced performance noise reducing cable assemblies. Whether you are purchasing new, using a replacement cable, or creating a custom fixture, this guide provides pinouts, wire mappings, color codes, wire gauge, connector part info, and grounding or shielding information as a short summary.

Contents

Using the Digital Instrument Cable and Accessory Guides

This guide is intended to cover the most popular 68-pin VHDCI cables which are designed for use with NI Digital Instruments including Digital Waveform Instruments (previous High-Speed Digital I/O), Digital Pattern Instruments and High-Speed Serial devices. It does not cover similar cables for other NI product lines, even if they share the same connectors.

 

Understanding NI 68-pin VHDCI Cable Terminology

This section provides a brief summary of acronyms and terminology used on these 68-pin VHDCI cables. For more in depth information about other connectors as well as the terminology listed on this page, visit the main Digital Instrument cables guide.

Naming Summary for this Guide

  • SH - Shielded cables. Shielding can include individually shielded pairs and/or shielding for the entire cable assembly.
  • C - Cables with a "compact" 0.8 mm VHDCI connector.
  • -D - Wire pairings designed specifically for digital applications.

 

Shielding and Twisted Pairs

Cable shielding utilizes a thin conductive metallic layer to protect against electromagnetic interference. Twisted pairs provide another level of noise reduction by twisting pairs of differential signals. Click here to learn more about cable shielding and twisted pairs.

 

Differences and Similarities between 68-pin VHDCI Digital Cables

NI offers a wide range of cables to work with different Digital products, serving a variety of needs. While the wire pinout may be the same on most cables, each offers different connectors, shielding, and twisted pairs. 

Use this table to compare different 68-pin VHDCI Digital Instrument cables.
ModelDevice ConnectorAccessory ConnectorShielded?Application Notes
SHC68-C68-D4VHDCIVHDCIYesHigh performance noise reduction
C68-C68-D4VHDCIVHDCINoCost effective, no shielding
SHC68-H1X38VHDCI-YesShielded flying lead cable for connection custom test fixtures

 

Quick Specifications and Documentation

This section contains a summary of information frequently sought when installing or customizing 68-pin VHDCI Digital Instrument cables. More detailed information can be found in the linked additional resources below. Dimensional drawings can be downloaded for free and are available in 2D and 3D formats; they contain size measurements, part numbers, wire mappings and other helpful information. They are available in several popular formats, such as PDF, AutoCAD (.dxf, and .igs (IGES)), STEP (.stp), and .prt (Pro/E).

 

 SHC68-C68-D4 Quick Specifications and Documentation
High Performance, Shielded Cable. For most Digital Instrument VHDCI connections, NI recommends that you use the SHC68-C68-D4 cable. The SHC68-C68-D4 cable is a newer design of the SHC68-C68-D5, featuring additional shielding to improve crosstalk and noise performance.
Device or Module Side Cable Pinout

68-pin .8 mm VHDCI Male Connector Pinout or Mapping

68-pin 0.8 mm VHDCI Connector Male (Plug)


Accessory Side Cable Pinout

68-pin .8 mm VHDCI Male Connector Pinout or Mapping 

68-pin 0.8 mm VHDCI Connector Male (Plug)

Wire Gauge

Signal Wires: 32 AWG

See Dimensional Drawing for more information
 
Bend Radius1

Cable Outer Diameter: 0.38 inches

Bend Radius: 2.7 inches

1For the bend radius in areas contained in polyester sleeving see the dimensional drawings.
 
 
Detailed Information
Shielding: Individually shielded mini coaxial, shielding on full cable assembly
Wire Configuration: Mini-Coaxial cables
Connector Part Number and Jackscrews: See Dimensional Drawing and Custom Connectors Guide

 

 C68-C68-D4 Quick Specifications and Documentation
Basic Shielding Cable. Offers cost-effective basic shielding, but does not have shielding for full cable assembly. For most shielded Digital VHDCI connections, NI recommends that you use the SHC68-C68-D4 cable.
Device or Module Side Cable Pinout

68-pin .8 mm VHDCI Male Connector Pinout or Mapping

68-pin 0.8 mm VHDCI Connector Male (Plug)

Accessory Side Cable Pinout

68-pin .8 mm VHDCI Male Connector Pinout or Mapping 

68-pin 0.8 mm VHDCI Connector Male (Plug)

Wire Gauge

Signal Wires: 32 AWG

See Dimensional Drawing for more information
 
Bend Radius1

Cable Outer Diameter: 0.38 inches

Bend Radius: 2.7 inches

1For the bend radius in areas contained in polyester sleeving see the dimensional drawings.
 
 
Detailed Information
Shielding: Individually shielded mini coaxial
Wire Configuration: Mini-Coaxial cables
Connector Part Number and Jackscrews: See Dimensional Drawing and Custom Connectors Guide

 

 

 SHC68-H1X38 Quick Specifications and Documentation
High Performance, Noise Reducing Cable for Custom Fixtures and Breakouts. This special VHDCI to flying lead cable is intended for use with a custom breakout fixture, rather than the VHDCI connection used on most NI Digital Instrument accessories.
Device or Module Side Cable Pinout

68-pin .8 mm VHDCI Male Connector Pinout or Mapping

68-pin 0.8 mm VHDCI Connector Male (Plug)

Accessory Side Connector Image

 

 Pinout can be found on the individual Lead Pairs

Wire Gauge

Signal Wires:  

32 AWG

 
Bend Radius

Cable Outer Diameter: 0.19 inches

Bend Radius:  1.32 inches

 
 
Detailed Information
Wire mapping or pinout with wire colors:  Printed on Lead Pairs
Shielding: Individually shielded micro coaxial, shielding on full cable assembly
Wire Configuration: Micro-Coaxial cables
Connector Part Number and Jackscrews: See Custom Connectors Guide

 

 

Compatible Devices, Modules, and Cabling for Digital VHDCI 68-pin Cables

This section is a summary of the most common use cases. Refer to the compatibility guide for complete coverage for your device or module with your cable and connector block or terminal block.

Compatible devices, modules, and cables.
CableProductDevice or Module

SHC68-C68-D4

and 

C68-C68-D4

Digital I/O Adapter Modules for FlexRIO6581, 6581B, 6583
Digital Pattern Instrument6570, 6571
Digital Waveform Instruments (previously High-Speed Digital I/O)6535, 6536, 6537, 6535B, 6536B, 6537B, 6541, 6542 6544, 6545,6547, 6548, 6551, 6552, 6555, 6556
Digitizer Adapter Modules for FlexRIO5751, 5751B, 5752, 5752B
High-Speed Serial Instruments6591
Signal Generator Adapter Modules for FlexRIO5741, 5742
SHC68-H1X38Any device recommended for SHC68-C68-D4 and needing custom connection solutions.


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