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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0-9

PCMCIA: Isn't it great when you can take two relatively known abbreviations and put them together to get a third totally new one that has nothing to do with the other two? Well, anyway PCMCIA has nothing to do with PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) or the government agency. It stands for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, which is an international standards body and trade association founded in 1989 to establish standards for Integrated Circuit cards and to promote interchangeability among mobile computers where ruggedness, low power, and small size were critical. They have defined a standard for what we've come to call the PCMCIA card, which is often simply referred to as a "PC Card." Originally the PC Card was developed as a memory device that could be hot swapped in and out of any computer with a compatible slot. Like RAM, capacities and cost vary. Later, other applications such as modems, networking, audio & video recording and playback were applied to the technology. There are now many more different applications for the technology being used. PCMCIA cards come in several varieties of size now. All have the same rectangular size (85.6 by 54 millimeters), but different widths: Type I cards can be up to 3.3 mm thick, and are used primarily for adding additional ROM or RAM to a computer. Type II cards can be up to 5.5 mm thick. These cards are often used for modem and fax modem cards. Type III cards can be up to 10.5 mm thick, which is sufficiently large for portable disk drives. As with the cards, PCMCIA slots also come in three sizes: A Type I slot can hold one Type I card. A Type II slot can hold one Type II card or two Type I cards. A Type III slot can hold one Type III card or a Type I and Type II card.

P-94	p-n Junction	P90
PACE	Pad	PAF
Page	PAIA	PAL
Palm Muting	Palo Escrito	Pan (Panning)
Pancake	Panic Button	Parabolic Reflector
Paragraphic Equalizer	Parallel/Parallel Port	Parameter
Parametric Equalizer	Parasitic Oscillation	Parity
Parlor Guitar	Partial	Partition
Pascal	Pass	Passband
Passive	Passive Radiator	Password
Paste	Patch	Patch Bay
Patch Cord	Patchlist	Patch List
Patch Mapping	Path	Paua
PCB	PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)	PCI-X
PCI Express (PCIe)	Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)	PCMCIA
PCM Deck	PD Drive	PDF
Peak	Peak Hold	Peak Power Handling
Pearloid	Pedalboard	Pedal Point
Pedal Steel	Peer-to-Peer	Peghead
Penny Whistle	Pentachord	Pentatonic Scales
Pentium	Pentode	Perceptual Coding
Percussion Switch	Perfect Fifth	Perfect Pitch
Period	Perkins EQ	Permeability
Perpetual Looper	petaFLOPS	PeterGabrielizing
Pre-Fade Listen (PFL)	Phantom Channel	Phantom Image
Phantom Power	Phase	Phase Cancellation
Phase Invert	Phase Lock	Phase Locked Loop
Phase Modulation	Phase Quadrature	Phase Shifter
Phon	Phon	Phone Plug
Phono Plug	Phono preamp	Phosphor Bronze
Photona	Physical Modeling Synthesis	Pianissimo
Piano	Pick	Pick Guard
Pickup	Piezo	Piggyback Amp
Pigtail	Pinch Roller	Pink Noise
Pinna Effect	Pipe Organ	Pitch
Pitch Bend	Pitch Correction	Pixel
Pizzicato	Plainsong	Planar Loudspeaker
Plate	Plate Reverb	Platter
Playhead	Play List	Plectrum
Plenum	Plesiochronous	Plexi
Abbreviation for Phase Locked Loop.	Plosive	Plug-in
Plug and Play	PMPO	Pocket
Pocketing	Podcast	Point-to-Point Wiring
Point Source Monitor	Polarity	Polarize
Polar Pattern	Pole	Pole Piece
Polka	Polyester	Polyphonic
Polyphony	Polyrhythm	Polytonality
Polyurethane	Ponticello	Pop
Pop Filter	Port	Portamento
Portative Organ	Position	Positional Sensing
Post Production	Potential Acoustic Gain	Potentiometer
Potting	POW-r	Power
Power Calibration Area	Power Chord	Power Compression
Power Conditioner	Power Cycle	Power Factor
Power Spike	Power Supply	Power Surge
PPG Wave	Peak Program Meter (PPM)	PPQN (Pulses Per Quarter Note, sometimes Parts Per Quarter Note)
PQ Subcode	P-Ram - (a.k.a. PRAM)	Pre-bend
Pre-delay	Preamp	PrecedenceEffect
Pre Fade/Post Fade	Preference File	Premiere
Prepolarization	Presence	Preset
Pressure-gradient Microphone	Pressure Microphone	Pressure Wave
Presto	Primary Tones	Princess Ensemble
Print	Print-Through	Producer
Program-dependent Compression	Program Change	Progression (Chord)
Progressive Hammer Action	Progressive Scan	Project-O-Sonic
Propagation	Proprietary	Protocol
Proximity Effect	PS/2	Psychoacoustics
PTP	Public Performance Right	Pull-off
Pull Down	Pulldown Menu	Pulse
Pulse Wave	Pumping	Punch
Punch Block	Punch In	Pure Tone
Purfling	Purple Heart	Push-Pull