Male 50 ohm BNC connector |
|||
| Type | RF coaxial connector | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Production history | |||
| Designer | Paul Neill, Carl Concelman, & Octavio M. Salati | ||
| Designed | Patented 1951 | ||
| Manufacturer | Various | ||
| General specifications | |||
| Diameter | Male: 0.570 in (1.45 cm) Female: 0.436 in (1.11 cm) (outer, typical) |
||
| Cable | Coaxial | ||
| Passband | Typically 0-3 GHz | ||
The BNC connector (Bayonet Neill–Concelman) is a common type of RF connector used for coaxial cable. It is used with radio, television, and other radio-frequency electronic equipment, test instruments, video signals, and was once a popular computer network connector. BNC connectors are made to match the characteristic impedance of cable at either 50 ohms or 75 ohms. It is usually applied for frequencies below 3 GHz [1] and voltages below 500 Volts. [2] Similar connectors using the bayonet connection principle exist, and a threaded connector is also available.
Contents |
The BNC connector is used for signal connections such as:
It is an alternative to the RCA connector when used for composite video on commercial video devices, although many consumer electronics devices with RCA jacks can be used with BNC-only commercial video equipment via a simple adapter. BNC connectors were commonly used on 10base2 thin Ethernet networks, both on cable interconnections and network cards. The TNC (threaded) connector is used for stable performance at higher frequencies than used with the BNC connector.
BNC connections can also be found in recording studios. Digital recording equipment uses the connection for synchronization of various components via the transmission of word clock timing signals.
The connector was named after its bayonet mount locking mechanism and its inventors, Paul Neill and Carl Concelman.[1] Neill worked at Bell Labs and also invented the N connector; Concelman worked at Amphenol and also invented the C connector.
The basis for the development of the BNC connector was largely the work of Octavio M. Salati, a graduate of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1945, while working at Hazeltine Electronics Corporation, he filed a patent for a connector for coaxial cables that would minimize wave reflection/loss. The patent was granted in 1951.[3]
BNC connectors exist in 50 and 75 ohm versions, matched for use with cables of the same characteristic impedance. The 75 ohm types can sometimes be recognized by the reduced or absent dielectric in the mating ends. The 50 and 75 ohm connectors are typically specified for use at frequencies up to 4 and 2 GHz respectively.
Video and DS3 Telco central office applications primarily use 75 ohm BNC connectors, where as 50 ohm connectors are used for data and RF. Many VHF receivers used 75 ohm antenna inputs, so they often used 75 ohm BNC connectors.
The different versions are designed to mate with each other,[2] and a 75 ohm and a 50 ohm BNC connector which both comply with the 1978 standard, IEC 169-8, will mate non-destructively. At least one manufacturer[4] claims very high reliability for the connectors' compatibility.
At frequencies below 10 MHz the impedance mismatch between a 50 ohm connector or cable and a 75 ohm one has negligible effects.[5] BNC connectors were thus originally made only in 50 ohm versions, for use with any impedance of cable. Above this frequency, however, the mismatch becomes progressively more significant and can lead to signal reflections.
A BNC inserter/remover tool also called a BNC tool, BNC extraction tool or BNC apple corer, is used to insert or remove BNC connectors in high density or hard-to-reach locations, such as densely wired patch panels in broadcast facilities like central apparatus rooms.
They are usually light weight, made with stainless steel, and have screw driver type plastic handle grips for applying rotating torque. Their shafts are usually double the length of a standard screw driver.
BNC tools help in safely, efficiently and quickly accessing BNC connectors, in jack fields. Using BNC tools also minimizes risk of accidentally disconnecting other connectors close by.
In the USSR, BNC connectors were copied as SR-50 (СР-50 in Cyrillic) and SR-75 (СР-75 in Cyrillic) connectors. As a result of recalculating from imperial to metric measurements their dimensions differ slightly from those of BNC. They are however generally interchangeable with them, sometimes with force applied.
A threaded version of the BNC connector, known as the TNC connector (for Threaded Neill-Concelman) is also available. It has superior performance to the BNC connector at microwave frequencies.
Twin BNC (also known as twinax) connectors use the same bayonet latching shell as an ordinary BNC connector but contain two independent contact points (one male and one female), allowing the connection of a 78 ohm or 95 ohm shielded differential pair such as RG-108A.[6] They can operate up to 100 MHz and 100 volts. They cannot mate with ordinary BNC connectors.
Triaxial (also known as triax) connectors are a variant on BNC which carry both a signal and guard as well as ground conductor. These are used in sensitive electronic measurement systems, such as those made by Keithley. Early ones were designed with just an extra inner conductor, but later triaxial connectors also include a three-lug arrangement to rule out an accidental forced mating with a BNC connector. Adaptors exist to allow some interconnection possibilities between triax and BNC connectors.
For higher voltages (above 500 V), MHV and SHV connectors are typically used. MHV connectors are easily mistaken for BNC type, and can be made to mate with them by brute force. The SHV connector was developed as a safer alternative, and will not mate with ordinary BNC connectors.
BNC connectors are commonly used in electronics, but they are replaced by LEMO 00 miniature connectors which allow for higher densities. In video broadcast industry, the DIN 1.0/2.3 and the HD-BNC connector are used for higher density products.
|
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||