INTERCONNECTION
Lane Electronics looks into some of the more for a wide range of high-performance applications
The industry benchmark for electrical connectors offering high levels defence equipment, particularly in I/O (input and output) equipment interfaces, as they need to survive in the rugged environments the vehicles, aircraft, ships and portable equipment are used in.
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uch connectors are specially designed for durability and resistance to vibration, corrosion, ingress of dust and water, etcetera, and are required to meet strict performance, quality and safety standards commonly known as Military Standard, MIL-STD or Mil-Spec connectors.
Even in the most tightly controlled defence equipment applications, it is likely that certain where a Mil-Spec standard is not available, particularly where performance, functionality and system integration is led by technology. Removing the restrictions of Mil-Spec supply means that connector derivatives may be developed where the application can be enhanced through adding versatility and capability to the connector series, with features such as additional contact styles, different materials, reduced weight and extended performance.
In many cases the same manufacturers that produce Mil-Spec connectors will produce equivalent and derivative
high-performance connectors to address these needs and more generally because the exact same critical criteria exist outside defence environments. In these cases, the connectors are manufactured using exactly the same materials and processes, making it equivalent in every way other than maintaining the independent Mil-Spec accreditation and the acronym COTS, for Commercial Off The Shelf, is often used. COTS connectors are just as universally available as the Mil-Spec equivalents and are used extensively across many different applications and industries, often instead of Mil-Spec connectors.
With nearly 60 years in the supply of high-performance, high-reliability connectors, Lane Electronics has a wealth of experience and is pleased to provide this guide to some
of the most common Mil-Spec connectors and the equally high-performance/ high-reliability COTS options that exist: MIL-DTL-38999 connectors are a series of four connectors featuring either Bayonet, Threaded or Breech Lok coupling mechanisms. Now probably the most popular circular Mil-Spec connector series for high performance applications, they are high-density, quick-connect, environmentally resistant connectors that use removable contacts and have an operating temperature range of -65°C up to +200°C.
COTS alternatives add to the shell styles and contact options and introduce popular derivatives such as high-power, enhanced advanced technologies. MIL-DTL-26482 connectors are They are high-density, quick-connect, environmentally resistant connectors using crimp contacts and have an operating temperature range of -55°C up to +125°C. contacts; series 2 connectors offer removable crimp contacts and are intermateable with equivalent series 1 connectors. COTS equivalents introduce different material options, contact styles and EMC solutions for many different applications and industries. A number of derivatives extend the appeal further still with ‘hybrid’ metal/plastic shells, all-plastic shells and reeled contact options for high-volume termination. MIL-DTL-5015 connectors represents one of the original circular connectors for military applications. They are medium-density, environmentally resistant connectors that
22 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2025 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS
removable crimp contacts and have an operating temperature range of -55°C up to screw-thread coupling while a popular variant, utilising the same materials and contact arrangements, provides a secure quick-connect ‘reverse’ bayonet-coupling. There is an extensive array of cost-effective COTS derivatives readily available, making this family of connectors extremely popular across a wide variety of applications including defence, transportation, off-highway vehicles, geophysical and industrial measurement equipment.
MIL-DTL-24308 connectors have non-environmental, D-shaped polarised shells and solder (non-removable), insulation displacement (non-removable) or crimp (removable) contacts. They have an operating temperature range of -55°C to 125°C. These Mil-spec connectors and a vast array of COTS equivalents are known as D Sub miniature or D-type connectors and connector style in electronics equipment, being used in environments where weight and space are a consideration while accommodating a lot of circuits in relation to their size.
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