Feature: Connectors
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Where is that adapter?
By Paul H. Dolton, Electronics Tech, US Coast Guard
magine you’re working on a piece of equipment and you need the male-N to female-BNC adapter you had in your hand a minute ago and now can’t find. Don’t you wish you could easily keep track of your adapters? Well, here’s an idea. Tis holder will release any adapter quickly – just choose the types it holds.
If you want to have on hand, say, two BNC barrels, one BNC male-
to-male and two PL259 (UHF) barrels, you can choose opposite-type holders for those adapters and screw them into the adapter holder for use; see images above and below. Te basic adapter holder is made from a piece of angle or U
stock that can be attached to a shelf above a workbench or attached vertically to its side. Holes are drilled and tapped 1/4-20” at ½-1” intervals. Te connectors that will hold your adapters are parted on a lathe from their bases. Ten, the connectors are silver-soldiered to the head of a ¼-20” pan-head bolt ¾-inch long. Each adapter simply mounts with a lock-nut or nut and washer onto the adapter holder. Te one shown here is made to clamp on the edge of a rack or shelf. Use whatever is most convenient – bolts, woodscrews, a
C-clamp, even double-faced adhesive foam tape, since the weight is negligible – to attach the adapter holder to your bench or the equipment rack you’re working on. Tere is no limit to the kind of connectors you can attach: SMA, SMC, mini-UHF – they all attach the same way. Unscrew the one you won’t be using and mount the ones you need in their place. Since you’re not looking for a solid RF connection, any threaded connector needs only a couple of twists on or off.
www.electronicsworld.co.uk May 2022 39
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