What’s a QuarterBack Connector?

June 26, 2023

SV Microwave’s QuarterBack connectors use a quarter-turn bayonet style nut with a locking feature for standard SMP interfaces.

David Maliniak

Related To: Microwaves & RF

This video appeared in Microwaves & RF and has been published here with permission.

This video is part of Microwaves & RF's IMS 2023 coverage. It's also part of the TechXchange: Critical Connections: Cables, Wires, Vias, and Busbars.

There's lots of applications for cable assemblies in which you want some extra assurance of mechanical retention. SV Microwave's latest offering, which it calls a QuarterBack connector, goes beyond a simple blind-mate SMP (or SMPM) interface to a bayonet-style connection. Giving the connector a quarter-turn upon mating engages a spring-loaded mechanism that locks the cable assembly in place. Unmating requires just a quarter-turn in the opposite direction and pulling out the blind-mate pin.

SV Microwave also launched a combination offering. The company's mini-D RF connector, a D-submini style in an RF version, comes in an 8-port option that mates to a male PCB connector with a matching cutout to prevent mismating. Here again, additional mechanical retention comes in the form of thumbscrews.

At the back end of the connector are 0.047-in. pigtails that use SV Micro's Converge RF product to transition from the 0.047-in. diameter cable to a larger diameter. This sidesteps situations in which you might have physical restrictions near the PCB connector, or applications that call for longer cable runs where you can't afford the higher losses of the small-diameter cabling.

For more information, visit the company's website

About the Author

David Maliniak | MWRF Executive Editor

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.