| Electronics > Beginners |
| New-to-me power connector |
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| elroy:
I just bought a small RF preamp from an online seller in China. The RF in and out are via standard SMA ports. For the +12vdc and ground, a connector is provided that consists of a hexagonal nut, a protruding pin ~5mm long that I assume is for the ~12vdc, and a side lug with a solder hole which must be for ground. Now, I could just solder appropriate-gauge wires to the pin and the lug and call it a day. But is there any smarter way to attach to a connector like this? |
| Brumby:
It's not really a connector, as such, but it is being used in that role. It's an RF "feed through" which is simply a coaxial conductor running through an insulating material inside a metal body. It is not uncommon to see feed-throughs used in RF equipment as it allows a controlled entry/exit of connections through a shielded enclosure. Dave has done at least one teardown of an oscilloscope which show this. While I'm not an RF guy, I can see they offer some useful advantages: * Hermetic seal. No issues with moisture ingress or humidity changes * Fixed capacitance, which can help in circuit design Yes, the simplest method of connection is soldering. My first thought would be to use a coaxial style cable between this preamp and your power supply - but maybe an RF person could offer a more informed suggestion and whether a connector option is available. |
| ArthurDent:
The power is soldered to a feedthru capacitor. Here is a similar one. Some are straight pins, some are like mine. |
| David Hess:
They make big machined collet socket pins which can fit on a lead like that but usually a wire connection is just soldered to it. |
| edpalmer42:
--- Quote from: ArthurDent on July 12, 2019, 01:19:32 am ---The power is soldered to a feedthru capacitor. Here is a similar one. Some are straight pins, some are like mine. --- End quote --- I've seen both 'feedthru capacitors' and just 'feedthru' versions. Often, a feedthru capacitor will have a value printed or stamped on it. Ed |
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