Cost effective alternative for SHV connectors?

[DenzilPenberthy]

Hi everyone,

 I'm working on a design at the moment that incorporates a bunch of amplifiers for driving piezo positioners. These can generate up to +/- 200v so I don't want to use standard BNCs for the outputs due to shock risk. I'd like to use SHV connectors but they're pretty pricey.

Does anyone have any ideas for cost effective connectors that are safe to use in this sort of voltage range?

Cheers.

[c4757p]

Sure you didn't miss a zero there? I'd normally have no problem using BNCs at that voltage. You can't get your finger into a BNC jack, so either you'd have to insert a foreign object (works for SHV too), or the electricity would have to arc over (not going to happen at 200V).

[DenzilPenberthy]

Plug a BNC-BNC cable into it and now you have a male pin on the end that's live.

Or plug in a BNC-croc clips lead.

or plug the output into something else by mistake with a BNC-BNC lead.

Unmate a standard BNC cable from it when it's live and if the shield breaks before the centre pin, the part you are holding becomes live via the load on the end.

These are all things which make me not want to use BNCs. Especially when you have to write the things above on a risk assessment

[T3sl4co1l]

None of those 'potential modes of failure' are unique to BNC, nor preventable with anything less than steel armored conduit...

Tim

[cowana]

None of those 'potential modes of failure' are unique to BNC, nor preventable with anything less than steel armored conduit...

The biggest issue with BNC connectors is that male-male cables are readily available - by using something specifically designed for power, this won't be an issue.

[DenzilPenberthy]

1. The centre pin in an SHV plug is much more deeply recessed than in a standard BNC plus the lab in which this will be used does not typically have SHV-SHV cables in it

2. SHV-croc clips leads are not commonly available

3. there is nothing in that lab with an SHV input that would be damaged by 200v

4. the SHV connector is specifically designed to break the centre pin before the shield

[c4757p]

2. SHV-croc clips leads are not commonly available

I have definitely wanted 200ish volts on something like a croc clip before. Why take the option away? It's the choice of the person doing it.

4. the SHV connector is specifically designed to break the centre pin before the shield

This is a fairly good argument. Shame BNC isn't, it's good for other reasons too.

[DenzilPenberthy]

I have definitely wanted 200ish volts on something like a croc clip before. Why take the option away? It's the choice of the person doing it.

What we want and what the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 let us have are two different things I'm afraid

4. the SHV connector is specifically designed to break the centre pin before the shield


This is a fairly good argument. Shame BNC isn't, it's good for other reasons too.

 

[c4757p]

I have definitely wanted 200ish volts on something like a croc clip before. Why take the option away? It's the choice of the person doing it.

What we want and what the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 let us have are two different things I'm afraid

Unfortunate and 100% true.