Amphenol RF, a division of Amphenol Corporation, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of interconnect products. Aside from Connectors, Amphenol RF also manufactures Cable Assemblies, Attenuators and RF Switches. For over 50 years, Amphenol RF has served the Automotive, Broadband, Wireless LAN/RFID, Wireless Infrastructure, Military Aerospace and Instrumentation markets. For the purposes of this blog, we will explore the considerations that need to be taken into account when choosing a connector.
Connectors come in several different styles and series. In order to find the most appropriate connector for your application, the most important factors to take into consideration are:
- The Cable
- The Frequency
- The Power and Voltage
It is imperative that the size of the diameter of the connector should closely match the diameter of the cable being used. Properly matching the size of the connector and the diameter of the cable has a direct correlation to its performance. When the two are closely matched the application will perform best, whereas the greater the difference in size/diameter, the worse the performance. Secondly, closely matching the diameter of the connector and cable will minimize reflections.
The Frequency also plays an important role in which style of connector you should choose for your application. “Push-on” or “bayonet” style connectors should be used for low frequencies (typically below 6 Ghz) whereas, “threaded” connectors should be used for high performance, low noise applications.
Finally, power and voltage should be considered when choosing a connector. For example: for high power applications, a large diameter connector should be used.
