13 amp plugs - memories

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Chris J Dixon saying something like:

Holy shit.

[john]

I recall the 3 prong as well - also the bulbs were etched "Stolen from xxxxxxxxx" (xxxx being the name of a major british company)

John

[Andy Dingley]

Surely you've seen them ! 1960s(?) VHF coax connectors which I'm sure the BBC must have used somewhere or other. They have a "tulip" shaped connector with four leaves, two of which go inside and two outside. If they won't mate, turn them by 90° and try again. The centre "pin" is actually tubular, a miniature version of the shield.

Probably got the SWR of a hacksawed waterpipe, but they were workable hermaphrodite plugs.

[Andy Dingley]

The 3 prong ones don't have to be at 120°, nor do they all have to be at the same depth.

[Bob Eager]

It's been done. Never seen an original IBM Token Ring cable? Here, about half way down (search for 'hermaphrodite' on te page):

[Bob Eager]

[Andy Wade]

That sounds like a description of a GR-874 (where GR == the General Radio Company). Except you'd have to rotate by 180 deg., not 90. There are later hermaphroditic coax connectors, GR-900 and APC-7, to name but two. Pictures of all these at

Probably got the SWR of a hacksawed waterpipe, but they were workable

No, the GR-874 provided an accurate 50 ohm match up to microwave frequencies. They're spec'd up to about 8 GHz, IIRC.

[<me9]

I remember those, but not their name. There were also plugs used on german (Rhode and swartzch) equipment. that had a flat spring loaded contact on the inner pin, and the outer had a bayonet retaining ring, which could be pulled back allowing the one on the other part to lock.

[<me9]

in 75ohm. similarly with bnc/tnc, and probably others.

That's the one I remember on of all things, a GR oscillator, a useful (but unstable) vhf/uhf signal generator.

[Andy Dingley]

Now _that_ was a horse designed by a committee, if ever there was.

[Andy Dingley]

That's the one ! You really can find pictures of _anything_ on t' intaweb!

90°, I'm sure. They'd mate happily at two 180° spacings, so you're always within 90° of a hookup

I never really knew their SWR - I just used to use them as single conductor patch leads, usually almost DC, but with scary voltages on them.

[Andy Wade]

Ah, I see what you mean now. Yes 90 deg.

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article , Dave Plowman (News) writes

IBM did this with Token Ring connectors. Doubt they made a fortune out of it though.

[Bob Eager]

I think I said that on Wednesday...!

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article , Bob Eager writes

You did, apologies. I was following the thread and replying as necessary. Should have read it all first.