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 is part of our IMS 2023 coverage.

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

For more IMS 2023 coverage, visit our digital magazine.

About the Author

David Maliniak | Executive Editor, Microwaves & RF

I am Executive Editor of Microwaves & RF, an all-digital publication that broadly covers all aspects of wireless communications. More particularly, we're keeping a close eye on technologies in the consumer-oriented 5G, 6G, IoT, M2M, and V2X markets, in which much of the wireless market's growth will occur in this decade and beyond. I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, developers, and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

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About me:

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, leaving to rejoin the EOEM B2B publishing world in January 2020. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.