Adapters - Agilent Technologies 346A Operating And Service Manual

Caring for Connectors

Adapters

Adapters
Adapters are used to connect a device with one connector interface to a
device or to test equipment that has another interface, or to reduce wear
on connectors that may be difficult or expensive to replace. Reducing
wear is possibly the most important use of adapters, especially when
devices that have SMA connectors are being used.
SMA connectors are low-cost connectors generally used up to about
23GHz. They are not precision mechanical devices and are not designed
for repeated connections and disconnections as they wear out quickly
and are very often found, upon assembly, to be out of specification, even
before they have been used. This makes them potentially destructive to
any precision 3.5mm connectors with which they might be mated.
CAUTION Worn, damaged, or out-of-specification SMA connectors can destroy a
precision 3.5mm connector even on the very first connection. For this
reason it is recommended that you use high-quality precision adapters,
sometimes called "connector savers", whenever more than a few
connections are to be made between SMA and precision 3.5mm
connectors.
In most applications two adapters will be required, one each at the input
and the output of the device. Male-female adapters cause no change in
the sex of the interface. The same interface is presented when the
adapter is in place as is presented in the original setup.
Same-sex adapters (male-male, female-female) change the sex of the
interface. For example, if the original interface presents a male
connector, attaching a female-female adapter will result in a female
interface to which devices or cables that have male SMA (or male
precision 3.5mm) connectors can be connected.
Adapters are included in many Agilent calibration kits and with many
Agilent devices, or they may be ordered separately.
Appendix A 73