SMB connectors

Updated March 4, 2008

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This is a new page for March 2008! This is a species of push-on connector dating from the 1960's. They are much bigger than GPO, and are typically specified through 4 GHz but can work up through X-band. through X-band (12.4 GHz). From Amphenol's web site: The name "SMB" is derived from subminiature B (the second subminiature design, "SMA" was the first). These connectors are mostly relegated to the dustbin or connector history, but once in a while you might have to deal with a military program that has these designed in from way back in the Disco Days and you'll just have to cope with them.

Someone recently inquired about which connector is which.

Diggin' the Beavis & Butthead image on the connectorsex encyclopedia page,
it is stated alternative terms are "plug" for male, and "jack" for female...

I was doing part selection on the web for a female-female SMB connector, and
the vendors that I found were stating the opposite: jack=male, plug=female.

Weird, huh? I think they are wrong - the 'plug' should have the 'pins'.
The 'inny' is the jack or socket.

At least they didn't call it a jacquie...

Ruth clears up the terminology for us:

The terminology Male/Female and Jack/Plug has always caused confusion when referring to the SMB-SMC style connector types. The standard follows this rule:

Male-Female terminology refers to the center contact sex while Jack-Plug references the outer housing.

What does this mean? An SMB cable connector which has a female center contact is a Plug connector as the outer conductor has the coupling mechanism. If you follow this rule you won’t go wrong, when referring to the connectors that have a reverse contact.

Thanks Ruth!

Below are images of SMB connectors supplied by Ruth that should help to clarify the sex issue. These are Johnson connectors, a product line of our good friends at Emerson.