Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ncis.llnl.gov!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!agate!bionet!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!bbn!mit-eddie!ll-xn!wjc
From: wjc@XN.LL.MIT.EDU (Bill Chiarchiaro)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Origin of the name "BNC" connector
Summary: More input...
Message-ID: <1228@xn.LL.MIT.EDU>
Date: 27 Jan 89 19:26:47 GMT
References: <5770015@hpscdc.HP.COM>
Organization: MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA
Lines: 42



The BNC and type N connector were both developed during World War II.
A friend who restores old radios has seen both styles of connectors on
military equipment from 1944/1945.  I think this rules out Berkeley
Nucleonics; the earliest product of theirs of which I know dates from
the late 1950s.

According to the Hewlett-Packard "1979-80 Coaxial & Waveguide Catalog
and Microwave Measurement Handbook," N stood for "Navy" and BNC stood
for "Bayonet Navy Connector."  The Handbook also states that TNC stood
for "Threaded Navy Connector," APC for "Amphenol Precision Connector,"
GR for "General Radio," SMA for "Sub-Miniature C," and SMC for
"Sub-Miniature C."

In the September 1986 issue of Ham Radio magazine, Joe Reisert stated
that the N connector was designed by Paul Neill of Bell Labs.  I think
Reisert said that the design was created during the 1940s.  He also
said that the "C" of BNC stood for Carl Concelman
(Bayonet-Neill-Concelman).  Reisert cited "A Designer's Guide to RF
Connector Selection" by Allen Nemetz in the September/October 1980
issue of rf design magazine.  I have not seen that article.

Both of the above claims have a common element in the naming of the N
and BNC connectors ("Navy" or "Neill").  I could believe that they had
a common origin as a male N will mate with a female BNC.

The common usage of "TNC" does not refer to a two-pin BNC.  There are
connectors for twinaxial cable that look very similar to BNCs, except
that they have two pins (actually one pin and one socket) side-by-side
and they are a pain in the butt to use.  There is another style of
twinax connector that has one pin and two concentric shells and is
much easier to make mate.  "TNC" refers to a connector that is similar
in size to a BNC, but has a threaded (rather than bayonet locking)
outer shell.  It is a very nice connector to use with small coax.
Both of the above naming schemes ("Navy Connector" or "Neill and
Concelman") would nicely support the "T" standing for "threaded."

Happy Connecting,
Bill Chiarchiaro
N1CPK
wjc@xn.ll.mit.edu