Many folks don't realize that if the physical connections (threads or bayonet) are discarded, the internal parts of the BNC, TNC, and N-type connectors are the same dimensions.
Not quite. An N-connector uses an air-dielectricum around the pin. So if you were able to "interconnect" a BNC and an N-connector, you'd have a serious impedance bump at GHz frequencies by inserting teflon in that part of the transmission line, thus changing it's impedance.
I have a UHF duplexer here that is TNC. The SMA vs SMA-RP is exemplified by Yaesu vs everyone else. I think the manufactuers are standard SMA, but one has female radios, and the other has male radios, thus the rubber duckies do not swap. Yaesu broke the mold, as Motorola had it one way years before. AFAIK, Yaesu is the only different ham manufacturer, everyone else follows Motorola. Personally, I think that SMA does not belong in ham equipment because the connectors are really not field repairable. You have to cut off the cable and swedge in a new connector. TNC can be bought in tool-less versions.
This is correct. 2.4Ghz license free has a limit on gain and this was an attempt to maintain that limit.
Correct, just because it will fit, doesn't mean that it will work properly. The dielectric interface differences will make it useless at higher frequecies.
Love these connector discussions. My first job out of college was at Amphenol RF in Danbury, CT. So many stories nobody wants to hear, but it was when USA manufacturing was still going strong with little challenge. We had 2 plants, East Franklin St (downtown) and Commerce Park (outside the city). One day, one of the company trucks wrecked on I-84 and spilled PL259 shells all over the highway. I remember management was very afraid of the coming fiber optic revolution that was going to wipe out demand for coaxial cable and connectors. We experimented with metal F/O connectors first, starting with a modified SMA that you had to polish with a fixture and fine grit papers after epoxying, It had a special "ferrule" pin in the center to accept the optical fiber. Later we worked on plastic connectors with less labor required to align snd prepare the fibers for a good connection. Coax products grew without the fiber optic doomsday envisioned.
I've heard of highway connectors, but usually they aren't PL-259s. Maybe E-470s? Doomsday or not, I wish more fiber connectors WERE metal. I encounter too many flimsy plastic ones.
Terminate in what way? The connectors go on the cable just like BNC. Once on, the male connector screws onto the female connector just like a type N, but smaller diameter.
