Abstract: A housing carries a male push-lock precision BNC connector. The function of the BNC latch of the male connector carried therein is performed by a spring-biased lock ring captive in a housing and that fits snugly and concentrically over a male sleeve, resulting in a double shell of two rigidly attached cylindrical portions that are coaxial, coextensive, yet separated to accept a BNC female shell. The double shell is held captive by anchoring it to the inside of the housing. The male sleeve has a slot and/or cut-away portion to accept the forward travel of the bayonet pins, which, when the connector halves are engaging, extend beyond the thickness of the sleeve and into the region occupied by the lock ring. The lock ring has grooves having various portions that engage the bayonet pins. As the housing containing these male parts is without rotation moved toward the female connector, the lock ring rotates as the grooves contact the bayonet pins.

Abstract: A housing carries a male push-lock precision BNC connector. The function of the BNC latch of the male connector carried therein is performed by a spring-biased lock ring captive in a housing and that fits snugly and concentrically over a male sleeve, resulting in a double shell of two rigidly attached cylindrical portions that are coaxial, coextensive, yet separated to accept a BNC female shell. The double shell is held captive by anchoring it to the inside of the housing. The male sleeve has a slot and/or cutaway portion to accept the forward travel of the bayonet pins, which, when the connector halves are engaging, extend beyond the thickness of the sleeve and into the region occupied by the lock ring. The lock ring has grooves having various portions that engage the bayonet pins. As the housing containing these male parts is without rotation moved toward the female connector, the lock ring rotates as the grooves contact the bayonet pins.

Abstract: An electrical connection system, such as a Bayonet Niel-Concelman (BNC) connection system, includes two connector assemblies and enables electrical connections between the two connector assemblies to be established and maintained. The two connector assemblies respectively include a first connector and a second connector. One of the connector assemblies includes a contact pin, and the other connector assembly includes a mechanical support having a tapered recess. The first connector interlocks with the second connector, and the contact pin is received by the recess and engages the mechanical support, when the first and second connectors are interlocked. Because the recess is tapered, the contact pin is guided toward the center of the recess as the contact pin is pressed against the surface of the mechanical support exposed by the recess, making it easier to establish and maintain an electrical connection with the contact pin.

Abstract: An electrical probe is provided for use with an electrical instrument, such as an oscilloscope. The probe includes a probe body, a sensing element affixed to the probe body for sensing an electrical parameter and a storage device containing probe information that uniquely identifies the probe. The probe information is electronically transferred from the storage device to the electrical instrument when the probe is connected to the electrical instrument. The electrical instrument stores calibration information that is associated with the probe. The electrical instrument uses the probe information received from the storage device in the probe to access the associated calibration information. The accessed calibration information is used to calibrate measurements made with the probe.

Abstract: A locking assembly for releasably locking together a mating connector pair comprises a housing having a central aperture therethrough and adapted to be mounted to the first connector portion of the mating connector pair. A locking sleeve also having a central aperture is sized to receive the first connector portion and is also sized to be slidably received by the central aperture of the housing so that the locking sleeve can be rotated within the housing from a locked position to an unlocked position. The locking sleeve also includes a locking pin engaging boss for releasably engaging a locking pin associated with the second connector portion of the mating connector pair. Specifically, the locking pin engaging boss rotates the locking sleeve to the unlocked position as the first connector portion is engaged with the second connector portion. The locking pin engaging boss also allows the locking sleeve to be rotated to the locked position when the first and second connector portions are fully engaged.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for automatically acquiring and storing a waveform measurement using a measuring instrument having a video display, such as an oscilloscope or spectrum analyzer, is disclosed. According to the invention, an operator first instructs the measuring instrument to automatically measure a probed waveform one or more times and to automatically store at least one selected sample set representing each probed waveform measurement. Thereafter, the operator is not required to interact with the measuring instrument during a measurement or series of measurements. Once measurement acquisition and storage is automatically completed, the measuring instrument alerts the operator by providing at least one indication for each selected sample set stored.

Abstract: An improved reference loop for a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) uses an approximate 50% duty cycle to improve the DC performance and the drift of the DAC at mid-scale. The 50% duty cycle also allows the DAC to provide the same performance over all outputs irrespective of the number of bits supplied to each input. The 50% duty cycle for the reference loop may be obtained from one of the DAC system outputs by forcing that output to supply a square wave output signal which may be used as input for the reference loop. The reference loop may alternatively be supplied by a DAC clock that is divided to obtain the desired 50% duty cycle input to the reference loop, in which case all outputs of the DAC are available for system output.

Abstract: A precision bipolar digital-to-analog converter (DAC) allows a first DAC channel to provide significantly reduced bipolar zero offset voltage. By supplying an additional DAC output as input to the first DAC channel, bipolar zero offset voltage in the first channel may be significantly reduced.

Abstract: A mass-producible, cost-effective discrete electrical protection device utilizing a precision gap between two electrically conductive members attached to an electrically insulating substrate to provide over-voltage protection to an electrical device. In one aspect, the electrical protection device is a surface mountable device. In another aspect, the device has through-holes for accommodating leads on an electrical connector. Methods are provided also for making the electrical protection device.

Abstract: An operational amplifier that may be fabricated on an integrated circuit is disclosed. Three precision emitter followers and four additional transistors comprise the major components of the op-amp. Two of the precision emitter followers are connected to the inverting and non-inverting inputs of the op-amp, respectively. The outputs of these two precision emitter followers are connected together to form a differential pair of precision emitter followers. Four additional transistors are used to convert the differential output of the precision emitter follower differential pair to a single-ended output and to provide gain. Two of the four additional transistors are used to mirror the currents in the drive transistors of the differential pair of precision emitter followers. These two mirrored currents are then fed to the drive and sense transistors of a current mirror respectively to convert the differential currents into a single-ended voltage.

Abstract: A locking assembly for releasably locking together a mating connector pair comprises a housing having a central aperture therethrough and adapted to be mounted to the first connector portion of the mating connector pair. A locking sleeve also having a central aperture is sized to receive the first connector portion and is also sized to be slidably received by the central aperture of the housing so that the locking sleeve can be rotated within the housing from a locked position to an unlocked position. The locking sleeve also includes a locking pin engaging boss for releasably engaging a locking pin associated with the second connector portion of the mating connector pair. Specifically, the locking pin engaging boss rotates the locking sleeve to the unlocked position as the first connector portion is engaged with the second connector portion. The locking pin engaging boss also allows the locking sleeve to be rotated to the locked position when the first and second connector portions are fully engaged.

Abstract: A first current source supplies current to the collector of an emitter follower stage and a sense transistor. The sense transistor programs a current mirror so that most of the base current required by the emitter follower transistor comes from the current mirror instead of the input. A second current source that requires more current that the first current source supplies is connected to the output of the emitter follower and sinks the current coming out of the emitter of the emitter follower and the collector current of a load transistor. The load transistor supplies the difference in current between the amount of current supplied by the first current source and the amount sunk by the second current source.

Abstract: A power supply includes a voltage regulator for generating a regulated voltage in response to an input voltage and an error signal, first and second output terminals connected to the voltage regulator for coupling the power supply to a load, first and second sense terminals and a sensing circuit for generating the error signal. The sensing circuit includes a high input impedance differential amplifier having first and second inputs respectively coupled to the first and second sense terminals for measuring a sense voltage between the sense terminals. The power supply may be operated in a remote sensing mode or in a local sensing mode. In the local sensing mode, no connections are required between the sense terminals and the output terminals.

Abstract: An interface having nine connections between a probe and test and measurement equipment includes a fixed voltage source located in the test and measurement equipment, which delivers through a first connection a positive fixed voltage, and through a second connection a negative fixed voltage. A voltage-programming resistor located in the probe produces a signal that is delivered from the probe through one of the connections to the equipment to control a programmed voltage source. The programmed voltage is delivered as a positive programmed voltage through one pin and as a negative programmed voltage through a second connection. A probe identification resistor is located in the probe. An ohmmeter in the equipment measures the resistance of the probe identification resistor through one of the connections.

Abstract: Accordingly, a supplemental electrical connector assembly for transmitting at least one supplemental electrical signal to a supplemental contact pad associated with a mating electrical connector pair may comprise a pin block mounted to a first connector portion of the mating electrical connector pair. A pogo pin assembly having a connector pin positioned at one end and a contact pin positioned at the other end is mounted to the pin block so that the contact pin extends from the front end of the pin block and so that the connector pin extends from the rear end of the pin block. A printed wiring board attached to the first connector portion of the mating electrical connector pair engages the connector pin on the pogo pin assembly.

Abstract: The termination resistor of an electronic apparatus is connected in series with a thermistor PTC switch thermally coupled to the resistor. Excessive power dissipation in the resistor causes the PTC switch to trip, and the increased total resistance limits power dissipation in the resistor to safe levels. The PTC switch and the resistor may be merely in close physical proximity to one another to achieve the thermal coupling. Alternatively, the two may be fabricated as a unit assembly whose form factor is that of, or is similar to that of, the resistor that would otherwise be used by itself.

Abstract: A universal system for mounting hybrid circuits to printed circuit boards is presented. This universal hybrid mounting system comprises a bottom plate, a frame, a top plate, a heat sink and mounting hardware including a spring. A hybrid circuit package is securely attached to one side of the frame using the top and bottom plates and mounting hardware. The other side of the frame is brought into contact with a printed circuit board (PCB). The PCB comprises a plurality of landing pads which may be gold-plated. The frame comprises a plurality of compliant pins that electrically connect the hybrid to the landing pads of the PCB. The heat sink, in conjunction with the spring, are provided to accommodate high power hybrid packages.

Abstract: The low distortion drive amplifier of the present invention uses an emitter follower circuit to drive a low impedance load such as a transmission line. A constant current source is connected to the emitter terminal of the emitter follower transistor to provide a constant current through the emitter of the emitter follower circuit. Compensation circuitry is provided to offset any load current that is diverted from the emitter follower circuit to the load thereby insuring a constant current through the emitter of the emitter follower transistor. In this fashion, even with a low impedance load, a constant gain and a relatively constant output impedance can be obtained for this amplifier circuit thereby providing a low distortion drive circuit for the low impedance load such as a transmission line.

Abstract: A high efficiency non-dissipative snubber circuit suitable for most power supplies used in international markets is disclosed. Circuit uses diode-capacitor-inductor structure to capture input voltage equivalent and reverse polarity on snubber capacitor. No external voltage source is required.