What is so special about the overpriced Fluke bnc to banana connector ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2011, 07:53:43 am
content: All this time I've been using cheap bnc to banana converter like this one for various measurements, all pics are randomly grabbed from google's result.Recently walked into local brick&mortar shop that offers similar connector that is priced about US $20, which is a crazy price at least to me, but the shop keeper keeps telling me that its a Fluke's brand and far superior than those OneHungLow counterpart.Is it that good and worth that cost ? Ok, have to admit it after holding it in my hand, it feels sturdy and nicely built.C'mon, I mean this is just a dumb low tech connector that has no circuit in it, right ? or there is other thing about this expensive connector that I should know/aware of ?

author: shadewind
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2011, 08:52:10 am
content: Good question. As far as I'm concerned, you're not getting very good performance by going from BNC to banana anyway so I don't see why it really matters...

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 14, 2011, 08:57:34 am
content: The Fluke one uses insulated BNC. Their ScopeMeters have isolated inputs, which means you can clip one reference lead to phase 1 of your three-phase circuit and the probe tip to the other. If you would use a regular adapter as shown in you first picture, touching the metal would result in a shock. Using accessories without isolation anywhere near non-SELVcircuits is a safety hazard in my opinion, since a ScopeMeter is not grounded like most BNC equipment like bench scopes.The metal ones are also more likely to damage or wear out the input connectors on the scope meters, which are more fragile than normal metal BNCs.With grounded equipment, preferably with low voltages, the first one should be just fine. I would choose the Fluke one for floating scopes or dangerous voltages.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2011, 02:55:24 pm
content: Some info here ...https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=448.msg30341#msg30341

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2011, 03:44:14 pm
content: Well,just looking at them,it appears that the Fluke one is supposed to plug into a DMM,in other words,the non-bnc connector parts are shrouded male banana plugs,just like on the meter end of a normal set of Fluke test leads.The other ones are just like the standard ones which are,& have, been found in the tool tray of any Oscilloscope trolley in the past 50 or so years.These have binding posts incorporating banana sockets,adapting to a male bnc connector,so various forms of test leads,random bits of wire,etc can connect to the Oscilloscope input.Unless the things that look like shrouded plugs are in fact sockets,it would seem that they perform almost exactly opposite purpose.VK6ZGO

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 14, 2011, 06:04:15 pm
content: The BNC plug is clearly male. The banana jacks are female according to Fluke.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2011, 07:09:08 pm
content: More info..BNC's center pin with "copper" coated?https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=4037.0All about Beryllium copperhttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3659.0

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2011, 12:41:21 am
content: Quote from: alm on October 14, 2011, 06:04:15 pmFair enough, though I never made any comment about the sex of the BNC connector.From the picture,the bananas did look more like shrouded males.Once I had posted that ,I remembered seeing test leads with an inline female for fitting removable probes which looked like the ones in the pix.The Chinese ones look very similar to the Tek/HP adaptors that have been round for decades.VK6ZGO

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2011, 06:30:37 pm
content: Quote from: alm on October 14, 2011, 08:57:34 amThis makes sense, never thought about those exposed metal part like the ordinary one when working with lethal voltage environment.Probably I might buy one and keep it at the adapters box, just for sure when its time I really need it I'm covered, thanks for the explanation.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 15, 2011, 08:45:50 pm
content: The exposed metal is only an issue with floating measurements. As long as it's connected to a piece of equipment with a solid ground connection (most bench equipment), they should be safe. Of course it becomes a safety hazard if the ground connection is broken. I would probably prefer shrouded banana jacks for dangerous voltages, regardless of the BNC connector.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2011, 05:21:26 am
content: Remember created this thread while ago, decided to take few shots of these cat III adapters.Part no. PM9082 for male bnc to dual banana female, while PM9081 for female bnc to dual banana male, both banana plugs distance is the standard 3/4" that fits at almost dmm. Attached the shots of PM9081 plugged firmly at my agilent u1242b.The brand is Philips instead of Fluke, its an older model, while current model is now Fluke branded with different position on the bnc against the two banana connectors, but still has the same part no.The plastic material feels strong and firm, also as expected, no direct metal contact at all at outer part even at the bnc female connector.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 20, 2011, 06:11:46 am
content: Ok, my last update, hopefully these will be useful someday.To use it on bench meter that doesn't accept shrouded banana plug, its quite easy to pull the shroud just by unlocking the latches.Perfect.Now, I think its time to make a nice long coaxial shielded 4 wires measurement probes with kelvin clips..

author: gwideman
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2015, 07:51:15 am
content: Hey! Outdated thread, but happened to have nice pics that were very informative for what I'm just working on now! Thanks all who took the time to post them!

author: st
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 09, 2016, 10:44:00 am
content: Old thread, but maybe useful to some:These Fluke adapters are OEM made by HCK, now MultiContact.You can buy them cheaper under the MultiContact label, and you can get all 4 gender combinations.HCK/MultiContact is the OEM for most of the fully isolated BNC range (scope probes and the like), used by many major brands.Essential on floating input scopes.ST