Talk:Banana connector

message: I'd like to see the article give a little more detail about electrical safety. A lot of banana plugs have metal on the outside. Even the Monster QuickLock banana plugs in the photo have some metal on the outside. Are these a potential safety hazard with typical 100 watt per channel audio equipment? If not, why not? --JHP (talk) 23:48, 16 December 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: By my reckoning a quarter of the article is already devoted to that subject, no? I think that's sufficient to describe the potential hazard without overstepping into prescription. Chris Cunningham (not at work) - talk 00:20, 17 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Electrical safety? 

message: The article previously credited Richard Hirschmann as the inventor in 1924. A press release by the Hirshmann Company claims "The company's history 
began in 1924 with a simple but ingenious Invention: the "banana plug" of the company founder Richard Hirschmann." link However, their web site clearly states "1926-1996 Invention and patenting of the "banana plug"..."
Some (non-authoritative) web references state the connector was developed by General Radio (Genrad) in 1924. A Genrad publication from 1963 claims "General Radio has developed many components and
parts that achieved industry-wide popularity. Notable among these was the "banana" plug, introduced in this country
by GR in 1924 and manufactured ever since by us as the TYPE 274 Plug." 
An archived Genrad webpage claims "1924: GenRad developed banana plug - replaces pin plugs, this spring-loaded connector technology..."
This is purely conjecture, but it may be that Hirschmann came up with the form factor, and Genrad improved it with spring loaded contacts (from which the name "Banana" comes). This would allow both claims to co-exist.
Msauve (talk) 15:47, 30 July 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Inventor? 

message: Some modern plugs are made with a cage of "banana" springs that rotates on a central spindle. The stackable ones marked "Rapid" in the first illustration is one such (as well as the illustrated double banana) but there are many others with this newer construction.  This innovation allows the cable so connected to rotate (and unkink) after the plug is inserted. However from bitter experience these plugs are not fit for purpose because the free rotation of the spindle even when the cage is fully inserted contributes a continually variable contact resistance of between 1 and 3 ohms (measured).  Avoid for low impedance applications! 
Shannock9 (talk) 23:25, 18 November 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Design Problem 

message: --Alfonsedode (talk) 13:20, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  But WHY IS IT CALLED BANANA ?!? 

message: 0.750 in 
--Yankeepapa13 (talk) 23:50, 17 May 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  What is the spacing dimension of twin banana connectors? 

message: Current article includes the wording:
 A significant use was for connecting the separate HT[clarification needed] and grid bias batteries in early battery powered valve (tube) radios ...  
I cannot fix the flag completely, but I have a suggestion as to what HT probably means. My knowledge is based on US terminology, rather than UK terminology. A portable radio, using "tubes" (US) or "valves" (I know this much of UK terminology) could have 3 different uses for electric power. One use is for the filaments or heaters, which would be low voltage (say, 1.5 to 3 volts). A second use might be "grid bias"; however, not all circuits need a power supply for that. But in addition to those, an amplifying tube has an "anode" or "plate". That needs a battery with much higher voltage. I have an RCA Receiving Tube Manual from 1961, which includes two circuits for portable radios. Both have a "B" battery for the "plates"; for one circuit, the battery is 67.5 volts, and the other it's 90 volts. (Neither of those circuits has a separate grid-bias power supply.) So I presume "HT" means "high tension," where "tension" is UK terminology for "voltage." Oaklandguy (talk) 21:52, 22 April 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  In section "Wander Plug": probable meaning of "HT"