Editing BNC connector (section)

== History ==

In 1941, the US Navy used a smaller version of the threaded [[N connector]], the Type BN (Baby N), as the UG-85/U, UG-86/U, UG-114/U and UG-115/U.

In 1943, the British introduced a ¼ inch 50 ohm coaxial cable, and companies immediately developed many connectors for it. In 1944, the US Navy called the designers together to find a single, standard design acceptable to all. [[Paul Neill]], the inventor of the original N connector, developed a prototype connector which had a constant 50 ohm impedance at frequencies beyond 1&nbsp;GHz, used a bayonet fastening (faster to use than a threaded one), and was easier to manufacture and assemble. It was specified by the [[Bell Labs|Bell Laboratory]] drawing ESL 662916, dated March 2, 1944.

In April 1944, the Navy took Neill’s design, added a ''C'' (for ''constant impedance)'' to ''BN''  to get ''Type BNC'' (''Baby Neill Constant''), and assigned part numbers UG 88/U to the male and UG 89/U to the female (Amphenol still makes them). The Navy issued a final drawing RE 49F 246, dated December 2, 1944.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hazeltine Research, Inc. v. Dage Elec. Co. |url=https://casetext.com/case/hazeltine-research-inc-v-dage-elec-co |website=Casetext |access-date=7 January 2025 |at=Section 13 and ''Prior knowledge'' section}}</ref>

In May 1945, [[Octavio M. Salati]] of [[Hazeltine Corporation]] applied for a patent for the BNC, which was granted in January 1951.<ref>{{cite patent |country=USA |number= US2540012A|inventor= |invent1= Octavio M. Salati |title= Electrical connector |pubdate= 1945-05-19 |gdate= 1951-01-30|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US2540012A/en}}</ref> In 1958, Hazeltine sued Dage Electric Company, a maker of BNC connectors, for infringement on this patent. The court found that Salati’s patent was invalid because he knew of the Navy’s BNC before his application date.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hazeltine Research, Inc. v. Dage Elec. Co.  165 F.Supp. 226 (S.D.Ind. 1958) 118 U.S.P.Q. 397  No. IP 56-C-15. United States District Court, S.D. Indiana, Indianapolis Division. July 31, 1958. |url=https://casetext.com/case/hazeltine-research-inc-v-dage-elec-co |website=Casetext |access-date=7 January 2025}}</ref>