Hello, and welcome to Show Me Cables. Today, we’ll be taking a look at reverse polarity coax connectors. Coax connectors come in a variety of shapes and styles, but by far the most common problem when properly identifying them is when it comes to reverse polarity. The most common connectors available in reverse polarity are: BNC, SMA, TNC and N connectors. Just as a quick recap, coax connectors will typically come in either a Male or Female orientation. A standard Male connector will have threads on the inside of the connector and a solid Male pin. A Standard Female connector will have threads on the outside and a hollow Female pin. What causes confusion is that many people believe that identifying the gender relies on whether it has a Male or Female pin, but this is not the case. The gender of the connector is identified by the threads of the connector housing. And the polarity is identified by the pin. Keep that in mind, Polarity is for Pin. If the gender of the pin does not match the gender of the threading, that is what makes it reverse polarity. Let’s take a look at an example using an SMA connector. This connector has threads on the outside, making it a female connector. Remember, the threading will always identify the gender of the connector. The pin of the connector is solid, which means that it is Male, and does not match the gender of the connector. This means that the connector is Reverse Polarity. Now, we’ve identified that it is a female connector and we know it is reverse polarity, so we can correctly identify this as a reverse polarity SMA female connector. There’s one more issue that needs to be cleared up though. I mentioned previously that BNC is available in reverse polarity, but BNC connectors do not have threading. The connector housing of a BNC can be identified by how the connector locks. If the housing has a locking channel, it’s gender is Male. If the housing has locking bolts, the gender is female. Polarity is still identified using the pin. Here is a connector with a locking channel housing, making it a Male connector. A hollow pin, making the pin Female and does not match the gender of the connector, which makes it reverse polarity. So we have a Reverse Polarity BNC Male connector. One more time, real quick: Threading identifies gender, pin is for polarity. Threads on the inside are Male, threads on the outside are female. For BNC, channels are Male, bolts are Female. A solid pin is Male, a hollow pin is Female. If the genders of the threads and pin do not match, that means reverse polarity. Got it? Hopefully this has answered your questions about reverse polarity connectors. If you have any further questions, you can call our customer service department at 888-519-9505.