Adapter between five-way binding posts and a male BNC connector

Two insulated, color-coded binding posts at the bottom center of a signal generator

Uninsulated binding posts on a loudspeaker connected to banana plugs

A binding post is a connector commonly used on electronic test equipment to terminate (attach) a single wire or test lead. The BNC ( Bayonet Neill Concelman) connector is a very common type of RF connector used for terminating Coaxial cable. Electronic test equipment (sometimes called "testgear" is used to create signals and capture responses from electronic Devices Under Test (DUTs A test probe ( test lead, test prod) is a physical device used to connect Electronic test equipment to the Device under test (DUT They are also found on loudspeakers and audio amplifiers as well as other electrical equipment. For the Marty Friedman album see Loudspeaker (album A loudspeaker, speaker, or speaker system is an electroacoustical An audio amplifier is an Electronic amplifier that amplifies low-power audio signals (signals composed primarily of frequencies between 20 Hertz to

A binding post contains a central threaded metal rod and a cap that screws down on that rod. The cap is commonly insulated with plastic and color-coded: red commonly means an active or positive terminal; black indicates an inactive (reference or return) or negative terminal; and green indicates an earth (ground) terminal. Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products In Electrical engineering, the term ground or earth has several meanings depending on the specific application areas

Commonly designed in a style called five way or universal, such binding posts allow the connection of several different types of connections:

• Banana plugs, inserted into the open end of the binding post
• Pin connectors, inserted into a hole drilled through the metal post and clamped by the screw-down portion of the binding post. A banana connector (commonly banana plug for the male, banana jack for the female) is a single- Wire (one conductor
• Bare wire inserted through the same hole and clamped, or
• Wrapped around the metal post and clamped. A wire is a single usually cylindrical, elongated string of drawn Metal.
• A lug terminal inserted around the metal post and clamped. A screw terminal is a type of Electrical connector where a Wire is clamped down to Metal by a Screw.

Safety

In the past, it was common for multiple five-way binding posts to have their drilled holes lined up; this provided convenience in some applications as a bare wire could be strung from post to post to post. But this also impaired safety as two wires or pin connectors could be inserted from opposite sides of two binding posts and the tips of the wires or probes might inadvertently short together. Holes are now normally aligned in such a fashion that such shorts can't occur.

See also

• Fahnestock clip — an earlier device, now largely supplanted by binding posts

External links

• About.com glossary definition