Coaxial connector

A coaxial connector comprising:

• a center contact configured to be mated with a center contact of a mating connector and configured to be electrically connected to a conductor of a cable, the center contact has a mating end and a terminating end, the terminating end including an open-sided barrel at the terminating end with two paddles opposing one another across a gap;
• an outer contact having a cavity, the center contact being disposed in the cavity, the outer contact having a separable interface end configured to be mated to the mating connector, the outer contact having a terminating end configured to be terminated to an end of the cable, the separable interface end and terminating end being oriented generally perpendicular to one another;
• and
• a dielectric insert received in the cavity, the dielectric insert peripherally surrounding the barrel at the terminating end such that the dielectric insert is positioned between the center contact and the outer contact, the dielectric insert having structural features and air pockets being defined between the structural features, the size and shape of the structural features and air pockets are selected to provide a desired dielectric constant of dielectric between the center contact and the outer contact to tune the impedance of the coaxial connector.

A coaxial connector comprising:

• a center contact;
• a dielectric insert having a bore that receives and holds the center contact;
• and
• an outer contact having a cavity that receives the dielectric insert and the center contact, the outer contact having a separable interface end configured to be mated to a mating connector, the outer contact having a terminating end configured to be terminated to a coaxial cable, the separable interface end and terminating end being oriented generally perpendicular to one another;
• wherein the outer contact includes a front housing defining the separable interface end and a rear housing defining the terminating end, the rear housing being interchangeable with the front housing to define differently shaped terminating ends for mating with differently sized cables.