Mini BNC jack faceplate nut tool for IMS3000

[Leo Enticknap]

For years now, not having the tool needed to remove and replace these little bastards without either destroying them in the process or scratching the faceplate has seriously bugged me:

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Yesterday, I was discussing this with another tech who agreed with me, and told me that he'd asked Dolby if a specific tool was available for the task, and was told that one is, but that it costs "hundreds of bucks." Just now, an emergency call from someone with yet another IMS3000 boot drive failure put the issue back into my mind, so I just asked ChatGPT, which told me that I need one of these. So it seems that Dolby wasn't wrong!

Why did they feel the need to use these stupid fasteners, given that swapping faceplates in the field is something that needs to be done frequently? In fact, you have to remove the faceplate from an IMS3000 before shipping it to Dolby under an RMA, because they tell you to. The equivalent fasteners on the IMS2000 require only a 7mm deep socket costing $5-10, and the full sized BNC connectors on the cat745 and Doremi IMB also use a regular deep socket (can't remember the size, but I have one in my tool cart).

I cannot think of any justification for requiring the use of a tool that costs three figures and has no other application just to service one of their products in the field without damaging it, given that equivalent products do not.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Haha, yeah, I could've told you that too...

Those "little suckers", called micro or HD-BNC have been common in the broadcast and telecoms industry, alongside SMA/SMB and N-type connectors... For some reason, the "micro-BNC removal tool" is usually like 5 times more expensive than the "normal BNC" version, but you can find cheaper ones than the one you linked, if you google "Micro BNC Removal Tool", you'll find stuff half the price. at least in my region...

[Leo Enticknap]

Same story. For Micro BNC, they cost silly money. For full sized BNC, just a few bucks (which I don't need anyways, because full sized BNC jacks use regular hex nuts to lock them to the faceplate, which can be driven by a regular deep socket).

I'm thinking that this might work. If the blades are too wide for the slots in the fastener, I could file them down a bit.

[Marcel Birgelen]

The idea behind those connectors is that you can have patch-bays full of them, high density. Why they didn't keep it to regular hex nuts, nobody knows... I guess they made a secret deal with those tool companies making those things...

But often, there is so little wiggle room, that's where the long shaft comes in handy. Now, on an already removed IMS, you don't really have a space issue, or lots of existing connections to keep track of...

Maybe if you have some pliers with a "bent nose", those might just fit the sweet spot... or maybe you can just bend a somewhat thicker piece of metal wire or one of those "beefy" paperclips (the wire has to be sufficiently sturdy so you need some pliers to bend it) into such a shape so you can exert a rotating force on both of the recesses simultaneously...

[Steve Guttag]

While I'm not advocating HD-BNC connectors, there are adapter cables to use them within typical broadcast infrastructure. They aren't dirt cheap though (about $40 for a 1-foot cable) L-Comm has HDBNC to BNC adapters for under $20 but that would presume you have the space to put those on the connector.

To the question of the tool. They are not $100 but, again, they are not $5 either. Amphenol 227-1490 is such a tool. Digikey and Mouser are on the pricey side but remember, this is for the broadcast world. RS seems to be the cheapest at $31.03

https://us.rs-online.com/product/amp...w910mGzhoT8ygp


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I should note, this only applies to earlier IMS3000 (when they shipped with the faceplate attached). Current ones ship without the faceplate and in the faceplate kit, conventional hex nuts are used with a flat washer. As for why the issue...when one has to swap a server, THEN one needs to the tool to move the faceplate. I've also had luck using smaller needle nose pliers but once you have the tool, you never want to go back.

[Harold Hallikainen]

I cannot think of any justification for requiring the use of a tool that costs three figures and has no other application just to service one of their products in the field without damaging it, given that equivalent products do not.

I can see the use of this nut where the connectors are packed very tightly together so a standard hex driver would not fit. But, on the IMS, there is plenty of room. But I guess the connectors ship with that nut, so that's what's used.

A conspiracy between the connector maker and the tool maker is an interesting possibility. For a similar story, see https://www.ifixit.com/News/115528/b...ight-to-repair where BMW patented a new screw head.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

The price all has to do with the quantities of a given tool sold. Phillips screwdrivers are $1.89 because they sell hundreds a day... I doubt that even ten BNC removal tools are sold a week here in the USA. Just be glad they are available and not an assembly line only tool...

[Frank Cox]

I have this hanging over my toolbench:

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While it doesn't cover every "security screw", it handles a lot of them. I got it on sale a few years ago and have used it far more than I expected to.

[Steve Guttag]

Yeah...security screws are a common thing (to the point, they aren't so secure anymore). The HDBNC nut is not a security screw any more than the rings that hold lens elements are. And just like lens rings, a spanner with the right bit will remove them. The key to the special tool I listed above by Amphenol is that it will fit, entirely, over the HDBNC connector and fit, exactly, the spanner nut. it is deep enough to allow you to use a suitable driver with it too (though I've found fingers to be sufficient, given the size of the hardware/threads).

[Marcel Birgelen]

I guess we all have those kind of bit sets nowadays with all those "security screws" you find everywhere nowadays. The BMW one is a nice one... I didn't read the entire article, but I've seen that some made 3D printed bits for it. It remais to be seen how durable such 3D printed bits are.We probably all have experienced some of those unhardened cheap Chinese bit sets that fail the first time you're going to apply some real torque to them.

The problem with all those custom tools is that they tend to add up, tend to be not in the location you really need them, etc. Every extra tool is extra weight to account for, etc. Normal BNC connectors have also been installed in high-density rack configurations for ages and they use a normal hex screw just fine. For high-density BNC installations, you can still buy the special removal tool, so I guess this special ring was not really needed, just something somebody came up with to make it "special"...

[Ryan Gallagher]

I feel like a little time with a deep well hex socket that fits over the BNC and a dremmel or angle grinder would get you the tool you are after for the slotted ring variety.

If you need the real thing Steve had the goods it seems.

I have a similar such retaining ring in the detent ball latches on my closet doors, upper face, with no clearance to get a good tool in there. I've found myself pushing the ball down with a metal ruler, which also engages the slots, to re-seat the retaining ring (which seems to back out with activation over time). They make bigger ones? hehe. If you can find who makes that hardware tool, if they have sizes, I bet their price is cheaper. Or it was a flimsy free tool that came in the package.

I've seen "Pin Spanner Wrenches", which is probably what my closet requires for the 90deg approach. Similar to one of leo's links but they make all kinds of styles.

[Leo Enticknap]

Thanks, Steve. $180 is not justifiable but $30-40 is just about do-able, given that on average I have to remove those fasteners about once a month.

A conspiracy between the connector maker and the tool maker is an interesting possibility. For a similar story, see https://www.ifixit.com/News/115528/b...ight-to-repair where BMW patented a new screw head.

I'm more a believer in cock-up than conspiracy (though am reminded of Ronald Reagan's remark that the problem with dismissing conspiracy theories is that every now and again, one turns out to be true): in this case that the complete micro BNC jack assembly, including the slotted fastener, came as one SKU: Dolby didn't stop to think that the average cinema tech doesn't work on patch bays containing hundreds of them, and therefore would not need such a pricey and hard to find tool for anything else, and thus would be likely to resort to improved ways of dealing with them, causing faceplate scratches and/or broken fasteners in the process. If they are now swapping them out for regular hex nuts, it would seem that they have responded to customer feedback. Kudos to Dolby if so.

[Marcel Birgelen]

(though am reminded of Ronald Reagan's remark that the problem with dismissing conspiracy theories is that every now and again, one turns out to be true)

I'd like to propose an extended version of Hanlon's razor:
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity, except if it involves a lot of money and power, because then it's most likely both.

[Elia Orselli]

Personally I use a generic plier for circlips like this that I keep in my bag for film projectors:
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Even Dolby understood the wrong choice and replaced that with a simple nut in newer units

[Steve Guttag]

The change coincided with supplying servers without a faceplate...not any admission of being "wrong." When it was assembled at the factory, the standard hardware was fine. When you are expecting field techs to install the faceplate, if you are going to have a special fastener, then you are obligated to supply the tool, in some fashion. Had Dolby kept separate SKUs for the various versions of the server with the different faceplates, I doubt that they would have changed the fastener. Their mistake was not making the faceplate like they did for the CAT745...something the user installs. GDC still keeps separate SKUs for different versions of faceplates on their SR1000 server.