We now have a source for those much-sought-after plastic SMA finger wrenches!
Bracke Manufacturing manager Lawrence Pasternack
(not to be confused with that other company's name) sent me an email today
saying that Bracke Mfg will be glad to mail anyone who
requests
them a sample of up to five (5) of the SMA finger wrenches - what a guy! I'm guessing he saw the plea posted here
on RF Cafe and on various forums for people looking desperately
for the things. The
SMA finger (thumb)
wrench, known also by its Latin binomial nomenclature of 'digitus
divellit,' is a rare breed of tool for the RF / microwave engineer, and appears to be indigenous
to industry trade shows like International Microwave Symposium
(MTT-S) and European Microwave Conference. SMA finger wrenches
are known to be found in jars sitting on display booth counters and in the pockets of engineers and technicians
who procure them while in a primal hunter-gather mode. They tend to cling like cockleburs to passers-by and then
reappear a short while later in the show-goer's natural habitat of a development laboratory or test station. One
might assume due to a proven difficulty in acquiring SMA finger wrenches outside of the trade shows that they are
a protected species and cannot be sold on the open market - like ivory and black coral. An attempt to locate 'digitus
divellit' on anyone's endangered species list proved
futile, though. So, three cheers for Bracke Manufacturing for stepping up and delivering a treasured resource for
our brethren. While you're requesting your free SMA finger wrenches, please be sure to manifest your appreciation
by checking out their huge selection of RF and microwave components.
BTW,
Mini Circuits now has a different type of SMA wrench that can be used in dense connector environments.
Maybe the word is really getting out.
Posted April 17, 2014
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