[Milsurplus] MS Connector Shell color

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

John,

Around 1958, either when the nomenclature prefix changed from AN to MS or 
shortly thereafter.  I'm almost sure that I have seen a few marked MS but in the 
clear matte and heavy coat anodize finish.  Could be parts that were in the 
production pipeline when the nomenclature change was made.  But for sure when I 
started buying them for industrial use in the 60's, the stock finish was OD 
chromate conversion.  It appears from reading between the lines in the vintage 
catalogs that the nomenclature prefix changed when the military specification 
(MIL-C-5015) came out.  The rest of the nomenclature (for example, 3106A-28-8S) 
was carried over.  

I have no idea what current costs would be but it is certainly technically 
feasible to disassemble connectors and have them stripped and anodized either 
clear matte or the darker heavy coat.  You will probably be happier with the 
latter as new clear matte is nearly white.  It takes several years to turn the 
color you are probably thinking of.  They are still going to be marked MS of 
course but at least the cable connectors when mated hide the nomenclature.  

For some reason, the nomenclature of the cable clamps (which is always 
visible) remained AN so relatively recent production will still be marked AN3057-n 
(where "n" is the numeric size code).  You will probably want to avoid the 
three-piece AN3057-nA as they didn't come out until after the war.

In a message dated 8/20/2004 10:02:07 PM Central Daylight Time, jfor at quik.com 
writes: 
> Does anyone know when MS connectors changed from aluminum to the current OD
> finish?
> 
> I'm looking for some connectors in the Al finish to get two systems up and
> running. Another possibility might be to get the OD version and strip the
> finish. Any wisdom on list for doing that?
> 

Robert Downs - Houston
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