A-A-55146 Specification
IEEE 488 Compatible Electrical Connector, Miniature Rectangular Receptacle, 24 Position Shielded, Right Angle Polarized Shell, Printed Circuit Board Terminating with locking bail [editor note the words in the document title have been swapped].
PWB Mount GPIB Connector
Military specification A-A-55146 defines an IEEE-488 connector which uses a Printed Wiring Board [PWB] termination via Through Hole pins. The GPIB side is secured by a locking Bail.
Note the usage of the locking bail was never that common, with the screw locks being much more common. Of course when used the bail-lock would alway be on the equipment side of the interface. Related topic: Connector Manufacturers.
As of 2010 the General Purpose Interface Bus is still being widely used in labs, but the interface is in decline on newer equipment. Of course until equipment fails to function in the lab the older gear will not be replaced. Main description of the General Purpose Interface Bus. Additional IEEE488 CIDs.
General requirements for a polarized shell, receptacle, electrical digital interface bus connector. This connector can be used in applications that require conformance to the IEEE 488 interface standard, and require termination to a printed circuit board of up to 3.17 millimeters (.125 inch) thick. The connector is a right angle mount type.
Note that connectors using a Locking-Bail are also in decline, and have not been very common in the last ten years.
This page defines a US government document detailing a Commercial Item Description [CID]. You only really need worry about using a CID if you worked for some government agency, a department of the Military or were under contract to delivery a product to the government. Other wise you could just purchase this style of GPIB connector from any local distributor.
So although the IEEE-488 interface my be in decline, this connector style is obsolete, unless of course you need one to connect to a GPIB interface. The odds of designing a new printed wiring board using a GPIB interface have to be very low. Many new equipment designs communicate using a LAN style interface.
