Pigtail Connectors

A pigtail connector on a shield modifies the shield at the connector to represent a wire that can then be directly grounded. Such a configuration allows the division of current at the shield end to divide, as illustrated in Figure 5.5.4.1. Some of the current will flow to the inner conductors and some will flow along the pigtail. All pigtails must be grounded using a circuit termination. The drawing in the figure shows a pigtail grounded to a bulkhead. The presence of a pigtail also allows external energy to couple directly to the inner conductors as illustrated in the figure.