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A connector assembly that is mountable on a circuit board includes a casing having a metallic housing. The housing has at least one receptacle where a connecting element is mounted. A shielded cable connects between the connecting element and an interconnect that is attached to the casing. The inter

A connector assembly that is mountable on a circuit board includes a casing having a metallic housing. The housing has at least one receptacle where a connecting element is mounted. A shielded cable connects between the connecting element and an interconnect that is attached to the casing. The interconnect has a plurality of contact elements adapted to contact the circuit board. The metallic housing can be fitted with any one of variously colored insulating shells either during manufacture or in the field. The shell can later be slidably removed and replaced, even after the housing was attached to a circuit board. The casings can have dovetail slots that mate with dovetail ridges on an insert used to attach the casings together.

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1. A connector assembly comprising:a casing including a metallic housing and adapted for mounting on a circuit board, said metallic housing having at least one receptacle;at least one connecting element mounted at said at least one receptacle;an interconnect attached to said casing and having a plur

1. A connector assembly comprising:a casing including a metallic housing and adapted for mounting on a circuit board, said metallic housing having at least one receptacle;at least one connecting element mounted at said at least one receptacle;an interconnect attached to said casing and having a plurality of contact elements adapted to contact the circuit board;a shielded cable connected between said connecting element and said interconnect, said shielded cable having a central lead and a coaxial shield both separately connected to corresponding ones of said contact elements; andan annular clip for engaging said receptacle and holding said connecting element in place therein.2. A connector assembly according to claim 1 wherein said shielded cable is rated to carry signals at over 2 GHz.3. A connector assembly according to claim 1 wherein said annular clip encircles said cable and connects said coaxial shield to said metallic housing proximate said receptacle.4. A connector assembly according to claim 1 wherein said at least one receptacle comprises a plurality of receptacles, said at least one connecting element comprising a plurality of conductive elements each in a corresponding one of said receptacles.5. A connector assembly according to claim 4 wherein said metallic housing has said receptacles on one side and on the opposite side has a recess that contains said shielded cable, said metallic housing having a metallic backplate for covering said recess.6. A connector assembly according to claim 4 wherein said shielded cable comprises a plurality of shielded cabling lines, one for each of said receptacles, each of said cabling lines (a) being rated to carry signals at over 2 GHz, and (b) having a central lead and a coaxial shield both separately connected to corresponding ones of said contact elements.7. A connector assembly according to claim 1 wherein said receptacle comprises a metal sleeve surrounding said at least one connecting element.8. A connector assembly according to claim 7 comprising:an insulating collar fastened around a distal end of said connecting element.9. A connector assembly according to claim 1 wherein said interconnect comprises a carrier with openings sized to hold said contact elements, said metallic housing having a hollow for holding said carrier.10. A connector assembly according to claim 1 comprising:an insulating shell sized to fit around said metallic housing.11. A connector assembly according to claim 10 wherein said shell is slidably removable from said metallic housing.12. A connector assembly according to claim 10 wherein said shell is slidably removable from said metallic housing after said contact elements are attached to the circuit board.13. A connector assembly according to claim 10 wherein said shell is slidably removable from said metallic housing, and wherein said shell has at least one subjacent slot giving said contact elements clearance when said shell is being removed.14. A connector assembly according to claim 1 wherein said casing has a dovetail slot, said connector assembly comprising:an insert having on opposite sides a dovetail ridge sized to slide into said dovetail slot, so that by means of said dovetail ridges on said insert said casing can be attached to a similar casing with a similar dovetail slot.15. A connector assembly according to claim 14 wherein said insert has a center plate with said dovetail ridges projecting from opposite sides of said center plate.16. A connector assembly comprising:a casing including a metallic housing and adapted for mounting on a circuit board, said metallic housing having a plurality of receptacles;a plurality of connecting elements each mounted in a corresponding one of said receptacles;an interconnect attached to said casing and having a plurality of contact elements adapted to contact the circuit board; anda plurality of shielded cables, one for each of said receptacles, connected between said plurality of connecting element and said interconnect, each of said plurality of shielded cables (a) being rated to carry signals at over 2 GHz, and (b) having a central lead and a coaxial shield both separately connected to corresponding ones of said contact elements, said shield of each of said cables being connected to said metallic housing proximate said receptacles.17. A connector assembly according to claim 16 wherein said metallic housing has an external grounding tab adapted to attach to the circuit board.18. A connector assembly comprising:a casing including a metallic housing and adapted for mounting on a circuit board, said metallic housing having a plurality receptacles, said metallic housing having a grounding hole for receiving a ground line with sufficient clearance inside said casing to reach said interconnects;a plurality of connecting elements each mounted in a corresponding one of said receptacles:an interconnect attached to said casing and having a plurality of contact elements adapted to contact the circuit board; anda plurality of shielded cables connected between said connecting elements and said interconnect.19. A connector assembly comprising:a casing including a metallic housing and adapted for mounting on a circuit board, said metallic housing having at least one receptacle;at least one connecting element mounted at said at least one receptacle, said receptacle comprising a metal sleeve surrounding said at least one connecting element;an insulating collar fastened around a distal end of said connecting element;an insulating knob fitted around a proximal end of said connecting element;an annular clip for engaging said receptacle and holding said insulating knob in place therein;an interconnect attached to said casing and having a plurality of contact elements adapted to contact the circuit board; anda shielded cable connected between said connecting element and said interconnect.20. A connector assembly comprising:a casing including a metallic housing and adapted for mounting on a circuit board, said metallic housing having at least one receptacle;at least one connecting element mounted at said at least one receptacle, said receptacle comprising a metal sleeve surrounding said at least one connecting element;an insulating shell sized to fit around said metallic housing, said shell having a threaded barrel sized to encompass at least a portion of said metal sleeve;an interconnect attached to said casing and having a plurality of contact elements adapted to contact the circuit board; anda shielded cable connected between said connecting element and said interconnect.21. A connector assembly according to claim 20 comprising:a capacitive element, said shell having an aperture sized to hold said capacitive element; anda metal structure for holding said capacitive element in said aperture against said metallic housing, said structure extending to a position adjacent said threaded barrel, so that the connector assembly can be mounted on a conductive panel that is then capacitively coupled to said metallic housing.22. A connector assembly method employing a plurality of variously colored insulating shells and a metallic housing having a receptacle and contact elements, said shells having an aperture, the method comprising the steps of:bringing the metallic housing to the vicinity of a circuit board;selecting one of the variously colored insulating shells and fitting it around the metallic housing;connecting the contact elements to the circuit boards;installing a capacitive element in the aperture of the shell to contact said metallic housing;attaching a conductive element that reaches from the capacitive element to a position adjacent the receptacle; andattaching the receptacle of the metallic housing at an opening in a metal panel to make continuity from it through said conductive element to said capacitive element.23. A connector assembly method according to claim 22 comprising the step of:sliding the selected one of said variously colored insulating shells off said metallic housing; andselecting another one of the variously colored insulating shells and fitting it around the metallic housing while installed on the circuit board.