N9PUZ
Tim McDonough, Springfield, Illinois, USA
This page was last updated on September 24, 2002
Discussing the "best" type and style of DC power connector to use in your Ham shack or vehicle can be a tumultuous subject. Often it can spark debate where emotions run high and tempers can flare--not unlike discussing politics or religion in some circles! I'm going to easily avoid all those problems and simply state that I happen to like the Anderson Power Pole connectors; I use them on all my DC powered equipment; and, I don't care whether you use them or something else.
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Anderson Power Products makes a wide variety of industrial strength electrical connectors rated from just a few Amps through hundreds of Amps of current carrying capacity. Powerpole® connectors in the 15 Amp, 30 Amp, and 45 Amp sizes are most commonly used in our applications. The three terminal types are shown here. |
The cool thing about these three sizes is that a common outer housing or "shell" is used and the current rating is based on the wire size that the terminal will accomodate. The actual contact mating area is the same so if you have an adapter with a 15 Amp contact it will plug up with an extension cable that has 45 Amp contacts just as easily as it will another 30 Amp one.
Coming Soon... Photos of various useful adapters as well as soldering and crimping techniques. Stay tuned!