[Discuss] Great talks last night, however...

Thu Jul 20 18:37:54 EDT 2017

The $16 one isn't just as good. That's a non-ratcheting tool. It's hard to
get the right amount of crimping pressure with those. I don't recommend
going that way.

The ones in the $30 range are better. $29 with ten pairs of connectors
thrown in looks like a deal. Another option that I found in a Google search
is to buy the PowerPole die (the ham companies sell them separately for $25
and they're a bit cheaper on eBay) and combine it with a cheap crimp tool
from Harbor Freight - total cost $30-35 but that doesn't include any
connectors.

On Thu, Jul 20, 2017 at 5:24 PM, A. Richard Miller <
TheMillers at millermicro.com> wrote:

> And some of these PowerPole crimpers cost even less and are just as good:
> https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=
> powerpole+crimping+tool&_sop=15
> https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_sop=
> 15&_nkw=power+pole+crimping+tool&_blrs=spell_check
>
> Cheers from
> --Dick Miller, Partner, MMS <TheMillers at millermicro.com>
>    Co-Leader, FOSS User Group at Natick Community-Senior Center
> <http://millermicro.com/FOSSUserGroupNatick.html>
>
>
> On 07/20/2017 02:51 PM, Shirley Márquez Dúlcey wrote:
>
> I second the recommendation for PowerPoles. They work well, they're
> easy to connect and disconnect, they won't be confused with connectors
> for other things, and a lot of the ham radio community has
> standardized on them. The only downside is that the tool for
> assembling them is a bit costly (around $50); if you only have a few
> to do try to borrow the crimping tool rather than buying one. (That's
> the price for the crimping tools from ham companies. The official
> Anderson ones are a LOT more expensive, so don't buy those.)
>
> Those Philmore connectors are PowerPole clones. At the sources I
> checked (Amazon and eBay) they cost more than real PowerPoles from the
> usual ham sources (PowerWerx, Quicksilver Radio, West Mountain Radio),
> so there is no reason to buy them. All three of the ham companies I
> named are good sources; if you run into any of them at a hamfest you
> can buy from them with confidence.
>
> You can also buy PowerPole components from Mouser, but you have to buy
> at least 100 at a time for them to be cheaper than buying from the ham
> suppliers. They sell the parts separately; you need a black housing, a
> red housing, and two contacts to make a complete set. There are two
> different versions of the contacts; one with round ends with a slit
> and another with vertical tabs. For crimping with a tool you want the
> round ones.
>
> The PowerPoles that hams use come in 15A, 30A, and 45A versions. The
> housings are the same and they all interconnect; the only difference
> is the size of wire that the contacts are designed to accept. If you
> try to use a small wire in a high power contact you won't get a good
> crimp; if you try to use a big wire in a low power contact it won't
> fit. Power handling capability is limited to the lower of the ratings
> in the connection. There are also larger PowerPoles for higher current
> connections; they don't mate with the 15A-45A versions.
>
> If you want to use PowerPoles for something other than DC power
> connections in the 12V neighborhood, you should make them distinct
> from the ham power connection standard in some way. Use different
> colors, a different configuration of jacks, whatever. That way nobody
> will plug your other thing into a 12V power supply.
>
> The best prize I ever won at a hamfest was an AndyCrimp - the old
> dedicated version, not the Pro with interchangeable dies. Not quite up
> there with getting a KX3 but it's been very useful.
>
> On Thu, Jul 20, 2017 at 2:12 PM, Brian DeLacey <bdelacey at gmail.com> <bdelacey at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the PowerWerks pointer ... and
>
> Remember the meeting  / talk reminder and disclaimer, not to do any of this
> at home  ..
>
> There was a lot of encouraging discussion about education and learning
> about these topics ..
>
> How does Anderson compare to Philmore DC 30A Quick Disconnect?
>
> Brian
>
> On Thu, Jul 20, 2017 at 12:57 PM, Bill Ricker <bill.n1vux at gmail.com> <bill.n1vux at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> On Jul 20, 2017 10:15 AM, "Bill Bogstad" <bogstad at pobox.com> <bogstad at pobox.com> wrote:
>
> I have to repeat my negative reaction to the idea that one would
> consider using polarized AC plugs/sockets for low voltage DC
> interconnects.  That is probably as bad an idea as ...
>
>
> Seconded.
> And totally in contradiction to any underwriting, code, or best practices.
> No No No.
> This is a recipe for a housefire with insurance claim denied.
>
> DC POWER
> Anderson power pole is a DC semi standard.
> My preferred supplier aside from MIT SwapMeet ishttps://powerwerx.com/dc-power-products
> (Their new england distributor comes to NEARfest)
>
> Re Coax DC seehttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_power_connector#
> Listing_of_DC_coaxial_connectors
>
> (I have one ancient piece of test equipment with dual power options. It has
> a 4 pole Cinch-Jones port with one pair AC, one pair DC so you can only
> connect one cord. CJ is polarized |= so hard to screwup ...)
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