"gareth" wrote in message
...
Decided to Power Pole all the 12V gear here

First sttempt at crimping seems to have failed because the connector would
not
slide easily into the shroud, and it was a devil of a job to get the hook
over the end of the flat spring.


Re-reading the gen, it would appear that the crimping has ended up too flat
such that even
when clipped in, there is no free movement of the wire end. portending a bad
contact if I continue.

(I expected to have to sacrifice the first attempt, but any suggestions,
please?)

" It is also worth investing in some of the accessories- eg the PVC
'boots' and panel mount holders, plus the pins to 'lock' blocks of
connectors together if you are making your own multi-way connectors. "

The Power Pole manufacturers love you guys ! Used to be you could just
simply hook up a piece of gear to your power supply - not they have ops
buying special tools, connectors, cables, boots and what have you
just to make a connection. What a racket! Turn a free activity into
something that costs you money.

73

On 01/18/2016 08:05 AM, gareth wrote:
"gareth" wrote in message
...
Decided to Power Pole all the 12V gear here

First sttempt at crimping seems to have failed because the connector would
not
slide easily into the shroud, and it was a devil of a job to get the hook
over the end of the flat spring.


Re-reading the gen, it would appear that the crimping has ended up too flat
such that even
when clipped in, there is no free movement of the wire end. portending a bad
contact if I continue.

(I expected to have to sacrifice the first attempt, but any suggestions,
please?)

"gareth" wrote in message
...
"gareth" wrote in message
...
Decided to Power Pole all the 12V gear here
First sttempt at crimping seems to have failed because the connector would
not
slide easily into the shroud, and it was a devil of a job to get the hook
over the end of the flat spring.
Re-reading the gen, it would appear that the crimping has ended up too
flat such that even
when clipped in, there is no free movement of the wire end. portending a
bad contact if I continue.
(I expected to have to sacrifice the first attempt, but any suggestions,
please?)


Problem solved by resorting to soldering. In any case, the guy who lent me
the
crimpers had been using them for the 100A, or thereabouts, versions for his
5" gauge battery-powered Claas 45 diesel outline, so no wonder that even the
smallest setting on his crimpers wouldn't close properly on a 30A jobbie.

"gareth" wrote in message
...
"gareth" wrote in message
...
"gareth" wrote in message
...
Decided to Power Pole all the 12V gear here
First sttempt at crimping seems to have failed because the connector
would not
slide easily into the shroud, and it was a devil of a job to get the hook
over the end of the flat spring.
Re-reading the gen, it would appear that the crimping has ended up too
flat such that even
when clipped in, there is no free movement of the wire end. portending a
bad contact if I continue.
(I expected to have to sacrifice the first attempt, but any suggestions,
please?)
Problem solved by resorting to soldering. In any case, the guy who lent me
the
crimpers had been using them for the 100A, or thereabouts, versions for
his
5" gauge battery-powered Claas 45 diesel outline, so no wonder that even
the
smallest setting on his crimpers wouldn't close properly on a 30A jobbie.

Now, whereas the G0HWC websire recommends a roll pin to stop the black and
red pair
separating, and others have decried that lest the pin falls out and causes
an electrical short,
as I have a bucketful of 8BA ex-eqpt screws, perhaps the answer might be to
tap that little
hole to take a machine screw.

Brian Reay wrote:
Reynard wrote:
" It is also worth investing in some of the accessories- eg the PVC
'boots' and panel mount holders, plus the pins to 'lock' blocks of
connectors together if you are making your own multi-way connectors. "

The Power Pole manufacturers love you guys ! Used to be you could just
simply hook up a piece of gear to your power supply - not they have ops
buying special tools, connectors, cables, boots and what have you
just to make a connection. What a racket! Turn a free activity into
something that costs you money.



Things like Powerpoles are convenient, give a neat finish, and prevent
silly errors (if used correctly). If you don't think those are worth
investing in, fine, you are free not to.

I don't like them because there appears to be no chassis version and
I like to have a distribution box where everything can be connected,
vs a big tangle of wires with connectors in the middle.

"gareth" wrote in message
...



All is rosy now in the garden,and thanks for suggestions.

Now, all I need is a 1/4" or so plug and socket so that I can quickly attach
the
ground terminal to whichever rig is now powerpoled to the ATU and the PSU.

I'm using the green/yellow 10mm sq stuff used for earthing in Brit, and 'tis
a bit
unwieldy to keep fiddling with the wing nut attachment on the back of each
rig.

Shack is upstairs, front bedroom, earth is ground stake and a fan of
microbore tubing apread out over the front lawn. House earth is a TT
installation so no
probs with PME, etc.

I have been only soldering them for some years. I saw in a recent QST
article that you really must crimp them, but no reason given for why.
I find doing it with solder (a) makes it a lot easier to keep the
"hollow end" of the PowerPole round so that it fits easily in the
plastic cover and (b) also makes them fairly easy to take apart without
damage so that I can reuse the PowerPole.
(I do have a fancy, fairly professional, set of crimping tools, but I
also found the terminals frequently got "squished" out of shape."
Bob Wilson

On 1/18/2016 12:00 PM, gareth wrote:
"gareth" wrote in message
...
"gareth" wrote in message
...
Decided to Power Pole all the 12V gear here
First sttempt at crimping seems to have failed because the connector would
not
slide easily into the shroud, and it was a devil of a job to get the hook
over the end of the flat spring.
Re-reading the gen, it would appear that the crimping has ended up too
flat such that even
when clipped in, there is no free movement of the wire end. portending a
bad contact if I continue.
(I expected to have to sacrifice the first attempt, but any suggestions,
please?)


Problem solved by resorting to soldering. In any case, the guy who lent me
the
crimpers had been using them for the 100A, or thereabouts, versions for his
5" gauge battery-powered Claas 45 diesel outline, so no wonder that even the
smallest setting on his crimpers wouldn't close properly on a 30A jobbie.



I

On 1/18/2016 1:06 PM, Rob wrote:
Brian Reay wrote:
Reynard wrote:
" It is also worth investing in some of the accessories- eg the PVC
'boots' and panel mount holders, plus the pins to 'lock' blocks of
connectors together if you are making your own multi-way connectors. "

The Power Pole manufacturers love you guys ! Used to be you could just
simply hook up a piece of gear to your power supply - not they have ops
buying special tools, connectors, cables, boots and what have you
just to make a connection. What a racket! Turn a free activity into
something that costs you money.



Things like Powerpoles are convenient, give a neat finish, and prevent
silly errors (if used correctly). If you don't think those are worth
investing in, fine, you are free not to.

I don't like them because there appears to be no chassis version and
I like to have a distribution box where everything can be connected,
vs a big tangle of wires with connectors in the middle.

There actually are chassis mount versions, e.g.
http://www.amazon.com/Anderson-1470G.../dp/B00IHOC8QA.
But anywhere I have seen them they have been much more expensive than
the "end of the wire" versions that I keep in stock.
But note that several recent radios (e.g. Yaesu Ft2900r) have their
power connections (typically Molex) on the end of a short pigtail. We
can do likewise, short wires through a grommet or strain relief on the
chassis and PowerPoles on their ends. That does not take care of your
distribution box too well and it is not as pretty even for other uses,
I'd rather have the chassis versions too, but not at their prices!
Bob Wilson

On 18/01/2016 19:06, Rob wrote:
Brian Reay wrote:
Reynard wrote:
" It is also worth investing in some of the accessories- eg the PVC
'boots' and panel mount holders, plus the pins to 'lock' blocks of
connectors together if you are making your own multi-way connectors. "

The Power Pole manufacturers love you guys ! Used to be you could just
simply hook up a piece of gear to your power supply - not they have ops
buying special tools, connectors, cables, boots and what have you
just to make a connection. What a racket! Turn a free activity into
something that costs you money.



Things like Powerpoles are convenient, give a neat finish, and prevent
silly errors (if used correctly). If you don't think those are worth
investing in, fine, you are free not to.

I don't like them because there appears to be no chassis version and
I like to have a distribution box where everything can be connected,
vs a big tangle of wires with connectors in the middle.


http://lmgtfy.com/?q=chassis+mount+powerpole

"Bob Wilson" wrote in message
...
I have been only soldering them for some years. I saw in a recent QST
article that you really must crimp them, but no reason given for why.
I find doing it with solder (a) makes it a lot easier to keep the "hollow
end" of the PowerPole round so that it fits easily in the plastic cover
and (b) also makes them fairly easy to take apart without damage so that I
can reuse the PowerPole.
(I do have a fancy, fairly professional, set of crimping tools, but I also
found the terminals frequently got "squished" out of shape."
Bob Wilson


Crimping works well if the correct type of tool is used. I have an
inexpensive crimper that is made for the power poles and have no problem
with them. Is that set you have made especially for the power poles ?

Stranded wire is recommended to be crimped because if it is soldered it
becomes the equal of a solid wire where the solder wicks up the wire and if
flexed or bent many times it may break. If you don't worry about the wire
breaking then soldering is fine.
Solid wire does not crimp well.