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Reviews For: West Mountain Radio RIGrunner 4005

Category: DC Power Supply Distribution

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Review Summary For : West Mountain Radio RIGrunner 4005
Reviews: 18MSRP: 49.95
Description:
Description: A RIGrunner is the most convenient and safest way to connect all your 12 VDC equipment to a power source. It is a 13.8 VDC power panel that uses the excellent Anderson PowerPole connectors. Standardize all of your 12 VDC connections using the amateur radio ARES & RACES, RSGB, ARRL PowerPole system. The RIGrunner 4005 is rated at 40 amps maximum and has 5 outlets.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.westmountainradio.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00184.4
K6SDW Rating: 2016-12-18
It works Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It works......my only wish is that it had an LED to indicate it was receiving DC power
N1NAZ Rating: 2015-03-26
4005i Good But Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is for the 4005i Rigrunner.
First the Good
Great product for turning your equipment on and off from the "NET", also has good information off of the front panel display. Easy to program the "FUSED" output values.
The Bad, Sort of.
If you are going to be using this with any kind of lower than normal voltage source (IE battery as opposed to a power supply) be aware that at 20amps this will have a ~.6v drop (measured). Which with adding all the other possible drops in your "power system" could have an effect on your rig.
I run solar power and at times the voltage level would drop to below 11.5v loaded(at 20A) from 12.6v unloaded. This is just the nature of the 4005i's circuit.

George N1NAZ
K3VAT Rating: 2012-03-07
very convenient, quality materials, good service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Before the Rigrunner 4005 the back of my equipment desk was a rat's nest with twisted up cables, several cables way to long for the particular application, and cables where you couldn't tell which was the hot from the ground. Sometimes the power cables would work free of the power supply causing problems. I needed a solution. Rigrunner 4005 was the answer. I had WestMountainRadio guys make me up 4 custom length cables for the various boxes requiring 12vdc. Each cable had the correct power plug and a powerpole connector on the other.
WD0FIA Rating: 2012-01-11
Nice unit! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have always Anderson Power Poles, but never used them for power distribution.

The Rigrunners replace a bunch of cables and screw terminal strips. It will make it much easier to swap out radios!

Plus it makes for a higher XYL approval rating of my Shack.
W9TAM Rating: 2011-05-26
A must for mobile use Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It just works. I love it when things just work.

After three years of being velcroed to the floor under my driver's seat, I pulled it out tonight (only to replace it with a 4004U so I can more easily charge USB stuff in the car). Aside from some dust, it doesn't look any worse for the wear. It has worked flawlessly, and I expect to get many more years out of it in my shack.
K3JPC Rating: 2011-02-20
Awesome customer service! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am putting together a go-kit with a RigRunner 4005 in it so I can power my radio from my car wiring, from a power supply or from my battery power. The RigRunner makes it really simple. I mounted the radio and other components in a wooden box open in the front/back and mounted the RigRunner behind the remote speaker. All my power supply cables terminate in a powerpole connector and I just put the box down and plug in.

As part of my go-kit, I got the car charger receptacle from West Mountain Radio, but it was wired backwards with the center conductor wired to the negative. Although the Powerpole connectors are color coded, the zip cord on the receptacle is all black and they reverse-wired it. This blew my Icom CP-19R car charger for my Icom IC-T70 H/T. I determined the problem after the fact with a multimeter. Since the wiring of these receptacles is standardized and the powerpoles are color coded, it did not occur to me to check it out first, hence the blown adapter.

However, when I let West Mountain know they shipped out a new Icom adapter and a few Powerpole connectors in a plastic bag so I could rewire the receptacle, and several other connections. It arrived within a few days!

Kudos to a company that makes a great product and stands behind it and makes their customers happy when there is a goof. No firm can run mistake-free, but the measure of a great company is how they handle the occasional goof. I give West Mountain AAA+ ! Thanks to Joey Didion, their customer service manager.

John
K5ADF Rating: 2008-12-07
Works well Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I use this Rigrunner in my Ford Ranger mounted on the floor behind the driver's seat. The IC7000 and FT8800 are mounted beside the Rigrunner. The antenna is a High Sierra 1800 with a TurboTuner. I have the transceivers and Rigrunner mounted on plywood and bolted to the floor. I used cable clamps mounted on the plywood to secure the DC wires to keep them from moving around. I have not had an issue with the anderson power poles disconnecting in the several years it has been in place. When I take the truck in for maintenance, I simply unplug the DC feed from the battery. All so very easy. I would recommend that the DC cables be secured from excess movement.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K5ADF on 2008-11-11

I have one of these horizontally mounted in my pickup behind the driver's seat for the last four years. It supplies power to both my IC7000 and FT8800 plus accessories. I have not had the problem with the anderson powerpoles coming loose that others have mentioned. The RIGrunner is mounted to a plywood board, which is mounted to the floor of the pickup. The cables are tied to the board with nylon cable clamps to prevent them from moving around. The two transceivers are also mounted to the board with the remote heads mounted on the dash. The RIGrunner allows me to quickly power additional units when I am doing public service gigs and need additional mobile DC power. When I take the truck in for regular maintenance, I simply unplug the DC feed line so that the radios cannot be accidentally turned on. All so easy.
N5CSU Rating: 2008-12-07
Great Quality Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had 2 of these in use now for several years in mobile and fixed use, and they have operated flawlessly. Highly recommended.
KA0SOG Rating: 2008-08-21
Service from West Mountain Another Dissappointment Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I went on line to get a return authorization and they did but rethinking also emailed and asked for my money back to their sales office. 60 days later no response. Maybe I can use it in my HO train layout. Product is in my mind unsafe for mobile and high amp application by virtue of Anderson Power Poles. I would not feel that way if they used a stud and ring terminal design. Granted I should have kept focus and followed up sooner but to not hear a thing just doesn't feel very good.

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Earlier 2-star review posted by KA0SOG on 2008-06-06

Despite my initial enthusiasm in my first post. The connectors don't really snap in and I have had leads pop off a couple of times. Frustrating, I am close to supergluing the connectors to the sockets and if I change something later throw the whole thing away as a lesson learned. I really can't recommend the product anymore.
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Earlier 4-star review posted by KA0SOG on 2008-05-10

Great concept, hope it becomes a standard with all mfgs and in the auto industry. Huge safety improvement for my vehicle. I run a Kenwood 480SSAT, Kenwood 710, GPS, Tarheel Antenna (powered screwdriver antenna) and a GAP Hearit in-line audio processor. I needed a product just like this for safe electrical distributuion.

One annoying attribute that got it a 4 not a 5. A 6'foot power cable is two short for a mobile install for a full size vehicle i.e. my GMC pickup. It was about 2 feet too short. The additional fifty cents they didn't spend would have saved me from going up to Lowes and buying enough 10 guage wire to make an eight foot cable. Just plain silly.

I highly recommend this entire product line for the safety of your vehicle and it's inhabitants. If you drive a Honda your in good shape right out of the box. If you drive full size pick-up or SUV (a real automobile) then plan on getting a longer power cable.
K1RAT Rating: 2007-02-17
Fantastic! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had the 4005 as my DC distribution panel in my car for about 5 years now. Its connected directly to the battery and is velcroed deep in the passenger footwell high enough so its not "kicked". Its survived those errant toe "jabs" from some passengers and the dirty/dusty environment down there. Its just keeps working with practically zero maintainance.

Well made product that does exactly as it advertises!