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Reviews For: Anderson Powerpoles

Category: DC Power Supply Distribution

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Review Summary For : Anderson Powerpoles
Reviews: 195MSRP: varies
Description:
Anderson PowerPoles are the ultimate wiring connectors you can use in your ham shack. Once you try them, you'll never use anything else for everything from battery connectivity to removable master power links.
PowerPole Features:
Flat wiping contact system
Interchangeable Genderless design
Colored, Modular housings
Polarized housings
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.powerwerx.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
1041953.7
K1YPB Rating: 2012-05-05
Great Connector Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a really good connector "system". I use them through out my shack. I think the problems that some are experiencing are due to improper or inadequate assembly. I find the best way is to solder the terminals to the wire. Then I put a dab of superglue in the groove when sliding the connector bodies together before locking them in place with the dowel pin. Once the terminals click into the connector body it is a strong durable connection. I have never had a durability issue with this connector system. I highly recommend it over other connector designs.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K1YPB on 2008-10-13

I use them and find them to work perfectly as advertised. The key to success with these connectors is to properly assemble them. I solder mine rather than crimp. Every connector I have assembled works well, and has really simplified the connection system of my 12 volt radios and equipment. For me they were worth the investment.
W6CD Rating: 2012-05-05
Used for radio control hobby and ham radio - I like them. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Is there a better connector? Sure, most probably.

But they work well if properly assembled using a good tool. To keep pairs from coming apart, I use a drop of super glue - now they are available already bonded together.

I appreciate the standardization - many interconnectioning gizmos are available and that an increasing number of devices are using them chassis mounted as well.
K3AN Rating: 2012-05-04
No Problems Here Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Looking at some recent reviews for these devices I think some folks simply aren't assembling them properly. Solder or crimp, they both make good connections. However, you MUST get the conductor pin all the way into the plastic body until it "clicks" into its locked position. This puts the end of the pin over and just beyond the spring metal strip. It's a faint click but even my old ears can hear it. Once you do that there's no way the pin will pull back out or rotate in its housing. Using the maximum gauge wire that is also thickly insulated can prevent this proper seating, but all the red/black zip cord I've used fits just fine. Now that Anderson can supply an accessory that locks a mated pair together, there's no reason to be using anything else for your 12 VDC power wiring.


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Earlier 4-star review posted by K3AN on 2006-01-25

It's not intuitively obvious how to assemble a Power Pole, but once you figure it out, assembly is easy and they provide a reliable connection. If you do it wrong, you'll be disappointed with the results.

I gave them a 4 instead of a 5 only because they're not weatherproof, and there's no weatherproof version that I'm aware of. But they're still installed on all my 12 Volt equipment.

WA4MLD Rating: 2012-05-04
Great product when used properly. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had problems with PowerPoles till I decided to always solder them, a very minor inconvenience. I don't like crimped connectors of ANY kind, though I am sure there are some who will disagree. Molex connectors are notorious for voltage drop upon repeated use. In fact I've had Molexes overheat, melt, and nearly catch fire from the power drawn by a 50 watt 2-meter rig. Sure, PowerPoles will pull apart -- better than pulling a wire out of a connector and risking sparks! As far as the cost -- what else will handle 30 amps of juice for a buck?
N2HBX Rating: 2012-05-04
No problems Time Owned: more than 12 months.
If your connectors are twisting or pulling out of the housings, you're not putting them together properly. If your connectors are pulling apart during use, you've got them under way too much tension. Also, you don't need to buy the complete connector if you happen to need a larger wire capacity. Most dealers sell the contacts alone as a separate item, and the 15, 30, and 45 Amp all fit the same housings. Yes, it does take some practice to assemble and utilize them, just like acquiring any new skill. But, once you get the hang of it, they are a reliable and simple connector. The problem with Molex style connectors is there can be significant differences in connector pin dimensions across brands, resulting in intermittent connections. Not so with the powerpoles. I have used them quite successfully in both amateur and commercial applications. I recommend them highly.
73,
Larry, N2HBX
KH6DC Rating: 2012-05-04
Awful Connector System Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Someone at EMCOMM, Civil Defense, ARES, RACES must be getting kickbacks in order to specify this as the standard connector. Not only do the wires pull out after crimping, you waste several installing them as they don't lock nicely into the plastic body. Not only are these hyped out to the max, they aren't cheap. They're just plain garbage that's not even MIL-SPEC and the military won't use. I'm going back to bullet crimp connectors and molex.
KD6AAJ Rating: 2012-04-11
30 Amp plugs should accept 10 AWG wire! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It defeats the purpose when a plug rated 30 Amps will not accept 30 Amp wire (10 AWG). So, I have to use the 45 Amp plugs for 30 Amps?

Also, any twisting motion of the wire causes the conatcts inside to rotate, creating less surface area for current to flow accross the contacts.

I've unpugged my cables before and found the contacts rotated to a 45 degree angle!

I've also had the contacts partialy pull out of the housing, which exposed the conductor. The exposed wire eventualy shorted to ground in my vehicle, resulting in a blown fuse durring a QSO.

My fix was to hot glue the wire pair to the connector to prevent wire twist inside of the connectors.

Conclusion:

Not bad for lower guage wire, but bad with the max size wire that fits the 30 Amp connector. I may have to upgrade to the 75 Amp connectors for my mobile applications.
K7CB Rating: 2012-02-06
Nice Idea But... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I like the idea behind Anderson Powerpoles, but I've had nothing but problems with them. I own two different crimping tools for making these connectors. On the first one I bought, the TRIcrimp from PowerWerx, you couldn't ever get the connector out of the die after crimping. Because of the ratcheting action of the tool, the only way to get it open again is to make sure you squeeze the device all the way. Doing so causes the connector to get stuck in the die. You need to use a pair of pliers to pull the damn thing out and doing so makes the connector unusable. Thinking it was a problem with the tool itself, I bought the PowerWerx PP15/30 Crimping Tool. I have no problems getting the connector out of the tool...but it also bends it up in such a way that you can't get the connector to slide into the housing. I end up going through four or five connectors just get one usable one...making it a rather expensive connector. I'm seriously considering just putting banana plugs on all the my radios. I believe MFJ makes a power distribution system similar to the Rig Runner but uses banana plugs instead. I might have to look into it.
W4OP Rating: 2012-02-06
Very Nice, Robust Connector Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I too changed over to PowerPoles some years back and have never regretted it.
Very easy and quick to assemble and rugged.
I don't think the previous poster understands how to assemble them and has not used the roll pin keeper.

I would not want banana plugs with high current rolling around my shack waiting to short.
Dale W4OP
HFHAM2 Rating: 2012-02-06
Garbage ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
These are the most hyped and expensive pieces of garbage I've ever come across. It's not apparent how they're supposed to fit together and they pull apart at the slightest pull. Inexpensive Banana plugs are better connectors than these.