It's not been an issue for me until this Christmas when my wife
decided to get me a VHF/UHF mobile rig. I've been using an older Icom
2 meter rig in both the cars for years so both cars have Icom power
cables in place, but the new rig doesn't use the same power
connectors.

I'd like to settle on a common power connector for both the radios,
but I'm not all that sure where to go to find something that is
reasonably priced and is not going to disappear in the future and
force me to go out and buy all new connectors again.

I figured I'd not remove any of the existing connectors on the radios,
but build up short jumpers that adapt to the connector of choice. I
also figured that I'd use the existing power wires by replacing the
current Icom power connector with what ever I pick.

Any suggestions on what to use and where to get them?

-= bob =-

"KC4UAI" wrote ...
It's not been an issue for me until this Christmas when my wife
decided to get me a VHF/UHF mobile rig. I've been using an older Icom
2 meter rig in both the cars for years so both cars have Icom power
cables in place, but the new rig doesn't use the same power
connectors.

I'd like to settle on a common power connector for both the radios,
but I'm not all that sure where to go to find something that is
reasonably priced and is not going to disappear in the future and
force me to go out and buy all new connectors again.

I figured I'd not remove any of the existing connectors on the radios,
but build up short jumpers that adapt to the connector of choice. I
also figured that I'd use the existing power wires by replacing the
current Icom power connector with what ever I pick.

Any suggestions on what to use and where to get them?

Many groups seem to have standardized on power connectors
for interchangability reasons during events (including real
disasters, etc.) For example, in my area the PowerPole
connectors from Amp are the standard.

I buy my supplies from my specialty dealer (who is a ham)...
http://www.dcpwr.com/ But the connectors and accessories
are available from many places.

KE7GKP

In article
,
KC4UAI wrote:

It's not been an issue for me until this Christmas when my wife
decided to get me a VHF/UHF mobile rig. I've been using an older Icom
2 meter rig in both the cars for years so both cars have Icom power
cables in place, but the new rig doesn't use the same power
connectors.

I'd like to settle on a common power connector for both the radios,
but I'm not all that sure where to go to find something that is
reasonably priced and is not going to disappear in the future and
force me to go out and buy all new connectors again.

I figured I'd not remove any of the existing connectors on the radios,
but build up short jumpers that adapt to the connector of choice. I
also figured that I'd use the existing power wires by replacing the
current Icom power connector with what ever I pick.

Any suggestions on what to use and where to get them?

-= bob =-

What I did years ago was build a Conversion Cable using the Propritay
Power Plug of each rig and a common AMphenol Power Connector, with
say 3 inches of wire in between. The Amp Connectors can be had from
DigiKey, Mouser, even Jameco, or your local Electronic Components Supply
House, and you just buy a dozen extra for stock, and your set for
life.....

Bruce in alaska
--
add path before @

"KC4UAI" wrote in message

: : It's not been an issue for me until this Christmas when
: : my wife decided to get me a VHF/UHF mobile rig. I've
: : been using an older Icom 2 meter rig in both the cars
: : for years so both cars have Icom power cables in place,
: : but the new rig doesn't use the same power connectors.
: :
: : I'd like to settle on a common power connector for both
: : the radios, but I'm not all that sure where to go to
: : find something that is reasonably priced and is not
: : going to disappear in the future and force me to go out
: : and buy all new connectors again.
: :
: : I figured I'd not remove any of the existing connectors
: : on the radios, but build up short jumpers that adapt to
: : the connector of choice. I also figured that I'd use
: : the existing power wires by replacing the current Icom
: : power connector with what ever I pick.
: :
: : Any suggestions on what to use and where to get them?
: :
: : -= bob =-

I use "bullet" connectors, common in the UK for making up power leads, not
sure if you have them in the US..?

Here's a link to a UK supplier, you can see there what they are, obviously
you would use them in a polarised fashion, with the female connector on
the "live" feed from the battery.

These are the female ones:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...2724&doy=18m12

Male:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...e=14&doy=18m12


Hope this helps, note to whoever moderates this, I know it's a commercial
site but it's intended purely as a means of showing the type of connector
I mean :-)

73 Ivor G6URP

"KC4UAI" wrote in message
...

I'd like to settle on a common power connector for both the radios,
but I'm not all that sure where to go to find something that is
reasonably priced and is not going to disappear in the future and
force me to go out and buy all new connectors again.

Icom VHF radios now all use the same T connector, and I believe almost all
other major manufacturers have moved to that connector for VHF/UHF radios.
Different connector for HF, tho. As KE7GKP points out, a *LOT* of groups
are moving to Anderson Power Pole connectors as a common connector, and this
is pretty convenient around the shack, too. Simply make a pigtail for each
rig with an APP connector, and now anything can connect anywhere, and odds
are your local club or ARES group will have a similar convention.

One of the issues has been that lower cost/smaller connectors could not
handle the current required for HF radios. While they APPs are available
for different current levels, they can interconnect. So you can put a 45
amp connector on your power supply and plug in a radio with a 15 amp
connector.

...

On Dec 18, 1:10 pm, "xpyttl" wrote:

Icom VHF radios now all use the same T connector, and I believe almost all
other major manufacturers have moved to that connector for VHF/UHF radios.
Different connector for HF, tho. As KE7GKP points out, a *LOT* of groups
are moving to Anderson Power Pole connectors as a common connector, and this
is pretty convenient around the shack, too. Simply make a pigtail for each
rig with an APP connector, and now anything can connect anywhere, and odds
are your local club or ARES group will have a similar convention.

Well, after some investigation online, it seems that the Power Pole
solution is likely the most flexible for my purposes. The ARES group
I'm in doesn't specifically specify a configuration, but many of the
other groups in the area do specify the Power Pole.

I also decided to continue this standard into my shack so I can move
the various radios between various locations and not have to worry
about coming up with power connections all the time. There are also
some very nice distribution panels available from various
manufacturers that use this standard. I also found a distributer that
also has some clips that hold the connectors together in high
vibration environments (like my cars) and they also had some dust
covers to hopefully keep the dust and kids' fingers out when no radio
is installed.

I do wish that Anderson would put out a 2 conductor version of their
"power pack" products. It would be nice if you could build these with
built in clips and only have the size of 2 conductors instead of their
minimum 4, but I guess there may not be a huge market for that. Well
if they do come out with them in the future, it should be easy to
retrofit if I want.

Thanks for the help..

-= bob =-

On Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:09:13 -0500, KC4UAI wrote:

It's not been an issue for me until this Christmas when my wife decided
to get me a VHF/UHF mobile rig. I've been using an older Icom 2 meter
rig in both the cars for years so both cars have Icom power cables in
place, but the new rig doesn't use the same power connectors.

I'd like to settle on a common power connector for both the radios, but
I'm not all that sure where to go to find something that is reasonably
priced and is not going to disappear in the future and force me to go
out and buy all new connectors again.

I figured I'd not remove any of the existing connectors on the radios,
but build up short jumpers that adapt to the connector of choice. I
also figured that I'd use the existing power wires by replacing the
current Icom power connector with what ever I pick.

Any suggestions on what to use and where to get them?

If you decide to go with the Anderson Power Pole connectors, Powerwerx
has a good selection. I would also consider buying the West Mountain
Radio crimper as I have found it makes an excellent crimp that slips
easily into the plastic shell. I tried the cheaper G&B crimper and had
trouble making a consistent crimp that snapped into the shell easily.

APPs have an approximately 5 lbs seperation force rating, so you'll want
to avoid much tension on the connector in your installation. I have them

in my mobile installations without issue.

73, de Nate

--

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds,
the pessimist fears this is true."

"xpyttl" wrote

Icom VHF radios now all use the same T connector, and I believe almost all
other major manufacturers have moved to that connector for VHF/UHF radios.

Not to intentionally hijack the thread, but... ;-) Where can I buy those
T-connectors? I've looked in Allied and Newark catalogs and can't find them.
In order to make jumpers or quick-disconnects, for example, I need to have a
T-connector for my Yaesu mobiles (FT-1500 and FT-7800R) to attach to the
radio's existing cable. I'm not going to cut off the existing cable.

Howard N7SO

"Howard Lester" wrote

Where can I buy those T-connectors?

Hey, look what I found!

http://www.powerwerx.com/category.asp?CtgID=1003

What it took was knowing to add the term "T-connector" to my search. One
thing led to another....

In article ,
Howard Lester wrote:

Not to intentionally hijack the thread, but... ;-) Where can I buy those
T-connectors? I've looked in Allied and Newark catalogs and can't find them.
In order to make jumpers or quick-disconnects, for example, I need to have a
T-connector for my Yaesu mobiles (FT-1500 and FT-7800R) to attach to the
radio's existing cable. I'm not going to cut off the existing cable.

One source is http://www.powerwerx.com

They'll sell you the OEM "T" connectors with inserts ($1.95 per), or
a pre-made OEM-T-to-PowerPole adapter cable ($10 for a one-footer), or
a "universal both sides adapter" (one male T, one female T, two sets
of PowerPoles) for $15.

They also have the IC-7000 power connectors, FT-100 connectors, 6-pin
Molex, and lots of other goodies.

Oh... I've been advised that it's probably better not to use the small
metal "roll pins" to lock together individual PowerPole housing pairs.
At least one person has had problem with these pins popping out of the
connectors and (potentially) bouncing around in the vicinity of
battery terminals or other "hot" electrical contacts. Not good. If
you want to lock together the red and black halves of a pair, I'm told
that a drop of acetone or cyanoacrylate glue is a better way to do it.

I don't know if this caution applies to the retention clips, as I
haven't tried using these myself and don't know anyone who has.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
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