Standard Power Connectors for Interoperation

NYC ARES recommends to all of its members the use of the Anderson Power Pole Connectors to all it's members

Anderson Power Pole Connector

For higher power rigs, high-amperage DC power supplies and bus-wiring, the Anderson Power Pole is the emerging national ARES/RACES standard. It has been adopted by the State of California Office of Emergency Services Auxiliary Communications Service (ARES/RACES) and numerous other groups. The APP is genderless, so you don't need adapters to plug a battery into another source to recharge. The 15, 20, and 30 Amp rated contacts for APP use the same housing, so are interoperable, just use the right fuse. The plastic parts are the same for both sizes. The barrel area (which holds the wire) of the 15-ampere silver-plated contact is smaller than that of the 30-ampere contact, but the contact area is the same. The connectors dovetail together into a compact unit.

The Cal OES red-and-black combination, with contacts rated appropriately for the source/device connected, is the recommended standard:

"Housings should be mated according to the diagram above, viewing from the contact side (opposite the wire side), tongue down, hood up, RED on the LEFT, BLACK on the RIGHT. Use a 3/32-inch-diameter roll pin, 1/4 inch long, to keep the housings from sliding apart."

Part Information

15A contacts are for 16/20 AWGuage wire. 30A contacts for 12/16 AWGuage wire. 45A contacts are also now available for 10/14 AWGuage wire, tin plate, and thus are probably a good idea to have a few of also? #261G2-LPBK .

White housing is interoperable with Black in the 15/20/30/45 single-pole range. White is #1395G2 15A complete, #1330G5 30A complete, #1327G7 Housing only.

References

Manufacturer

Anderson Powerpole the manufacturer's pages.

Standards

OC RACES

Sources -- Commercial:

• ActionElect
• Allied Electronics
• many R/C Model Car & Plane mail-order shops
• Rumor has itDigikeymay stock it on the WWW but not catalog, but I couldn't find it and they deny it...
• MCM
  An email says: "I got a bag of 10 30A Powerpole connectors (enough to make 5 sets) at MCM Electronics on sale at $6.99, catalog #21-3300."
• Amazon

Sources -- Hams:

• Cable X-perts
• DC Power
• PowerWerx(also stocks OEM connectors and crimp tool; VX-5 replacement antenna tips; and APP registry)
• D&L Antenna
• WestMountain Their RigRunner distribution boxes pre-built, also available from AES and HRO.

-- Notes:
Vendors stock different selections of mounting receptacles. For small quantities, the hams are likely to have better prices -- do your comparison!

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