Blog

After forking out $5 for a single set of Anderson Powerpole Connectors from Jaycar I thought that I would bite the bullet and purchase enough from the US supplier so I wouldn’t have to worry about this any more.

The above photo shows the connectors in groups of ten, so I could easily count them. I purchased 100 sets from Powerwerx at $0.87 each including shipping, just in time for the Amateur Radio John Moyle Field day.

Another device that I thought would be worth trying out with the generator is the laptop from the One Person Per Laptop project, the XO-1.

I have been fortunate and have acquired two of these XO-1’s (sparky and sparks). Both of them were pre-release versions and have been superseded in various ways, but they still attach attention when brought out on display. Kid’s just love them.

Both XO’s were able to be run via the inverter from their charge packs. (One of them has an issue with it’s battery taking a charge, which is why it is off in the photo.)

When I get some more Anderson connectors I’ll look at how they go when connected directly to the 12v-14v supply.

I didn’t have any luck finding my 240V inverter, but I was able to borrow one from a friend (in exchange for fitting it with an Anderson Powerpole connector.)

So, you have a peddle powered generator.. what’s the first application or device that can be tested with his new power source? Being Australian and and an Amateur Radio operator, the first device had to be a radio. (For overseas readers, Australia has a proud history of peddle powered radios, which together with the Flying Doctor service, brought emergency healthcare to the centre of Australia.)

The second application was therefor a peddle powered television.

The small television did not have a rating listed on it anywhere, but after peddling for 30 minues or so, while catching up on the evening news, I would say that it is about 25 or 30W. It is uncertain what the efficiency of the inverter is at this stage.

I see this setup quickly becoming a core part of my exercise program.

With my increasing number of 12V appliances, thoughts quickly turned to what would be an appropriate standard power connector. In the past, these appliances have had a huge range of different sized cylindrical or barrel plugs with different polarities, typically powered by a 240V plug pack.

One DC power connector which has gained some prominence is the ‘Powerpole’ or ‘Anderson’ connectors. These connectors have been chosen as the standard DC power connector for Amateur Radio operations, particularly where emergency and disaster relief operations are in mind. (eg. with WICEN)
These connectors have a couple of unique features. The most obvious is their shape.The ‘plug’ and ‘socket’ ends are identical (and symmetric) and can be used as either end of a connection. The blade contacts themselves are self cleaning, in that the motion of connection and disconnection allows the terminals to scrape any foreign material from the electrical connection area.
For those mathematically astute people, the connectors are symmetric under a rotation group. (Look out for further discussion of this in another blog post.)
The connectors come in several different ratings, but for the most common sizes for which I’m interested (15amp, 30amp and 45amp), they share the same plug enclosure, but take different sizes/gauge of wire.

There was some research required to relate the US wire specification (maximum current and gauge) with the Australian ratings (maximum current and cable cross section.) Bunnings sells cable for outdoor lighting, which had a cross section of 3.3mm^2, which corresponds to 12 gauge wire, the size that is rated for 30amps. This cable is twin core and all black, not the pretty red and black ‘zip cord’ that is available from the Anderson Connector distributor, but I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work.
For more information on Anderson Connections see the Powerwerx website (a distributor).