SECURING THE HOUSINGS
Anderson recommends and supplies a more reliable spiral
pin. Do not use roll pins on Powerpoles®! We recommend
not using the roll pins because they may fall out and cause
damage to your radio. After testing both pin types, even
the proper spiral pins can fall out. Anderson does not
recommend their spiral pins for critical applications.
After consulting with Anderson, they recommend using
cyanocrylic (CA) glue, such as Crazy Glue, to hold the
connector bodies permanently together. Normally the
dovetail joints in the housings hold well, but if glue is
preferred, do not use pins. Make sure of proper assembly
BEFORE gluing, as they will be permanently bonded
together. All it takes is a very small drop of CA glue in the
seam between the red and black housings. Alternatively,
a bit of silicon glue injected in to the hole between the
red and black housings works reasonably well to hold the
housings together, and, if needed, can be later separated.
INSERTING THE CONTACTS
After crimping, the contacts go in the housings in only one
way. Insert the contacts so that their sharp hooked edge
will be facing against the flat spring that is in the housing.
IMPORTANT
: Before inserting the crimped contacts, make
sure that the tab is not bent up or down, compare the
finished crimped contact to a new one and make sure it is
straight and the same angle. The contacts should slide in
and click. Check to ensure they are fully seated and that
the contact and its wire “floats” slightly inside the housing.
If it feels tight the contact may not be snapped in fully
or the contact is bent or has become wider than it was
originally during crimping or soldering.
Tip: If you are using small gauge wire, use a small
screwdriver to push the contact into the housing.
REMOVING A CONTACT FROM A HOUSING
With a small screwdriver lightly pry the contact up away
from the housing flat spring clip while gently pulling the
wire and contact out. Be sure to bend the contact back
correctly straight before re-inserting it in another housing.
For a pair of heavy wires, gently work each wire out of the
paired housing.
2
CONTACT RATING AND WIRE SIZE
Anderson 15, 30, and 45 ampere contacts all mount in
the same plastic housings. All contacts have the same
connection contact area. The difference is the size wire
that fits each contact.
•
15 amp contacts can be used with #15-20 AWG wire.
(For #20 AWG or smaller the wire will have to be doubled
or tripled over to fill the contact for a good crimp. Another
option is to fold it back on the insulated wire so the crimp
includes the insulation for a sturdier cable.)
•
30 amp contacts can be used with #12-16 AWG wire.
(It is possible to use up to #10 wire in a 30 amp
contact even though they are made for 12 to 14
gauge.The #10 will need to be cut cleanly and neatly
twisted to get all of the strands inside. For #18 AWG
or smaller the wire will have to be doubled or tripled
over to fill the contact for a good crimp.)
•
45 amp contacts can be used with #10-14 AWG wire.
Powerpole current ratings are according to the National
Electric Code by wire gauge for a 30ºC rise above ambient
at the rated current. Powerpoles will easily sustain these
ratings continuously without ventilation. With proper
ventilation they will easily sustain double their ratings and
much more for short bursts.
CRIMPING WITH THE
PWRcrimp
This tool is a custom designed crimp tool for professionally
crimping Anderson 15, 30, and 45 ampere Powerpoles
®
. It
has a contact holder to position the contact correctly, and a
ratcheting mechanism to assure correct force is applied
each time.
NEVER USE THIS TOOL FOR ANY OTHER BRAND
CRIMP CONTACT, YOU MAY BREAK THE TOOL AND
VOID THE WARRANY!
The long handles on the PWRcrimp will provide extra
leverage, however it is normal to use two hands to fully
crimp a contact. For 45 Amp contacts with #10 wire you
may need to push the tool against your bench using your
weight against the top lever. The results are professional,
providing aerospace quality and the strongest and lowest
possible resistance crimp, and much faster than soldering.
The PWRcrimp tool has three crimping dies, marked 15,
30, and 45, for the respective Anderson Powerpole contacts
and wire gauge ranges. The plastic contact positioner
extends off the other side of the lower jaw. Without a contact
in the tool, try the crimper by squeezing the handles closed.
The ratchet will click until the end of travel, and with some
force, only then allowing the tool to open. When it is partially
closed, try the release lever which is located between the
handles under the “W” in West Mountain Radio. The release
allows you to start over without damaging the tool or the
contact if the contact was incorrectly positioned to start.
3
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING
POWERPOLE CONNECTIONS
This manual has general assembly tips and photographs
to make Powerpoles
®
easy to install on any DC cord. It is
recommended to read these instructions thoroughly before
crimping Powerpoles to fully understand the connectors,
contacts, housings, and assembly orientation. Follow these
instructions carefully when using the PWRcrimp tool to
make good, reliable and consistent connectors.
GENERAL POWERPOLE
CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY
CONNECTOR PAIR ORIENTATION OPTIONS
The picture to the right is the ARES/RACES standard
orientation used on West Mountain Radio RIGrunners.
This orientation is correctly polarized and genderless.
Tip: The housings may
be oriented in several
other ways for special
applications to avoid
accidentally plugging
in the wrong voltage
source. With other
orientations, a matching
pair may be mirror
images rather than
genderless mating pairs.
PREPARING THE HOUSINGS
The plastic housings are held together with dovetail joints.
Assemble by sliding these joints together. They will be
damaged if you try to snap them together or apart. They
ONLY slide together in one direction.
Tip: Slide the connector housings together before
inserting the contact pins. This is especially
important when using heavy paired-wire.
PWRcrimp
www.westmountainradio.com
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