Power pole connector problems

Patrick

Power Pole contact (loses contact force) causing connector to heat up and softening the plastic and causing even less contact (more resistance) thus more heat and damage to connector housing.  This also can cause loosening of the pin to the point that it fails to be retained by the plastic housing.   Since there was most likely damage to the PC board connector in the chassis, I had to do a “bush” fix by putting in a piece of 1⁄2 inch plywood to tighten the chassis part of the Power pole connector.  The DC power cable end received a new connector.  After this fix, the cable now firmly mates.  But the radio will need a chassis side power poll for a proper fix.  It seems Power pole connectors can eventually loosen up, mine is 6+ years old now, over time and use.  So if you feel any heat on the cable or the chassis, check out your connectors.  

Mark_WS7M

Wow... Is that running at 100w all the time?  I rarely run my radio that hard and I don't like power pole connectors anyway.   

Just curious how it could have happened?

Bob Needleman

The biggest mistake IMO was for Flex (and Elecraft and Apache Labs) to “drink the Kool Aid” and use power pole connectors for 13.8 V DC power. They have no locking feature like the 4 pin Molex connectors that Kenwood, Yaesu and Icom all use. And they won’t ever come loose or melt. Guess power poles are cheaper but I’d happily pay another $5-10 bucks to get locking 4 pin Molex connectors on my Flex 6600M. Bob K3AC

N8SDR

Agree power poles are a bad connector in many ways. I also wonder if this is the cause for s a few of the rigs that have had blown caps and PA boards as well. **** connections, heat, over time causing varying current and power drops mine has now suffered both the cap shorting and grounding out the radio and power supply, and recently a PA board failure. two compressed pieces of spring metal making contact over time will gradually weaken. just a bad design all around

Patrick

The connector became mechanically unstable after 6 years of use.  This caused it to gradually have less tension on the pins.  This added resistance at the pins, causing heat that made it all worse because the heat lessened the tightness of the plastic frame, making it even looser as time went on.  I began to have issues with the radio shutting down mysteriously.  Did the obvious thing and checked the connector.  Fell out with hardly a pull needed to remove and reseating it became impossible, it was so loose.  And NO it was not running at 100w continuously.  I drive my amp at 20 to 40 w not a big load for radio rated at.  When I touched the wire it was hot and the area around the connector, the metal chassis was very warm.  The pins actually came out of the housing, the connector was so badly distorted internally.  That is why I took pictures to document it.  And to remind operators to check them regularly.  The 

Patrick

I have used Blue sea systems DC power distribution panels for years.  They are simple and use tried and true crimp connections devices.  It is a solid way and has never failed me in any way.  I never had confidence in Power Poles when I first saw and used them, just did not feel right, for me.  And this problem kind of justifies my thinking  in my current system only one device with a power pole connector was in my system and the device that failed.

Al_NN4ZZ

Hi Pat,
Something else to consider is a silver electrical and thermal grease.  I have the one I'm using listed in my notes on a Flex power issue I had.

http://www.nn4zz.com/FLEX6700.htm#Low_Voltage_Lockup

Regards, Al / NN4ZZ  
al (at) nn4zz (dot) com



 

WK2Y

Every few months, when I go to transmit, I will get the low voltage shutdown.  I use a powerpole pigtail on the back of the rig and I know the solution is to connect and disconnect the connector several times. I suppose it's wiping the contacts.  I will definitely try some grease.  The back of my power supply has a ring connector.  On one occasion with low voltage,  I discovered that it needed to be tightened.  How it worked its way loose I'll never know, but it was definitely the cause of the low voltage shutdown.    
73,
Bob, WK2Y

David Decoons, wo2x

@K3AC - I have had the 6 pin Molex connector on an Icom 756 Pro 3 heat up and get discolored.

I have not seen the newer 4 pin like on the Icom 7000 go bad but then again I haven't had one of those radios long enough to notice.

What I have done here is to use new Power Pole connectors with my own home made power cable and use a very light coating (barely coated) of silver conductive grease on the metal surfaces. I notice less voltage drop. I also did the same to the internal blade fuse in the 6700. This tip was brought to my attention by Bob, WA2SQQ.

Dave wo2x

KC2QMA_John

This is the kind of quality connector that should be used in the 21st century. Sure it cost more but when you are spending over $5000 for a new radio just seems to make sense to me.

This is called a PowerCON connector and this one is rated for 32 amps up to 250V it locks in so it will not come loose or fall out.

Here is a link for you to check it out for yourself.

https://www.neutrik.com/en/neutrik/products/powercon/powercon-32-a



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riy85f8Qov4

Bob Needleman

Rather than the grease, it may be sufficient to clean off the contacts with a 50:50 solution of 90% isopropyl/Acetone using a polyfoam or similar applicator. This will completely evaporate but will remove any carbon deposits that have built up. After that I apply a very light coating of DeOxit Gold (depending on the contact, either a solution or spray, if necessary). A little goes a long way, and not as messy or expensive as silver conductive grease. This is the procedure I use to clean bandswitch and other electrical contacts on old boat anchors and it works well (learned it from one of the Collins repair techs). 

Bob Needleman

I have transceivers going back to the 80's that use the 6 Pin Molex and more current models that use the 4 Pin. All are 100W rigs - never had any discolor or melt. Nor give any intermittent electrical problems or voltage drop. (Only issue with them is they can be a pain to REMOVE!. You have to push down on the locking clip thingie, and pull it out.) But one the plug is inserted and locked in - it does NOT ever come out, discolor or melt, at least in my experience, and that applies to both 6 and 4 pin models. 

KC2QMA_John

BTW they make other models of connectors as well.

Bob Needleman

One more thing about the Molex 4/6 pin power connectors - I only use the DC power cords supplied with the radio by the manufacturer. These are heavy duty, 12 gauge cables, that are supplied with a rubber (or vinyl?) boot the fits over the Molex connector. The boot makes it easier to disconnect the plug and  likely helps reduce humidity getting in and causing oxidation on the terminals and the likelihood of voltage drop, etc. And the nice thing is that they can be interchanged between radios - (Icom, Kenwood and Yaesu all use the same pin outs for their Molex 13.8VDC jacks). So Flex - let's deep 6 the PowerPoles in your future models - they're a disaster just waiting to happen. 

Bill -VA3WTB

These are all good ways to keep you power poles health so they won't break down. I used to see a lot of Molex connectors when I serviced Printing presses. Almost all connections were Molex. Do you know how many I replaced because many were burnt. If the pins do not make a solid connection in the Molex pug than they ark. Any connection can have problems it the connections are not tight.

Bob Needleman

Looks great - anything would be better than “loosie goosie” Powerpoles. That connector probably would add about $10-15/radio. Seems like a no brainer. Bob K3AC

Patrick

Age is the enemy of most connectors, anything mechanical, will be subject to aging.  Designer ability to select cost effective materials is difficult when weighed against cost.  In my case it took 6 years for the connector to fail.  But my use was normal and was within the bounds of the capability of a Power Pole connector, but you can get to a point of wear and tear that is not recoverable and causes a failure condition.  I am at that point.  I am actually half way there, in that I replaced the plug side, and did a bush fix on the receptacle side.  It is amazing what one can do with a ½ inch piece of plywood!  But ultimate solution is complete replacement of the receptacle.  

henrylance

I agree with Bob.

Patrick

Been there done that....

Bob Needleman

If the Power Poles are causing you persistent problems (voltage drops, etc), one solution that will
 eliminate that problem permanently is to switch to SAE 'bulldog' connectors. These are the 12VDC high current 2 pin connectors used in many vehicles that are waterproof and stay connected forever (see photo below). Remove the PP connector from the rear panel. Insert a large rubber grommet and obtain a SAE connector with 10 or 12 gauge red/black cable. So what you will be making is  a 2-conductor pigtail that is permanently installed inside the rig.  Run the cable inside the cabinet, solder each lead to the leads that were previously connected to the PP connector on the panel and insulate each wire connection with shrink tubing. Then hook up the pigtail to a mating SAE connector cable with 10 or 12 gauge black/red cable to your power supply. I guarantee - you'll never have any more voltage drop issues.
Bob K3AC

Patrick

I like this connector, will consider if I keep this radio....and retrofit the receptacle and plug..... the 20 amp one is the right one.  20A at 250 v lots of power capability.  

Geoff AB6BT

We have been using these Neutrik PowerCON and their companion audio connectors for years in the commercial audio business. They are a a reliable and durable connector. We have had some failures but they are connected and disconnected frequently and most failures have been due to physical abuse.

Patrick

The powerCon is the one I would use.  It means chassis’s modification but I can do that.  No warranty issues have had the radio a long time now.

Bob Needleman

If your Flex is still under warranty and you don’t want to perform surgery, a simple thing you can do is take a long piece of heavy duct tape and after you insert your power poles, tape the cable down to your desktop a few inches behind the rig to act like a strain relief (allow a little slack in the cable). So then you will reduce any “tugging” force on the power pole plugged into the rear panel jack. Bob K3AC

Geoff AB6BT

My DC power cables never move. There is no force applied to the wires or connectors.I'm not sure how strain relief would help.

If you move the radio then the "strain relief" tape would tend to disengage the connectors.

Bob Needleman

I’m using the heavy 10 gauge power cable the hangs down over my desk so it is tugging on the power poles. I tape it down with some slack and I don’t move my 6600M around since I keep 2 powered speakers on each side. Bob K3AC

Geoff AB6BT

OK, that makes sense. I have the power cables coming from the back of the radio in a small coil, 1 turn, on the top surface of the desk behind the radio. So no tugging.

Doug

You are 110% correct my power pole connector on 6400M has always been a POS and this will eventually be the future of mine. Kool aid for sure and perhaps snake oil to add to it.

Bob Needleman

The PowerCON's look great - unfortunately, from what I can gather they're about 10X more expensive than the cheap PowerPoles, now that the latter are off patent. So doubt Flex, or any other amateur manufacturer would go to the additional expense as it would cut into their profit  (and they're probably operating on a pretty slim profit margin as it is, especially the US manufacturers). 
Bob K3AC

Bob Needleman

It boils down to cost. Generic (they're now off patent)  power pole connectors probably cost Flex, Elecraft, Apache, etc, a few cents each. Molex probably double that and PowerCon triple to quadruple the price. The more expensive (and better) the connector, the less their profit. Too bad they won't offer better DC power connectors as an option. Even 4 Pin Molex would be better than power poles. Never had one of the Molex fail on me going back 30+ years when I ran my excellent IC-751A transceiver that used a 6 pin Molex. connector. 

Bob K3AC

WK2Y

I just use a pig tail on the Flex so the connector jack on the Flex itself is never being. It does have the disadvantage of adding a set of PowerPoles in line.