loose power lead

Bvarcd · October 2016

Praise the Lord. I thought I had wrecked my new Flex 6500. Blinking red lights, error codes, hints that fuses might be needed. I was feeling really bad when I gave up and went to bed. Next morning I found that the black power lead had worked loose. I fixed that and... BACK TO NORMAL OPERATION. This is my first Flex and I am in awe at the brainpower that is built into that black box.

Steve K9ZW · October 2016

I've had this problem too.

Anderson Power Poles are far from my first choice, period.

There is always a trade-off between easy pull--away (Power Pole wins this) and secure connection (Power Pole is a failure here).

I like the Cliffcon power connectors - http://www.cliffuk.co.uk/products/cliffcon/pole4.htm but only the Hilberling transceiver came with them as original equipment.

But be aware that if the cable gets pulled and you have used Cliffcon connectors, the gear will move with the cable.

Perhaps there are other established connectors that offer some breakaway while being more secure at the same time?

73

Steve K9ZW

roger na4rr · October 2016

I run my 6700 mobile and have had problems several times with the power pole connector not making good contact with each other. The radio will do all kinds of strange things. I have learned to push and pull on the connector to make things work. I would rather have a different power connection but I'm quite sure that wont be in the flex to do list. If your radio just sits on the desk i doubt you will ever have a problem. I think I'm going to hot glue it all together.

roger

Kevin · October 2016

Glad it was something simple David. I don't know how you slept that night!

I am not a Powerpole fan. Even desk mounted the weight of the power cable is enough to make me concerned both about pulling out and about powerpoles being secured to a circuit board and not a chassis (I think, hard to tell). Seems to be a lot of motion. I have my power cord secured to the desk to relieve some of the stress on the Flex Powerpole connector.

I would have preferred a more positive interlocking standard connector with stability provided by the chassis, not the circuit board. Not just for the Flex but as a standard in the shack. At minimum, it would have been nice if these retention clips could be used.

Based on the drawing below there seems to be an awful lot of engineering put into such a simple set of requirements. I have to question the functionality of the detent which is intended to keep connectors mated and the wiping action intended to keep the contacts clean.

Maybe powerpoles are an improvement when compared to Fahnestock clips. Maybe.

Kevin K4VD

loose power lead

Comments

Leave a Comment

Categories