I only have two power-pole connected radios (K3 and FT-817). I just tested the resistance to separating the mated connectors and it sure doesn't take much to disconnect them (certainly could not support the weight of the radio). They are either commercially built cables or ones that I assembled. The ones I built definitely snapped into the shell (extremely hard to extract and requires using a small screwdriver to pry up the metal connector to release).
Power-poles do not offer sufficient resistance to disconnecting in my opinion. The professional made cable is plugged into the factory installed connector on the back of the K3. They come apart (disconnect) if I move the radio. The only connectors of this style that I have seen to have a strong connection were on marine HF radios (SEA222) and were physically larger (blue in color). They were rated for 45amp and were a bitch to pull off the radio. But not so these red/black power-poles. This is "exactly" why they are not favored for certain commercial use (never found in aviation). I'll bet not used by military. I will only use them on radio equipment that is subject to being used in different locations and/or require compatibility to other ham radio installations (field day, etc.). I'm sticking to using barrier terminal strips for my permanent wiring and threaded mil-spec connectors on equipment that is subject to movement/vibration/dust-dirt-moisture. 73, Ed my opinion shaped by 45-years experience in mobile two-way radio ----------------------------- Message: 12 Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:08:13 -0400 From: Don Wilhelm <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] DC Power cable To: Brett Howard <[email protected]> Cc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Brett, You are correct, I read the wrong item on the data sheet. But still, there are two of them on the K3 cable, and I just tested a pair. It took oveer 8 pounds of weight to dislodge the connection. The weight of a fully loaded K3 is 8.5 pounds, so you could not quite hold the K3 up with the power cord, but the basic K3/10 should be able to dangle on the power cord without breaking the connection (but, I am certainly not going to try that with MY K3 :-) ). 73, Don W3FPR Brett Howard wrote: > Thats 25 pounds of pull to pull the metal bit out of the plastic bit... > But it should require 3-5 pounds (depending on what connector detent ...snip... > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 ====================================== BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com EME: 144-QRT*, 432-100w, 1296-QRT*, 3400-fall 2010 DUBUS Magazine USA Rep [email protected] ====================================== *temp ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
