In my never-ending effort to upgrade my home and portable stations, I directed some effort toward improving my power connections. After some research, I decided to use Anderson Powerpole connectors. These are the standard ARES power connector and they have been thoroughly tested and used by Amateur Radio operators around the world. After crimping and installing the connectors on all my radio power cables, I ran into an issue. How do I power more than one radio from a single power source? Looking around online, I found a couple of companies that sold Powerpole distribution panels, but most of them did not fit the bill. They were all too expensive or too large for my application.
After looking around some more, I decided to explore some homemade options. I ran across this design, freely available on the popular 3D model sharing site, Thingiverse. I downloaded the files and had a friend print the box on his Makerbot Replicator 2 3D printer. The print turned out quite nicely, and all the components that I ordered from Mouser fit perfectly. Each side of the box snapped together cleanly and after a few weeks of everyday use at my home station, I can confidently say it works like a charm and will be a convenient piece of equipment for years to come! Total cost: $7.63 + S/H.
The following is a time-lapse and build log of the distribution box for those of you that might want to build one of your own!
Time-lapse –
In real time, the building portion of the project only took around 30 minutes.
Click below to continue reading.
Build Log –
Parts:
- 5x Red Anderson Powerpole
- 5x Black Anderson Powerpole
- 10x Right Angle PCB Powerpole Terminals
- 1x 3D Printed Housing
- Solder/Flux/Iron
Parts needed for the project
Sliding together each connector in the correct orientation
Test fitting all the connectors in the 3D printed housing
Installing the right angle terminals into the Powerpole housings
Refitting the Powerpole connectors
Soldering the positive connectors together
Removing the soldered connectors from the plastic housing to have easy access to the negative side.
Soldering the negative side.
Everything is put back together
Finally, here it is in action! My power supply is connected to the single connector on the left face of the box, and the remaining four connections can be used to power any compatible equipment!
Haydn,
Outstanding power box.
AND you did a cool time-lapse video.
Cheers & 73,
Jim, KF6HHX
Thanks Jim!
Hey, that’s cool! Way better than my double crimped “splitter” with only two ports.
Great find Haydn. How much for me to commission you to make me one?