I've never adopted the use of Anderson Power Poles. For one thing, they are very American in their nature. Americans seem to love anything that has a name attached to it, even if it's a dumb DC connector system.
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| Not just a connector, it's an Anderson Power Pole. Oooh! |
The key thing that Julian gets to the heart of is the lack of any protection from accidental wrong connections being made. Power Poles offer no such protection, which really is a huge problem when out in the field - lack of time, cold, poor light, etc. Mistakes are then very easy to make.
Of course, when Julian speaks of 'standards', the reality is that Power Poles are no accepted standard at all. They are just something someone came up with, marketed, and were somehow adopted quite widely. There is no global industrial standard that everybody was consulted on and then agreed. Which is a good thing, because I don't think Power Poles are very good, or particularly affordable. Neither are they necessary.
The way I've got round these pitfalls is, for rig DC connections, simply to use heavy duty vehicle 'spade' connectors. Male is always one polarity, female the other. Try as you might, you can't connect them the wrong way, even in complete darkness. They are also perfectly happy in the rain for years on end - should you find yourself on portable operations a little longer than expected!
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| Pretty difficult to connect these up the wrong way. But they are easy and cheap to replace. |
For solar panel connections, simply use a completely different type of connector. There are very many available - and that is the important point. By choosing your own foolproof connections system and sticking to it, you can pick and choose your own connector types from the plethora available, without being tied to one system like the Power Poles. You will also likely save money, not least because you won't be forced to buy things like battery packs that are only fitted with Power Pole sockets.
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