SEORAT logo SEORAT Resources

A Method for Chassis-Mounting Anderson Powerpoles
by Eric McFadden, WD8RIF

chassis-mount Anderson Powerpole -- click to enlarge

Disclaimer: It is quite possible I didn't discover this Powerpole mounting scheme myself; I may have seen this idea written up somewhere else or may even have seen a physical device using this scheme.

The Anderson Powerpole doesn't appear to have been designed with chassis-mounting in mind. Various suppliers do offer chassis-mount adapters for two, four, or eight pairs of Powerpoles but I've found nothing commercially available for mounting a single pair of Powerpoles to a chassis. I have found a way of chassis-mounting a single pair of Powerpoles to a chassis.

UPDATE: PowerWerx.com now sells a mounting clamp to chassis-mount a single pair of Anderson Powerpoles (link). The clamp looks very similar to that used by Elecraft for the K2/100.


For Powerpoles that can be mounted flush with the lid of the chassis

The photos below describe the method best. Using a nibbling tool, I made a slot in my enclosure approximately 15mm x 8mm in size. (I lack a micrometer--make your slot using a Powerpole pair as a guide.) The slot is just wide enough to allow a friction-fit of the Powerpole pair along the Powerpoles' side-indentations; it's just deep enough to allow the enclosure lid to fit properly. (In the photos, ignore the hole and black tape just below the slot; the hole exists from a previous project and the tape is just covering the hole.)

Click photos to enlarge:

chassis-mount Anderson Powerpole -- click to enlarge

chassis-mount Anderson Powerpole -- click to enlarge

chassis-mount Anderson Powerpole -- click to enlarge

chassis-mount Anderson Powerpole -- click to enlarge

chassis-mount Anderson Powerpole -- click to enlarge

chassis-mount Anderson Powerpole -- click to enlarge


For Powerpoles that cannot be mounted flush with the lid of the chassis

When the Powerpoles can't be mounted flush with the lid of the chassis, the mounting hole must be larger than the distance between the Powerpole side-indentations; a u-shaped plastic or aluminum plate attached to the chassis holds the Powerpole snuggly in place.

I used this method to install an Anderson Powerpole pair on the rear panel of my Elecraft K2, in the hole that would otherwise have been used by the KIO2 module. I used my nibbling tool to fabricate a u-shaped piece of plastic with the slot sized to grip the Powerpoles across the side-indentations as described above. A pair of black 4-40 pan-head screws secures this plastic plate to the K2's rear panel such that the Powerpole pair is held securely against the top of the K2's "AUX I/O" hole.

Click photos to enlarge:

chassis-mount Anderson Powerpole -- click to enlarge

chassis-mount Anderson Powerpole -- click to enlarge


site built and maintained by wd8rif