Powerpole Fused Distribution Board

Making a low-voltage power distribution board using Powerpole connectors and automotive blade fuses

Date 09 July 2014
Views 17,794
Time to read 2 minutes read

Powerpole board

We use Anderson Powerpole connectors (http://www.powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpoles/) on our ham radios and other 12-volt accessories in the house and we had always used leaded plugs connecting to a central point with inline fuses on each one.

There are commercial Powerpole distribution boxes available but they are very expensive and difficult to obtain in the UK.

The maximum DC load on our radios is approx. 30 amps so we designed a double-sided PCB with traces large enough to take the current load and fitted five of the Anderson Powerpole connectors to the board using 2mm round copper wire. Each connector has a connector with an automotive blade fuse to protect the output.

Click to view large image of Ready to build
Click to view large image of Connector terminals
Click to view large image of Expansion connections
Click to view large image of Completed boards

We are considering making this board a kit to sell on our AB Electronics UK website and would welcome any comments or feedback.

Update: Feb 2015, due to the cost of the power pole connectors we are not going to be able to supply this as a kit and so we have made the design files for the PCB available to download and use to have your own PCBs produced. 

We use JLCPCB for our prototype PCBs and they supply 10 boards for a very competitive price from jlcpcb.com

Download the files from: https://github.com/briandorey/Power-Pole-Expander

 

3 Comments

  • User Image

    John hobson

    05 November 2020 at 12:28 am

    Are pc boards available for purchase? If so, how much?

  • User Image

    Nickko ON9NG

    17 August 2023 at 11:28 pm

    Thanks for your work, I build my own PowerPole distribution box but I don't know where find automotive fuse support.

    • User Image

      Brian

      17 August 2023 at 11:30 pm

      I think the correct part for the fuse holder is https://uk.farnell.com/littelfuse/01000057z/blade-fuse-holder-through-hole/dp/2762087


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