At 06:54 AM 9/7/2011, Shawn MacDonald wrote:
>A gem we ham operators use for 12v distribution is Anderson Power Poles.

I'm a fan of Anderson Power Poles.  I have a whole stock of 'em in
the electronics kit I keep in the van wherever I go.

I've never used the Power Pole distribution panels you pointed
out.  I use them in-line to make low-resistance 12V power connections.

>... never come unplugged (unless you want them to).

Well, now, these are not locking connectors, as far as I know.  It'd
be easy to unplug them accidentally.  Or is there a locking mechanism
I haven't encountered?

In any case, I find I'm not using Power Poles as much as I thought I
would.  I intended to insert Power Poles into certain 12V leads that
I sometimes need to convert back to a cigarette lighter.  For
example, I have a three-outlet 12V extension like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000GKD5PQ/sbw/

In the Beetle, I plug it into the cigarette lighter.  But when I need
it in the Westy, I connect it directly to the fuse block I added near
the aux battery.  So I cut the cord and installed Power Poles on both
cut ends.  Now, when I use it in the Beetle, I just connect the
original cord (secured with a velcro strap, since it doesn't lock)
and plug it in as always.

But for the Westy, I made another short cord with Power Poles on one
and and FastOns on the other.  The FastOns plug into the fuse block
and ground block semi-permanently, so I can connect the three-outlet
extension when I need it.

That works well, so I intended to insert Power Poles into the Engel
fridge's 12V power cord.  And the laptop charger's 12V power cord.

But in the end, I just cut those cords and crimped FastOns onto the
ends.  They're plugged into the fuse and ground blocks
semi-permanently.  I just don't move that stuff to other vehicles
often enough to justify adding Power Poles.  (Anyway, I have an extra
laptop cord.  And Engel sells extra 12V cords.)

In the case of the Endless Breeze fan, I just left the cigarette
lighter plug on the end of its cord, so I can easily unplug it to
stow the fan.  I have so many cigarette lighter outlets now, and I
use the fan infrequently enough, the bulk and poor reliability of the
original plug don't bother me.

You can see the fuse and ground blocks under the driver's seat in
this photo, alas before I cleaned up the wiring.  In that bundle is
both the laptop and Engle cords, adapted to FastOns:

http://mira.sbw.org/photos/20110808/P1000397/