[TowerTalk] PowerPole connectors

[Richard (Rick) Karlquist]

On 11/17/2014 10:00 AM, Bill Turner wrote:
> What am I missing about PowerPole connectors?
>
> It seems to me to be a solution in search of a problem. What do they
> do that you can't do with a crimp type ring terminal and a screw type
> terminal strip at much lower cost?

WHY DOES EVERYONE USE POWERPOLES?

1.  You want to eliminate the possibility of connecting with reversed
polarity.

2.  Any ordinary system of polarization runs into the problem that
a battery can be either a source or a sink.  You have to be able to
connect it to either a power supply (charging system) or a load.
This cannot be done with conventional connectors while maintaining
idiot proof polarization.  It's topologically impossible.  This is
why trailer connectors fell out of favor for power applications.

3.  Only a hermaphroditic connector pair such as the Powerpole can solve
this problem. AFAIK, there is no other hermaphroditic paired power 
connector available.

YOU MUST USE POWERPOLES.  QED.

Rick N6RK