Saturday, March 27, 2021

Building a Power Distribution Kit with the Dallas Amateur Radio Club

Being retired gives me a lot more time to do stuff I could not do while working.  For example, the Dallas Amateur Radio Club (DARC) has a thing they do monthly called "Lab and Lecture".  Each month a kit is provided (for a nominal fee) and then there is a 2 hour "google meets" meeting on Saturday where we all build the kit.

This month they had a number of Anderson PowerPole kits to build.  I chose the power distribution box with voltmeter, fuses and USB connections.

Here is the link to the slides for the presentation:



Here is the link to the slides for the presentation:


Here is a picture of my finished kit hooked to a battery.


It has 6 output ports with a (really bright) green led for each.  The led goes out if the fuse is blown.  There is a voltmeter built in and two usb ports on the side (not pictured).

The circuit board was excellent quality.  There was a lot of copper there that required extra heat from the soldering iron.  Be aware that a small 40 watt iron may not be enough to get the job done.

In the end, everything worked and the kit was completed with excellent assistance from the folks on the "google meet" meeting.

Definitely a fun way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday!

Mike Dooley
N5BGZ