yuandrew
Flashlight Enthusiast
As a little "experiment" I have set up a 12 volt electrical system in my room with two deep cycle golf cart batteries tucked away in a corner and the power distributed to different points in my room using landscape lighting cable. Currently, the batteries are kept topped off by a automatic car battery charger plugged into the wall (functioning as a UPS for now) but I have a Xantrex charge controller ready and will be hooking up solar panels in the future.
Connectors for low voltage haven't really been standardized. While a car radio I use as a stereo is hardwired to the battery along with a 12vdc to 120vac inverter; I also have various DC connectors to allow me to charge or operate various electronic items.
The "Molex" connector commonly used in computers
(wired to my batteries in such a way that Red-Black gives 6 volts and Yellow-Black gives 12 volts)
The Anderson Power Pole (I included these as well courtesy of Uncle Ted [K6OI] who told me it is now a standard used by the HAM radio community)
This connector I used on a converted 12 volt lamp and I have extras for future 12 volt appliances that I may need to "unplug"
And of course, there's always the automotive cigarette lighter.
The car lighter socket is a very common 12 volt connection due to the automotive electronics market so I had to include two as part of my system. While it works good for small items such as a cellphone/iPod charger or a NiMh charger with a car cord; it has a considerable amount of contact resistance which often causes some voltage drop and a considerable amount of heat when used with anything that draws more than 3 amps.
I have a laptop power supply with an automotive cigarette lighter type connector on the input and it sometimes has a flaky connection on the outlet furthest from the battery due to the voltage drop and it also gets hot if I'm charging the laptop battery and running the computer at the same time. I already have some trouble with the laptop adapter tripping off as a result of the voltage drop, even if the battery bank itself is still good.
I would really like to get these connectors, the Hypertronics D02PBMRT-0024. It is currently used as the "EmPower" connector on aircrafts as a power outlet for business class seats. My laptop power supply also has a cord with the "male" EmPower connector on it.
Anyone know where I could get such a connector ?
What are some of the other 12 volt (or any low voltage between 12 and 48 volt) connectors used for renewable energy or off grid applications ?
Connectors for low voltage haven't really been standardized. While a car radio I use as a stereo is hardwired to the battery along with a 12vdc to 120vac inverter; I also have various DC connectors to allow me to charge or operate various electronic items.
The "Molex" connector commonly used in computers
(wired to my batteries in such a way that Red-Black gives 6 volts and Yellow-Black gives 12 volts)
The Anderson Power Pole (I included these as well courtesy of Uncle Ted [K6OI] who told me it is now a standard used by the HAM radio community)
This connector I used on a converted 12 volt lamp and I have extras for future 12 volt appliances that I may need to "unplug"
And of course, there's always the automotive cigarette lighter.
The car lighter socket is a very common 12 volt connection due to the automotive electronics market so I had to include two as part of my system. While it works good for small items such as a cellphone/iPod charger or a NiMh charger with a car cord; it has a considerable amount of contact resistance which often causes some voltage drop and a considerable amount of heat when used with anything that draws more than 3 amps.
I have a laptop power supply with an automotive cigarette lighter type connector on the input and it sometimes has a flaky connection on the outlet furthest from the battery due to the voltage drop and it also gets hot if I'm charging the laptop battery and running the computer at the same time. I already have some trouble with the laptop adapter tripping off as a result of the voltage drop, even if the battery bank itself is still good.
I would really like to get these connectors, the Hypertronics D02PBMRT-0024. It is currently used as the "EmPower" connector on aircrafts as a power outlet for business class seats. My laptop power supply also has a cord with the "male" EmPower connector on it.
Anyone know where I could get such a connector ?
What are some of the other 12 volt (or any low voltage between 12 and 48 volt) connectors used for renewable energy or off grid applications ?
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