Same of them are made within a few miles of me and company is a US one. Hong Kong is pretty basic to doing business in the pacific rim.
There's even a better chance that the CCP is making counterfeit powerpoles. If yours are spelled power poles... they might be from China.
Considering that the cheapest Rigrunner is $74.95 and the MFJ is $49.95 ... your comment of "About the same price." is patently false. Personally I like Chunzehui F-1011. It's good construction and only $32.99 for 6 connections. Heck, even a Powerwerkx PD-8 (which has 8 connections) is only $35.99. West Mountain Radio RIGrunner devices are nice IF you absolutely must have a fuse on the device, as opposed ON the wire to the device, but IMO, they are way overpriced. And yes, I have one in my truck.
As I started out with nothing and worked my way up to a state of extreme poverty .....I made my own 12v power distribution board for all the shack gizmos and had fun doing it. It hides behind my monitor. It has a fuse. It has an rfi filter to cut rfi received by the 6ft cable from the shack psu (do the other$$$?) It has red and black twisted pair cables to equipment plugs, some with more filters and fuses on for sensitive equipment. And if I need more twisted pair cables for new gizmos I get out the drill and twist the cables and fit them in the spare holes in the choc block. (The photo makes it look twice as big as it really is) If you like what you see I can sell you a kit.....
Only Issue with those connectors I see is the daisy chain. I see them all the time with equipment I work on and per spec. every third connector needs separate feed. Even then will see burnoffs at the feed point. Being screw type connectors thermal expansion from high current loosens them over time then they melt. Mostly 24vac control inputs in what I see but they are not good for resistive loads. Also try using solid wire skipping every other one on the feed side. So you would have to inputs next to each other then daisy three then repeat for each one so they staggered. Still for the low buck option that's a good start.
Thanks Mark, your advice is welcomed. The total load on the cheapo choc-block lash up is less than 5 amps, it powers a bunch of bias tees for active antennas, a remote atu, a shack atu and other low current gizmos. If I get to use any higher current stuff I'll follow your instructions. 73, Jeff
I splurged on a RigRunner 4008H last Spring and really like it but would humbly suggest considering power distribution blocks from the car audio world. They're cheap, effective, available with or without fused outputs and handle whole wheelbarrows of amperes. I added powerpoles all around and have used it to run an inverter, fan, usb charger, etc. No electrical training to speak of here - unless you count sticking Mom's bobbypin into the 240VAC air conditioner plug when I was 3. Explains a lot, I suppose. Good luck and 73!
Before critisizing this guy, I think you should do some math: if I guestimate the wire gauge he used, I'd say it is around 1.5mmˆ2 (15 AWG). To match that cross-sectional area of copper on a standard 35mil PCB, you need traces of 43 mm/1.7" wide. I don't see those wide traces in any of the MFJ products shown in that video. So I'd say this wire-and-terminal-block solution is way safer than those MFJ power bars. And as long as you don't tin the wire ends, you'll be safe. A firmly screwed terminal doesn't come loose when heating up. It only does when the wire ends are tinned. But then they'll loosen anyway over time.
I think you misread my post. Only advice there from using that type of block for years in commercial equipment.
MFJ power strips have been around for years, so this is more an advertisement than "news". I have an 1126 that has been powered up almost 24x7 for years. The "cheap meter" and "cheap switch" are still working fine. The only problem I had (once) was due to my stupidity. If the unit is left powered up, it's easy to cause a short between a fuse & the enclosure when inserting it, as the fuseholders are recessed. If they were mounted proud of the surface a bit, dummies like me wouldn't have to buy so many fuses 73 Dave, VE3WI
Same here !!! I was 3 when my parents told me never to stick anything in the power sockets, the thought had never crossed my mind until they put the stupid idea in my head. I figured I would miss out on something good if I obeyed them. (Like when they told me not to eat all the ice-cream etc) As soon as they were out of the room I shoved a pencil in the live socket and found out what electricity is ......and that graphite conducts it very well ! 73 Jeff
I bought a new MFJ power strip many years ago and when first used, it blew up several fuses. I opened it up and discovered that they had installed 5 amp fuses where 40 ampers should have been! I had trouble finding 40 amps fuses locally and contacted MFJ about the problem I was having. They sent me a small packet with SEVERAL 40 amp fuses and said they were sorry for my problems with the unit. After replacing the fuses, all has worked well for at least the last 20 years.
I have an astron PS that doesn't have power pole so I find it easier to just wire my radios to the lugs on the PS. I find it to be a better connection.
