Adding Anderson Power Poles to an Ampere Time Lithium Battery

In this video, we made DIY Power Pole Connector cable for the Ampere Time Lithium Battery that comes with F2 connectors.
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Links to products in the video:
TC-1 Power Pole Crimpers: amz.run/5vFY
Rubber Boot: amz.run/5vFZ
Power Pole Connectors: amz.run/5vFj
Spade Connectors:amz.run/5vFe
Ampere Time Battery: amz.run/5vFi
Vise Grip Wire Strippers: amz.run/5vFl
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[@ohaya1]

Best reason for choosing that wire - it was in the box and it was at the top - this strikes a chord.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Right, thanks for watching 👍

[@HOAHamRadio]

I always appreciate being shown how to do things the right way. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with the ham community Ape.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Bob, thanks for checking it out 👍

[@acepharmer]

I have bifocals and constantly use my Bausch and Lomb flip up magnifier visor. So useful.

[@TheSmokinApe]

I need to get one of those

[@vk3xemontheweb]

Thank you, I have a LifePo4 battery and going to connect Aderson Plugs to it just like you have shown in this video.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Nice, good luck with the project...

[@Dusty_Ham]

Great video showing how to make the cables. This is the first I've heard of this brand of battery. I'm interested to see how it performs.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Dusty, I only recently heard of them myself. I should have the capacity test out in a few days.

[@robertporter1429]

Hi Mr Smokin! just wanted to say...Luv your "style" for making and teaching on your Battery Videos.....from another Battery Nerd!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Robert, glad to hear it. Thanks for watching!

[@ronwolenski-n8wcr]

Another nice and neat crimping and powerpole cable!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Ron! 🍻

[@norrinradd8952]

Great video. Fun, quick project most should be able to complete. I've had mixed results with the various F2 male/female connectors found on batteries and the crimp ones used for cables. I tend to have problems when I steal a cable from one battery to use on another battery. As long as I leave the cable on the battery i made it for, no problemo. The cheap F2 connectors tend to loosen up. Eventually I found some high quality F2 quick connect. They work great on all my batteries, but not as cheap. A nice cable to use in a pinch, alligator clips and powerpoles. I made one with 12g zipcord and I use it for quick tests. Very handy.

[@TheSmokinApe]

I am planning to leave this in place for the reason you mentioned. Thanks for watching Norrin.

[@stephen1711]

By personal experience I've found you can save yourself years of frustration with bad connections from the Anderson power pole stuff that eventually cause measured voltage drops. The Amass XT series of connectors are available in sizes to handle the load and are extremely reliable.... enjoy!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Stephen. I agree the XT seems to be a better connector, but APP is everywhere. Kinda like how Betamax had a better picture…

[@chrissewell1608]

Those connectors look better to me too!

[@radiotests]

Thanks! Without your videos I wouldn't be able to do half the fun stuff I do and you tolerate me hanging around.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Craig! 👍🍻

[@jeffschroeder4805]

I had some 1/4" connectors similar to what you used to connect to the battery and though I wasn't sure if the insulating cover was heat shrink, I tried heating it and it shrunk nice and tight. Additional heat shrink doesn't hurt, of course, and it will help make the joint more rigid as you mentioned.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Jeff, thanks for the info and for watching 👍

[@markw.4679]

Can't have enough heat shrink 👍

[@wrenchmonkey3920]

dangerously close to an unboxing vid. I splurged on the fancied up Bauer heat gun, not bad.

[@TheSmokinApe]

I knew I was close to the line. I don’t do a lot of heat gunning and so far it been some of the best 8 bucks I’ve spent! 😂

[@elkhartcountyskywarn2879]

Don't feel bad about the cheaters. Some of us old guys have had to do that for awhile. I love my magnifying light. I also like tinning the wires.

[@TheSmokinApe]

I have a big ole magnifying glass on my desk that has saved me a few times.

[@billryland6199]

You should put an inline fuse between the battery & PowerPoles.

[@TheSmokinApe]

I typically use a fused power line for the devises I am powering but point taken.

[@SailboatDiaries]

Exactly what I needed, thanks

[@TheSmokinApe]

Awesome, thanks for watching 👍

[@Cr0cket20]

Hahaha, I was laughing when you had to put the enhanced reading device on. No less than 5 min ago and had to take a picture of some wire and then blow the picture up on my phone to even be able to read it.

[@TheSmokinApe]

LOL, man it's rough when the eyes start to go...

[@AndyAAzeroAM]

Nice cord makin' skillz!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Andy! 🍻

[@Tump2010]

Good video, I liked the magnifying glasses. 😀

[@TheSmokinApe]

I look good in them right?

[@KU9L]

I bought some F2 connectors from AMZ which took two weeks to receive, it was nice that they came with shrink wrap, but the 8ga wire I needed to put them on (I had two 6AH batteries in parallel) made them prone to sliding off the F2 terminal due to the stiff wire under slight tension. The 8ga wires ran to a one bolt buss bar but I know at some point I will discover I have one dead 6 AH battery and one not connected, LOL. I thought about soldering them on, but that wasn't going to work if I wanted to just bring one battery with me for a SOTA activation instead of the whole Group-24 battery box. The other end of my cables have ring terminals on them going to the buss bar. So to maintain flexibility and security on the connections, maybe I could solder the F2 terminals and insert Power Poles inline so I could disconnect them when needed, which will work great for a SOTA activation. Many of my POTA activations are drive up locations so the complete battery box works for that need. Cheers es 73, Dave - KU9L

[@TheSmokinApe]

The anderson jumper sounds like it might be the solution. Thanks for watching KN!

[@JT-py9lv]

Thanks Ape !

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks for checking it out JT 👍

[@pcfreak1992]

I really like the mnemonic I read on Wikipedia for remembering the correct orientation: red on right, tongue on top.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Nice!

[@TonyHoldenEsquire]

Bog standard blue crimp female spade connectors work just fine, I've been using them on AGM batteries for over 4 years.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Good info, thanks Tony 👍🍻

[@KM4ACK]

Looking forward to the capacity test results.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hoping to have it up soon, thanks for checking out the video Jason.

[@teh60]

Where do you get your heat shrink tubing? Does it have the glue inside? I just discovered your channel, great content.

[@TheSmokinApe]

I do use glue lined when I have it. I think I got this on Amazon.

[@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures]

Nice job Ape, let us know how the battery works!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Chuck, more to come on this battery 🍻👍

[@K5YVY]

“Enjoying this moment Together”

[@TheSmokinApe]

❤️❤️❤️

[@temporarilyoffline]

Walkin the Talk!

[@TheSmokinApe]

You damn right 👍

[@joecraft4409]

Try to push the power pole right onto the battery terminals. I think they may fit (tightly) w/o the mod on the red/black wiring.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hmmm… I might try it.

[@threadripper979]

Nice, clean cables. Do you ever use those little locking pins to prevent the power poles from sliding?

[@TheSmokinApe]

Nah, the shrink an boot seem to handle it. 👍

[@chrissewell1608]

Since I just purchased some Power Pole connectors, I was wondering about those pins too. Do you really need them? I even thought about using a wooden tooth pick, and snapping it off, to fit!

[@TheSmokinApe]

I don't use them, I find the heat shrink and boot hold all the bits in place.

[@chrissewell1608]

@@TheSmokinApe Plus the little clips dove tail lock with each other, very well. Adding a drop of glue would make things permanent!

[@pgScorpio]

I never use those pins, but some hotglue in the hole works well too if needed.

[@ozone385]

Johnny LEFT PORT his nose was RED. Explains it all for Boats, airplanes, and Power Poles. This means Left is the PORT side of the Boat / Ship / Airplane from the Captains Seat. RED is the color of the light.

[@TheSmokinApe]

That's handy. Thanks for watching Marvin.

[@bobbymac1319]

Do you always need an inline fuse for wiring to batteries?

[@TheSmokinApe]

Yeah, it’s a good idea to do that 👍

[@gaptastic]

Don't be embarrassed. As we get old our eyes fade. I actually carry a wallet sized magnifier card. When I forget my wallet, I use my phone camera and zoom in. It is what it is. Getting old is part of part of life, even though you don't feel it mentally. We can't stop or control it. Thanks for the video!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Gap, once I put the readers on and it was still blurry!

[@chrissewell1608]

I got this NEW invention, called.... Glasses! 🤓 And poof... I can see again!

[@TheSmokinApe]

I'll have to look into that!

[@timelord1137]

In my case, I just threw away the case and brought the anderson directly from the battery wiring😁

[@TheSmokinApe]

Gotcha, thanks for checking out the video TL 👍

[@pgScorpio]

Safety first! Where's the fuse?

[@TheSmokinApe]

I only fuse off camera 😮

[@Siskiyous6]

Wire on the top that you don' have to go digging for is how they get ya. It is also killing ham radio.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Lol, prolly correct LC 👍

[@RandyW4LKS]

No Fuses?

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Randy. The battery has internal, over and under charge protection as well as over current protection. What I made was just an adapter, all the equipment I use has fused power cables. Also, I generally plug the power source (in this case the battery) into a fused PDU.

[@chrissewell1608]

Correct me if I am wrong, (It happened...Once!) but doesn't the ARES & RACES groups, insist on it's members using Power Pole connections? So, in an emergency situation, everybody's wiring gear matches up, and is Universal with everyone's gear!? Which seems like a smart idea to me.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Chris, that's a good question but unfortunately I have no idea.