Re: Anderson PowerPole for CAN bus?
 

I agree that using Andersons for CAN lines is definitely overkill. A good, cheap alternative we found is to use JST SM connectors found over at Adafruit. Solid connection, easy to attach (no special crimper required), polarized, and CHEAP!

http://www.adafruit.com/products/319
http://www.adafruit.com/products/318

No need to use a jackhammer here, folks! Not everyone is made of money!

Re: Anderson PowerPole for CAN bus?
 

I've been trying to find something like this without the wires already built in. Something like these without the wires.

Re: Anderson PowerPole for CAN bus?
 

The description on Amazon isn't the greatest but you may be looking for This and This. You'd have to buy the Contacts Separately.

Re: Anderson PowerPole for CAN bus?
 

You sir, you are the man.

Re: Anderson PowerPole for CAN bus?
 

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We are looking at using the locking PWM connectors from Hansen Hobbies. They use different contact pins than the "normal" PWM connectors they sell but the same crimper can be used. Like the PWM connectors commonly used in FRC, they have a physical configuration that is more similar to the physical configuration than most of the small connectors I have found (and many of those suggested in this thread).

The 30A and 45A Anderson connectors can work for the CAN Bus connections but will probably present a larger disruption to the characteristic impedance than the PWM connectors. They are also meant for minimum wire sizes of 16AWG and 14AWG, respectively, so extra precautions will have to be taken to ensure a good electrical and mechanical connection is made. It is also likely that people pull on the wires to un-mate the connectors. While the 16AWG to 10AWG wire that is normally used might survive this type of abuse, the 22AWG CAN Bus wires that are part of the motor controllers will be more likely to be damaged.

I have used my industry contacts to find a small connector for the CAN Bus connections but have yet to find a better solution than the parts from Hansen. The parts I was able to find either required the purchase of a special tool from the connector manufacturer (typically $100's) or were rated for an unacceptably low number of mating cycles (i.e. 25 vs 10,000 for the 45 A Anderson and others). It would be best to check the tooling required and the mating cycle rating before committing to a connector type.

Re: Anderson PowerPole for CAN bus?
 

The characteristic impedance of the CAN cable is spec'd at 120 ohms, not 55.

Re: Anderson PowerPole for CAN bus?
 

We looked at several connector solutions to make potential Talon change outs easy during competition. A lot of the polarized solutions we considered had costs of ~$1 per connector and used the small crimp pins that the kids sometime struggle with. Then we discovered the WAGO 222-412 2-terminal block. We bought 50 of these for about $0.35 each at Newark (link). The WAGO is small, takes a wide range of wire gauges (28-12 AWG), and has nifty little levers for thumb or WAGO tool operation.

We initially used several of the small terminal blocks that come with the annual KOP to wire up the prototype electrical subsystem and had trouble with an unreliable CAN bus. All our CAN communications issues disappeared after swapping in the little WAGOs.

Re: Anderson PowerPole for CAN bus?
 

Sorry, the 2X should be 1/2X making the termination similar to the cable impedance - thanks for the correction.

Re: Anderson PowerPole for CAN bus?
 

We are using the same connectors that would be on the Talon SR or Victor so if we ever decide to utilize PWM over CAN, we can do so without having to change the controller wiring.