• WARNING: Tube/Valve amplifiers use potentially LETHAL HIGH VOLTAGES.
    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
    performed by someone who is thoroughly familiar with
    the safety precautions around high voltages.

High voltage connectors - PSU to signal chassis.

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#3
In terms of compromises, I can imagine a white output Powercon at the PSU end. And a Speakon at the signal chassis end. Shouldn't do any harm connecting a speaker to it if the circuit properly discharges the HT caps pretty quickly.

BNC connectors are high voltage, but the chassis connectors have exposed metal in the centre. Not nice.
 
#7
Ham radio gear using tubes -- we used an octal, chassis mount male on the receiving (transceiver) end, and a cable mounted female.

Bulgin has a series of connectors which are good for several hundred volts.

You also have to make sure that the wire you are using is insulated for HV.
 
#11
Amphenol size 10, 12 shells, come with a variety of insulation ratings, 500V and 1000V. Much depends on how many poles you need. If only 2 or 3, then they fit the bill very well.

Something from the 62GB series would likely fit the bill.

They get kinda costly, especially if they're end of line - folks buy them for maintenance of equipment currently using them.

But I can happily recommend them, I use them daily.

As for Lemo....unfortunately I have used these extensively, and they're very costly, great quality but ultimately not very easy to assemble at all. Maybe I'm just ham fisted? 😀

Another option would be Harting style connectors, currently made by Tyco, and Phoenix contact.

All of these options are usually available from RS and Farnell Element 14 in the UK, provided they're not on back order due to demand.

If you ensure you use cable such as 3 phase and N, CY or SY style cable, which can see 690V line to line AC, you should be fine.

The hardest part will be getting small enough lengths of suitable multicore cable, such as those, which are usually sold by the reel

Astouffer's suggestion is also valid, I use HV coaxial at work, to 60kV.
A little overkill - and the worst part will be the cable, which is usually solid HDPE and solid core, very inflexible indeed.
Otherwise...a fine idea, for fixed cabling for RF amplifier to aerial applications.
 
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#12
If you rule out crimp connectors needing special tools, then what are the options for connectors you can solder?

For 2 pole HT and ground the SHV is looking promising. You can get ready made cables from China. I'm thinking female bulkhead sockets at each end and a male-male cable.
 
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#13
Well all of my suggestions are solder types, except Harting style, which are often screwed terminals

Male to male cabling and real voltage is a real no no on safety grounds.

Output from PSU should be female chassis socket, connecting to male plug end of cable, with a female recepacle/cable mount socket at the appliance end of the cable, and a male chassis 'plug'.

It becomes considerably easier if you just use a decent gland on the appliance, then you only need 2 connectors, a male connector on the PSU end of appliance cables, and a female chassis mount socket on the PSU case.

You absolutely cannot have a male output from PSU which can accidentally be contacted by fingers.

Of course even in that set up, if you touch the male socket pins after disconnecting you could still get a shock.

I would hope though, (I.e. I'm sure you would) you would have the sense to install a good bleeder resistor on the local PSU decoupling, to ensure this cannot happen.
 
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#14
"You absolutely cannot have a male output from PSU which can accidentally be contacted by fingers".

Yes, of course. The thing with SHV connectors, though, is that the shielding is kind of different on male and female sockets. Haven't had one in my hand so I'm trying to make out how they're constructed from photos.

Powercons and Speakons are totally shielded, though designed for other uses.
 
#15
This is a Bulgin connector on the rear of my low noise HV supply:
 

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#17
Yeah Euro21

Amphenol MIL spec, basic MIL spec connectors.

Whether Russian or US, they all the same spec, more or less.

The Bulgin types are OK. They are designed for the task, and tolerate the voltages. They also track over if badly assembled, and I dont like them, due to their brittle nature. (BAKELITE)

Andy,

Whatever you pick, I would not cheap out on connectors you expect to withstand up to 450V DC. 250VAC connectors just wont cut it, and whatever shielding, a male to male power lead is a weak idea. Sorry if that offends.

Making 1000VDC and above connections, is one of the ways I earn my living, so I can afford to sound abrasive - I know what I am talking about. For once 😀

For whatever it is worth, even Amphenol MIL spec and types like Euro21 shows, they can arc and track internally, if the correct care is not taken, in lead dress, use of internal insulator bushing, and loose assembly.

But I wouldn't use anything else, worth every penny.
 
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#18
mondogenerator said:
Whatever you pick, I would not cheap out on connectors you expect to withstand up to 450V DC. 250VAC connectors just wont cut it, and whatever shielding, a male to male power lead is a weak idea. Sorry if that offends.
Making 1000VDC and above connections, is one of the ways I earn my living, so I can afford to sound abrasive - I know what I am talking about. For once 😀
Click to expand...

I was just making a general enquiry about 450v. I don't use anything over 300v myself.

A lot of this is speculative - I just want to get some ideas of what people are using. As i said before, For a basic PSU it only needs to be a 2 pole connector - HT and ground. If that makes it easier, so much the better. No need for multi contact solutions.
 
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