making connections

warning: most of the people reading this blog absolutely will not care about this post.

i've been searching for a good way to distribute power/signal/ground in various electronics projects and pretty much all of the options i've found just weren't quite right.

Wire Tap

first there is your standard wire-taps, wire nuts (i hate wire nuts), or just solder and electrical tape (i hate electrical tape).  these are okay if you only need to one split your wire once.

Terminal Strip

there is your standard terminal strip, but these only allow you to connect wires 1-to-1 at a time unless you jumper two positions next to each other.  or unless i connect the signal wire to each position individually.  they also have no insulation.

Bus Bar

then you've got your busbars.  not a bad choice, but again, no insulation.

Ganged Fuse Block

then there are these fuse holders which look like they would be pretty convenient, only i don't need fused circuits.  and the other problems is, in this application, i need to distribute one 12v-constant power, one 12v-switched power and a common return so i'd need two of these and i'd need to tie the grounds together.

Blue Sea System Dual Bus Bar p/n 2722

this dual bus bar from blue sea systems looked promising but they were a bit on the pricey side and i'd need two of them, and it's really just more of a plastic cover than the metal parts could still short.  you'd think a company making marine electronics parts would seal their stuff up better.

VTE Tabbed Bus Bar

but after many hours of searching the internet, i finally found almost exactly what i was looking for.  it's these tab-style bus bars from vte world.  they use quick disconnects for the various circuits, are insulated, come in different colors and are relatively cheap.  i ordered two 10-position ones in black plastic (one for 12v-constant and one for 12v-switched), and one 20-position for ground, with red, yellow and black insulation respectively.  you can order them in small quantities from vtewarehouse.com

Posi-Lock Tap Connector

and my coworker just showed me these, which also look pretty promising and will allow you to make up to four new connections with one existing wire. http://www.posi-lock.com/posiplug.html