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Using terminal blocks

Started by rile42, November 23, 2012, 02:40:54 PM

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rile42

I'm getting ready to set up the feeder wires to my track from my bus wires.  I'm considering using some Radio Shack terminal blocks to make it easier.  So let me see if I got it correct.  I need one terminal block for one side of the track and another for the other side.  Run a line from the bus, hook it to one end of one block, use a jumper to distribute that power to the rest of the screws on that side......and run feeder wires from the other side to the track.  Is that correct, if I've been abale to describe it well enough?

 

jward

that sounds about right. did you know radio shack sells bus bars for use on the terminal strips? they make wiring the blocks alot easier.
Jeffery S Ward Sr
Pittsburgh, PA

jward

you can place the terminal block in the center of the layout, and use it as the center of the star. the length restrictions on feeder wire on dcc only applies if the feeders are small guage wire like awg24 or awg22. running awg18 from the terminal blocks to the track will allow you to have feeders 3 or more feet in length, and awg18 is small enough to solder to the sides of rail.
Jeffery S Ward Sr
Pittsburgh, PA

beampaul7

Thank You Jeff.  My plan may bring my tracks well over two ft above ground level and I've been meaning to ask that very question for some time.  Thanks a bunch.

Paul G






rile42

Thanks for the info everyone.  My layout is only a 4'x8' layout with two parallel tracks around the perimeter and a small yard on the inside of the tracks.  Jeff, I'm not sure what you mean by a bus bars for the terminal strips.  Are they the same as what I called a jumper bar which I have purchased.  As I run the layout wiring through my head, I probably have to purchase a couple more eight section terminal strips so I can have one on each side of the layout and one on each end.  Would it be a good idea to get one more for feeder wires to the small yard in the middle on the side past the DCC ready turnouts?

jward

for what it's worth, lowes and home depot sell awg18 2 conductor "doorbell wire" which makes excellent feeder wire. they sell by the foot and will cut whatever length you need.
Jeffery S Ward Sr
Pittsburgh, PA

Doneldon

rile-

Four, eight-contact terminal blocks sounds like an awfully large number of
feeders for a 4'x8' layout. One would probably suffice; you could consider
two if you really want to be sure that a DCC layout has a great power supply.

                                                                                             -- D

electrical whiz kid

You can use whichever type of wire you like per the right size, but I caution against using solid wire.  I would not because if it breaks, then you can have a repair job on your hands; if it has a fractured solder joint, then you may wind up pulling your hair out of youe head trying to rectify the problem.  Stranded conductors are flexible enough to take some significant handling without injuring [it].
Richie C.

CNE Runner

Ditto on what everyone else said (especially the avoidance of solid core wire...don't ask).

For your size layout I would run two strands of 12 gauge house (Romex) wires as my buss. You can purchase Romex at one of the home supply box stores in 25' rolls (or larger if needed). I glue several pieces of 1" x 2" wood pieces that have been drilled with two holes to accept the Romex's internal wires (acts to support the buss wires). I then strip off the outer casing on the Romex - leaving me with white, black, and uninsulated copper wires (the uninsulated copper wire can be put in your scrap box for another use).

Thread the white and black wires through your supports, attach one end of each to your power supply (white = (-), black = (+))...the other end remains unconnected. Being careful to keep the rail polarity consistant, attach your track feed wires to the appropriate buss wire via 3M 'suitcase' connectors. No soldering and that 12 ga. buss will handle all your power needs. If you decide on two separate loops of buss, then you can attach one end of each loop to a terminal strip and hence to your power supply (probably not needed for a 4' x 8' layout).

Ray
"Keeping my hand on the throttle...and my eyes on the rail"

Doneldon

rile-

CNE's suggestion about threading Romex through wood blocks is a good one. Keep the black and white wires about
1.5-2" apart so you have room to make future connections for feeders and to minimize crosstalk. You don't need
the bare grounding wire. I think that 12 ga wire is overkill on a 4x8, but you can get 14 ga Romex, too. You'll almost
certainly pay less for a given length of Romex than you would for two same lengths of individual wire so keep the
Romex in mind. It might even be cheaper than lamp cord (16 ga stranded wire as used in household appliances like
lamps and radios) although you can sure use an old extension cord, too. Just separate the two wires a bit at one
end and pull them apart. You do need to be more careful about polarity with lamp cord because you won't have
obviously white and black wires to clue you in.
                                                                     -- D

Len

I like lamp cord because it's availalbe in several colors. Polarity is pretty easy to keep straight also. The insulation on all lamp cord is smooth over one conductor, and has ridges over the other. Pick one to be the 'hot' side, and the other to be the 'return'.

I use brown insulation for track power, white for building lights, gray for switch machine power, and black for misc odds and ends.

Len
If at first you don't succeed, throw it in the spare parts box.

CNE Runner

Gosh, the things you can learn on this forum...'never knew that one could tell polarity of lamp wires by 'ridges'. One further thing though: You may hear posters recommending that you twist the buss wires to avoid induced current...don't. I followed that advice on a recent mini layout I built for someone and had a devil of a time attaching those 3-M suitcase connectors. On very large layouts, with long runs, this might be necessary; but not on anything most of us would build.

Keep us informed on your progress.

Ray
"Keeping my hand on the throttle...and my eyes on the rail"

Desertdweller

I use common rail wiring on my DC layout.  You designate one rail as the "common" rail
(either inside or outside rail on a closed-loop track plan) and put all your insulating gaps and block feeder wires on the other one.  A bus wire runs under the layout following the main lines, and feeders to the common rail are attached to the bus with suitcase connectors.

The terminal strips are used only for the gapped rail and switch machines.  One set of terminal strips are wired to the block selector switches.  The other set are wired to the track feeders.  A wire for each block connects them.

I refined this a little more by attaching a forked spade terminal to each wire where it connects to the terminal block.  This prevents loose wire strands from contacting each other, and makes it easy to disconnect and reconnect wires.

One idea that I found really helpful was to write alongside each terminal strip a notation of which wire goes where, and if the wires are DC (track power) or AC (switch motors).  Be sure to use a pen that can write upside down!.

Another thing that helped was to use a "headlight" to put light where you need it, hands-free.

Les