# Learning about good wiring



## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

So I heard that electric train tracks have to deal with "resistance" and that rail joiners add to the problem. So, what is the ideal length for power distribution? Also, do I need to buy a more powerful power pack? (I only have starter set life-like power packs at the moment)

Someone told me that I should run feeder wire for every 10 feet of rail, is this correct? 

I dont know how to solder anything and I've never done it in my life, how hard is it?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Every three feet of track.
Soldering is easy once you learn the basic principals.


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## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

NIMT said:


> Every three feet of track.
> Soldering is easy once you learn the basic principals.


what i worry about is having lumpy looking rails on the track


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

They sell rail joiners with the wires attached that you can use till you learn to solder.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

Pre-tin the wire ends (that means get solder on the wire) before you try to attach it to the rail. Bend the wire so that you have a 3-4mm long leg bent at 90 degrees to the wire and solder that to the outer rail. If you bend it carefully, you can get the wire to sit right against the inside corner of the outer rail near the base. 

Use flux to get the solder to flow into the joint easier and use a small diameter solder wire (really small works great) that way you don't put too much material into the joint and end up with a blob.

It's not really that hard. Practice with some scrap rail/wire before you commit anything to your layout.


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## Rangerover (Feb 8, 2012)

Just one other important thing make sure your rail where you solder is clean. I use a dremel tool with a small wire brush and add flux before soldering and like's been said tinning is so important! Jim


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## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

Well, I think the wired rail joiners will be easier to work with. I just need to know if I need a lot those terminal blocks for every 3 feet of rail.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

No.....you just run a larger gauge wire parallel underneath your tracks and run the small gage feeders down to the Buss. The Buss will connect to your on/off track power switches (or directly to your powerpack if it's a single block)

You can see both the Buss line and the feeders in this picture.


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## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

sstlaure said:


> No.....you just run a larger gauge wire parallel underneath your tracks and run the small gage feeders down to the Buss. The Buss will connect to your on/off track power switches (or directly to your powerpack if it's a single block)
> 
> You can see both the Buss line and the feeders in this picture.


the bus? im sorry, this stuff is all new to me


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## Rangerover (Feb 8, 2012)

The buss is the heavier wire he has it's twisted, you can see the smaller feeder wires going to the top and if you look at the track you can see where he soldered them. Jim


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

Buss is 16 gauge, feeders are 20ga (smaller wires.)

You use a larger line for the Buss wire to prevent voltage drops along the length of wire. Smaller wires have larger voltage drops over the length.


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

Also use a hot soldering iron. 

Cooler ones tent to melt the plastic ties due to the time it takes to get the rail hot enough for solder to flow and stick. 

Also use heat sinks so that your solder joint is between them.


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## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

thank you everyone!


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## ontario mainline (Dec 6, 2008)

Buss is 16 gauge, feeders are 20ga 

what would be a good gauge, for hooking up my blocks. on a dc layout ?

Ron


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

You mean into the switches? I run 20 for feeders, 16 for everything else (track related)


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## [email protected] (Jan 30, 2012)

MAN! I thought I knew something...

I need to catch up right now, before I burn up the Zypher I got in the mail today. I have one power lead per loop, each one is about 30'. These "Feeder Lines" are new to me. I guess they mean parallel power supply throughout the entire circuit?

I promise I WILL read the Digitraxx manual cover-to-cover before plugging it in. I have EZ Track. Do those joints have the same power loss problems as traditional joiners? Do I need to solder them?

In other words...









HEELLLLPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!


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## ontario mainline (Dec 6, 2008)

going to radio shack. to get my wire, but all I see for 16 gauge wire is 
2-conductor speaker wire. for hook-up wire all they have is 18 gauge, or 12 gauge.
so what should I use ?

Ron


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

I buy it in 100' rolls at Home Depot or Lowes. Much cheaper than Radio Shack.


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## manchesterjim (Dec 30, 2011)

sstlaure said:


> I buy it in 100' rolls at Home Depot or Lowes. Much cheaper than Radio Shack.



:thumbsup::thumbsup: and if you're doing a BIG layout, you can by wire from a number of electrical and electronic stores (online or brick and mortar). 

General rule of thumb is that the more you buy the cheaper it gets! 

Jim


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

I've got ~800 ft of 16 in my layout thus far (~400ft each of red/white wire.) I also did block control wiring (mainly to make diagnosis of shorts easier.)










You can see the 16 coming into the box and up to the switches










This pic is the wiring for the staging yard and the roundhouse/turntable










Upper yard wiring (good example of buss/feeders)


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## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

lol 1/2 of those wires, I dont even know what they are!


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

It's a crapload of the same thing. 

Each switch on the panel is a separate power block. 

Each powered block gets a pair of Red/White #16 lines that run out from the switch and run along each block underneath the track (Buss). 

The power is then sent from the Buss to the track via the #20 feeder lines (smaller wires in pictures) On my layout I powered every section of track and every turnout. I even powered both routes in the turnouts. 

A little overkill I admit, but I don't have ANY problems with consistent power delivery.


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## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

sstlaure said:


> It's a crapload of the same thing.
> 
> Each switch on the panel is a separate power block.
> 
> ...


Looks like a lot of wiring work. I want something simpler w/out fear of breaking everything because I just connected the wrong wire to the wrong thing. Im not trying to be picky, just cautious. Especially for the fact that I'm a beginner at the hobby and I dont want to end up breaking my locos either.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

This is only my second layout - I've only been doing this for about 2.5 years. One circuit or (10), it's all the same thing.

Keep in mind my layout is quite a bit bigger than the average (16x16 + hidden staging)


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