# Power terminal strips



## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

Ok, do i have to go out and buy a power terminal strip to run my bus wires off to power my feeders??

I guess im just trying to be cheap since i dont have one here.
Ive heard of people using heavy duty staples to transfer the power, have you guys heard of this?? there has to be a cheaper way without using power strips or??


this is my layout so, im trying to figure out the best way/easiest way to run my bus wires, yes i know im suppose to have bus wires run under the track or in close proximity. My layout size is 18x10










i have my feeders soldered every 3 feet or every peice of track.

Im running 14 gauge for bus and 18 guage for feeders.

I was planning on installing my nce power cab power source in the middle of layout dividing it in half, so i would have almost equal power run.

Couldnt i just run say a T shapped desigin branching off my nce power source and feed the track that way through my bus wires? or do i have to use a power strip and run my bus wires off of the power strip?
I should be able to splice bus wires to different directions?

either way your still dividing the power, just in a different manner

I dont see the difference of dividing the power through a power terminal strip or just splicing the bus wires to make more bus wires using say a butt connector, they make butt connectors to splice 2 wires together plus having another wire coming off connector, thats what i was thinking of using since i have a ton of them here


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Huh? Who got off the bus, when? 

Some guys run heavy-gauge solid (not stranded) copper bus wire underneath their table in a loop following the layout. Every few feet, they'll cut away the insulation, exposing the bare copper. You can drop down feeder wires and solder directly to that bare bus wire. No terminal strip needed.

I was at a model train club open house recently, and learned a helpful trick about making "coils" in your feeder wire ... easier long-term access/maintenance. See description here ...

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showpost.php?p=124045&postcount=13

TJ


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## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

Are you serious tj??

Thats basically how every dcc layout is wired with feeders and to the bus wire...

I figured it out, i will have 2 runs, and i will just make a splice off one run. i will try and make both runs the same length no biggy


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Of course I was serious. Why did you think I wasn't?

I was just trying to explain that the bus wire doesn't need to be insulated throughout its whole run/length. I've see setups where a good portion of it is exposed bare wire, or even bare wire (with soldered feeders) throughout.

I'll go away now ...

TJ


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## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

Lol. No u dont have to go away.  i got what u meant


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

tjcruiser said:


> Of course I was serious. Why did you think I wasn't?
> 
> I was just trying to explain that the bus wire doesn't need to be insulated throughout its whole run/length. I've see setups where a good portion of it is exposed bare wire, or even bare wire (with soldered feeders) throughout.
> 
> ...




Just bare wire? Are you serious?
Sounds like a fire hazard?

Hit the road TJ and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more, hit the road TJ and don't you come back no mooooore.

I changed Jack to TJ so Jack doesn't get upset.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

:laugh:


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

I just found a convenient place in the benchwork to sink in some screws. Run the +\- leads from the powerpack to these (2) screws, then run your buss wire power out from there to your switches (if you're making the tracks be able to turn on/off) or directly into your various blocks.

I like running them through switches in case I get a short somewhere - it's easier to find the short if you can isolate sections and determine which part of the trackwork is causing the short.


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## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

scott to the rescue again.. 

thanks bro, you have been a big help thus far.

if your wondering on my progress, things got slightly put off a bit, with the weather warming up the past couple of weeks, ive had to start working on my vegetable garden, gotta get my sweet corn patch ready


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

The wire insulation serves two purposes,one is avoiding shorts if both polarities happened to touch together and also protect from corrosion.Now if you don't have adcerse conditions (high humidity for one),then corrosion shouldn't be a worry.Then if you arrange your bus wires so that they can't touch (I mean not hanging loosely under the layout),you don't absolutely need to have them totally insulated.It doesn't look professional,I agree,but the risks are almost none.Anyway,your command station will trip if a short should occur.

The local club's layouts are wired this way and have been in use for years now without a single problem related to this wiring technique(skinning the bus where it meets with feeders,twist it around and solder).It's low priced and is also handy if you should have to search a faulty connection.

And wether you cover it (tape,heat shrink tubes,etc) or not,a soldered connection will beat any connector,any time.


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