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zw power and watts,

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  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: Lake Worth FL
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Posted by phillyreading on Thursday, December 23, 2010 4:46 PM

A bus set-up is a run of wires from one end of your layout to the other, usually from the transformer out to the farthest points of your tracks, and you tie into it for power and use track lockons or solder wires to the tracks. For best results use both a common and a positve bus wire for your circuit.

If using an older ZW, it is wise to buy some 7 amp circuit breakers and put these in on the lettered outputs A to D.

Lee F.

Interested in southest Pennsylvania railroads; Reading & Northern, Reading Company, Reading Lines, Philadelphia & Reading.
  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Austin, TX
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Posted by lionelsoni on Thursday, December 23, 2010 2:50 PM

You can get the full power from any one of the 4 outputs, A, B, C, or D, paired with one of the U terminals (which are all connected together inside the box).  Do not connect any of A, B, C, and D to each other.  That will result in a large fault current which will not trip the circuit breaker.

A bus is something "for all", which is what the Latin word "omnibus" means.  In layout wiring, it refers to wires that provide power to multiple loads.

Bob Nelson

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: pittsburgh pa.
  • 85 posts
zw power and watts,
Posted by chad tm5000/trainstation on Thursday, December 23, 2010 1:49 PM

how do you get the most out of the transformer can you bridge the power to one or a bus line to one connection im kind of confused on this when they say a bus line is that bridge to all on the transformer or not

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