Connector for Control Panel to Track wires

[barclaysierra]

I will have 8-12 blocks on my patio railroad when I am finished. Wiring is minimal, 18 ga to the S rail in each block plus one common to N. Any suggestions on an easy connector, weatherproof, that I can plug the control panel and wires together with, without having to connect all of them separately each time I want to run?

[Puckdropper]

There are a variety of connectors like that that you can get. You may want to look in to trailer wiring, which is made for just this purpose.

OTOH, there are connectors that will be much cheaper but you'll have to protect them a bit from the weather. (They may handle it just fine as long as you keep the abuse down.) You may want to look in to Powerpole connectors. I haven't used them, but I plan to.

[Rastun]

Personally I would probably go with something like these listed here http://www.edmo.com/index.php?module=products&func=displaycat&catid=950.
Finding them at a reasonable price maybe a bit more difficult but not totally unheard of. Or since you would only need one talk to EDMO and see what kind of price you can get it for, remember most of those are sold without the pins and connectors in them so you would have to buy those also.
hope this helps,
Jack

[Anonymous]

I don't understand wjy you would do this, i do not have any blocks i thought they were a thing of the past.


Rgds ian

[barclaysierra]

Ian,
I am using simple blocks so I can get up and running with my engines out of the box, and my grandsons, 7 & 8 can run the trains with minimal assistance from me. I'm not ready to leap to DCC or Battery/Remote control on these yet. Both for expense, and don't have the time or $$ to make the conversions at this time.
My "wintertime" project is an N gauge, that will use DCC, already a hassle since I have to contract out the installation of the decoders (too small for me to handle effectively).

[Tom The Brat]

I put in blocks for the shop layout so I could demo somebody's loco without having to install a radio first.

Otherwise, R/C is the way to go. Definitely. Even put straight DC to the power and the radio in the train if you have to.

[mgilger]

I use Cinch Jones connectors that can be obtained from Mouser

www.mouser.com

I have several small plastic weather proof boxes that it mates to. I used the Cinch Jones because they have a wide surface area for the connections, so I don't have to worry about voltage loose through the connector. Goto the tools section at the following link to view.

http://community.webshots.com/user/MVgilger

Having fun in Ohio.
Mark

[markperr]

Split jaw makes them for about a buck apiece. Their half the physical length of a standard split jaw clamp and have a hex screw to screw the wire under. You can place them easily between the ties anywhere you want on the layout.

http://www.railclamp.com/displayCategory.jsp?categoryId=7&vId=6618

Mark