Vail and Southwestern RR wrote:I don't know if there is right of wrong. I think I'd put them all together near the source, more or less the same way a house does. If there is a failure anywhere on the bus, you are covered. I'm imagining a case where work on the layout damages the wires running to the breaker if it is out near the block it protects, and causes a short.
I don't know if there is right of wrong. I think I'd put them all together near the source, more or less the same way a house does. If there is a failure anywhere on the bus, you are covered. I'm imagining a case where work on the layout damages the wires running to the breaker if it is out near the block it protects, and causes a short.
I agree. It's safest to protect as much of the system as possible. It's also OK to daisy chain the inputs as long as the total current is within the limits of the wire. The first part of the chain will carry the aggregate current for them all. Individual feeders off of a terminal strip are fine too. Like Selector, I also use the lightbulbs on my layout. Each section (6-10 feet) has a series lightbulb and is isolated from the others. It's already helped me to find three shorts. [1 wiring boo boo, one bad turnout and one derailment in hidden staging].
Karl
The mind is like a parachute. It works better when it's open. www.stremy.net
It's six of one and a half-dozen of the other, Jarrell. Your total wire lengths will have to be the same either way, so I would mount them where they are easily dealt with which would tend to be close-by. Perhaps keep your main bus, depending on what makes sense for your wiring plan, as short as possible, and then wire your two or three breakers into the short bus. From the breakers would run the two or three sub-buses necessary to reach out to their intended places of feeding. There is no reason to change wire gauges up to this point...keep it all 14 or 12 for the bus and subs. Then your feeders as you see fit.
BTW, I went el-cheapo per the suggestions of one Joseph Fugate and placed two twin-packs worth of 12 volt 2.5 amp taillight bulbs in series on my sub-buses. They work so well that I have forgotten all about them, save for the once or twice a week that they illuminate to reveal my shortcomings in lining my routes.
Jeff But it's a dry heat!
Jeff,
I located my circuit breakers close to the blocks they are protecting. I ran a 12 gauge bus to terminal strips, then 14 gauge out to the circuit breaker or reverse loop module. I then run a block bus from the circuit breaker to my track feeders.
Don Z.
Research; it's not just for geeks.
For starters, I am modeling HO with DCC in a 12X16 layout with walk in, and now looking for thoughts on where/how to mount the circuit breakers? I am using the PSX's and PSX-AR's, but want opinions on where the circuit breakers should be located under the table? Should they be all together on one panel for easy viewing or down the bus lines closer to the actual blocks and feeder wires? I know there is no right or wrong way of determining blocks for the circuit breakers, but again any info is appreciated.
Also, any thoughts on daisy chaining the circut breakers as in the instructions or use a terminal strip and run individual bus lines to each circuit breaker?
Love the forums and the hobby. Santa Fe in the midwest.
Jeff Shaw