Track feeders and DCC Bus line?

[Anonymous]

Hi,
I have some questions in regard to feeders from the track and the bus line to DCC. I am working on Atlas N-scale N-18 layout. There are a lot of wires hanging under the table. All the feeders go to the south of the rail, and I have just 2 for the whole layout that go to the north of the rail, and I think it is called common. Since the bus line has two wires one positive and one negative, shouldn’t the feeders be that way too? Do I have to go back and add another feeder on the north side of the rails where there currently just one feeder?
There are a lot of feeders and one bus line, what is the best way to connect all these feeders to the bus line? If you can illustrate this by a photo that would be very great.
If you have any other thought on this please share.
Thank you all and have very happy holidays.
Mo:-)

[Anonymous]

Yes, you need 2 bus wires, one + and one -. Also you need feeders on both rails. one rail + and one rail -. Dont get the + and - mixed up or you will get a dead short, very very bad! Being that you are using DCC, the + and - really mean nothing, but it helps me to make sure that I dont get wires crossed.

We have one wire to each rail. Black and Red. And these wires go into the black or red bus accordingly.


Some people put thier buses directly into the power supply, I like to have mine in a complete loop. The closest wires and blurriest (black and white) go from the bus to the command station,

[CMSTPP]

JPM335 is correct. You can't have one feeder feeding all your wires, you need two of them. Otherwise a SHORT will occur. What I have done is given a feeder wire to each rail. One for positive the other for negative. Right side of the track being positive.
I ran all my positive wires to the positive feeder wire and all negative to negative feeder.

All other tracks like maybe a double track mainline can all run on the same 2 feeders. These feeders for my layout go all the way around the layout and meet together, then 2 seperate wires come down from the feeders in to the DCC system.
James

[selector]

It seems we are mixing terms. "Feeder" is the wire linked to the rail on one end and to the "bus" on the other. The feeders feed power from the bus to the rails.

The "bus" runs under the layout in a path approximating the path of the track main line. It is linked directly to the booster or controller. The bus is a heavier weight (gauge) of wire, and can be strand or solid, machs nichst. Same for the feeders....stranded or solid, but they are of a lighter gauge. For the bus, 10-14 gauge, depending on its length and power transmission to the layout. The lower number means a heavier gauge for better transmission. For the feeders, between 16-20 gauge (typically), and keep them as short as you can...go directly up through the subroadbed to the nearest rail.

I hope that helps.

[BR60103]

I think moshken has a 2-wire bus.
Mosh: more feeders on the common rail would be nice. What they would do is reduce your reliance on rail joiners to carry current, as the rail joiners eventually loosen up and don't conduct as well.
The bus wires will be carrying the full current for the layout, while the feeders should only be carrying current for the locos that are right above them.
Also, if you have double track you only need one bus, not one for each track.

[colvinbackshop]

Great job Crandell...Keeping us all on track regarding terms!
When talking here on the forum, we really do need to talk apples and apples. You did a nice job of putting it all "on the same page"....
Also to mention; Joe, James and David, all good information posted on the thread.
Bottom line is...More wire/less reliance on the track!

[Anonymous]

The problem that I have that I already glued all my track. To install more common feeders I have to redo them all over again. Any better idea on this.
Thanks.

[selector]

Yup. Take a thin punch and punch downthrough the ballast to the wood immediately OUTSIDE EACH rail, between ties at the location you chose to solder. One hole on each side of the tracks, not one hole on each side of each rail. Then, use a 1/4" wood drill bit and drill a hole down through the punched hole and through the wood. Feed your feeder wire up from the bottom and solder it to the outside of the rail. Paint it black or brown to blend in when you are SURE it is conductive and strong. Solder the other end to the bus, making sure you don't have the feeders crossed to the wrong bus wire.

[Anonymous]

My suggestion would be to put a pair of drop wires or(feeders) as you are calling them at evey joint in the track. This will make for trouble free running. You should have the same amount of drops on both sides of the track.