wiring and suitcase connectors

[maxman]

I think it is a 1/4 inch male tab (or disconnect), similar to those shown on page 121 of the following: http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/592240O/03-termnl-kitstools-vemd-2009-catalog.pdf

 

[Lonnie Utah]

Not that I'm an expert like most of the others here, but when I installed the bus wires and droppers, I did the following. 

I ran two 12 gauge bus wires (+/-) in parallel around the layout. I then used suitcase connectors to pull off a short 12 gauge feeder to a terminal block. I then connected 22 awg feeders to the terminal blocks and soldered them to the tracks.  I haven't had to do it yet, but it allows me to easily disconnect the rail feeders from power if need be. 

 

I sure others would do it differently, but this worked at our house.

[Gaucho]

Lonnie , not a bad idea however there ia always a compromise. Every connection adds resistance and it maybe a point of failure. I just mention this but it may not be a serious impact on you installation. Your  ability to disconnect drops is a plus if in the future you decide to add current detectors for signals.

BTW 12 gauge wire is not easy to handle, you may want to use 18 gauge.

 

Moe 

[Lonnie Utah]

Gaucho

Every connection adds resistance and it maybe a point of failure.

I hear you, but I only ran about 20-25 feet of bus wire in total. 

[rrebell]

Posi-taps are the way to go, can be bought in bulk and are reusable, over and over again.

[jfb]

take this into consideration individual connections with series wiring. i know it will be more connections at the control board and suit case connectors can be unreliable at times. a main feed is a good idea but the connectors can be problematic. thats the way i did it as listed above.,

[mfm37]

Solder works on all wire sizes.