Okay, so what I'm doing is powering my frogs with SPDT switches. I bought a terminal strip from Radio Shack so that I can run the + and - leads from my power pack to the strip, which I can then use to connect the repective leads to the SPDT switches for my frogs.
However, now that I look at the strip I bought, and reading what it says on the back, I think I bought the wrong one. What I want is one where I can connect the - lead to the top of one side, and then have each screw below it be connected to that same polarity.
This is what I bought: http://www.radioshack.com/sm-8-position-dual-row-barrier-strips--pi-2103229.html
thanks a ton. I'm ready to wire up all my frog switches, AND I CAN"T WAIT ANY LONGERRRRREJRPEJWRPFE()R*#$#@!!!!! lol
Connect all the screws on one side together with bare # 18 or # 20 solid wire. Weave the wire from one screw to the next. Feed the block from one screw on that side and the other 8 screws will be the source for your switches. You may also wire the block 4 & 4 to make 4 terminals each of + and - leads.
Forgot to mention, the jumper strips can be seperated into any number. If you only need 4 positive and 4 negative terminals, just seperate the stip into halve. Running the bare wires works just as well, and is cheaper.
i figured out a way to do it.... i just thought they made all these things where one column/row was electrically connected, and the other was connected, but they were isolated from each other.
The one I have has got 8 'positions' but each position is connected to the other side.... the 8 screws in a row aren't connected to each other... each screw is just connected to the one opposite it.
kinda stupid... but i guess i can see the practicality. I just made some jumper deals and bootlegged the crap out of it, lol. i just ran out of suitcase connectors.... so I'm ALMOST finished with this preliminary wiring setup.....
DeadheadGreg wrote: i just thought they made all these things where one column/row was electrically connected, and the other was connected, but they were isolated from each other.
i just thought they made all these things where one column/row was electrically connected, and the other was connected, but they were isolated from each other.
Most terminal strips are isolating types. It is easier to connect them together than it is to isolate ones that are made already connected. That is why they also make the jumper strips to add to them. There are also several different types of jumpers that are made for them.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
This is what you should have bought based on your desired description...
Don Z.
Research; it's not just for geeks.
Greg,
I just finished wiring my mainline and Fast Tracks turnouts for DCC this past weekend using the same type of terminal strips. However, I used the 10-screw versions from Miniatronic, which come in a pack of three. (The additional 2 screws come in handy.)
What I ended up doing was making 1-1/2" long jumpers (with connectors on each end) so that I could power every other pad from one side of the terminal strip. The track feeders could then be connected to their corresponding pad on the opposite side of the power strip.
I'm also using Caboose Industries 220S ground throws to power the frog. I left one pad on the terminal strips unpowered so that I could use that as my connection point between my turnout frog and the center pin of the ground throw. Works very well in that respect.
Like you, I also used suitcase (IDC) connectors for bridging between my 14ga track bus and the 18ga feeders going to my terminal strips. Lotsa work but troubleshooting is much easier that way. And I had to utilize it early on since this is the first layout that I've ever wired up.
Fun and frustration - sometimes even within a short duration of time.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Note the strips in the upper right.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
DeadheadGreg wrote: Okay, so what I'm doing is powering my frogs with SPDT switches. I bought a terminal strip from Radio Shack so that I can run the + and - leads from my power pack to the strip, which I can then use to connect the repective leads to the SPDT switches for my frogs.
Wow, sounds like the complicated way to do it, running a pair of wires from the terminal strip to each SPDT switch. The way I've done it is to use a 2 position barrier strip for the + and - leads, run a pair of leads to the first switch, then jumper to the second, then third, etc. This can be prewired at the bench, then the only thing you need to connect at the layout is the lead from the center of each SPDT switch to its respective frog.
nooo.... no, what I did was take only ONE wire from the terminal strip (one for each polarity) and used that as my frog bus. Then, I used the suitcase connectors to hook each switch up to the each frog bus. Basically I'm doing it like track feeders.
Terminal Strip > + lead > suitcase on + lead > 2nd suitcase on + lead
Terminal Strip > - lead > suitcase on - lead > 2nd suitcase on - lead
if this makes sense.
DeadheadGreg wrote: nooo.... no, what I did was take only ONE wire from the terminal strip (one for each polarity)(Yep, that would be "a pair") and used that as my frog bus. Then, I used the suitcase connectors to hook each switch up to the each frog bus. Basically I'm doing it like track feeders. Terminal Strip > + lead > suitcase on + lead > 2nd suitcase on + leadTerminal Strip > - lead > suitcase on - lead > 2nd suitcase on - lead if this makes sense.
nooo.... no, what I did was take only ONE wire from the terminal strip (one for each polarity)(Yep, that would be "a pair") and used that as my frog bus. Then, I used the suitcase connectors to hook each switch up to the each frog bus. Basically I'm doing it like track feeders.
I'm even more confused now...You needed an 8 position barrier strip to run a "frog bus"? And why run a dedicated "frog bus" wire parallel to your track bus? Would it not be simpler to use your suitcase connetors directly on the main track bus, then run a lead to your DPDT switch, then from each switch to each frog?
KingConrail76 wrote:I'm even more confused now...You needed an 8 position barrier strip to run a "frog bus"? And why run a dedicated "frog bus" wire parallel to your track bus? Would it not be simpler to use your suitcase connetors directly on the main track bus, then run a lead to your DPDT switch, then from each switch to each frog?
Hmmm....... that is a very good question........... I don't remember why I did it that way...... it just seemed easier/made more sense to me, because I think i'd get confused a lot easier with trying to figure out which wire went to what if the track and frog feeders went to the same bus wire.