I agree that twisting the wires for a run like that is unnecessary. However putting the wire in your drill and turning it on for about two seconds, will give you a nice two turn per foot twisted bus.And it takes seconds to do.
Doing so will make one less possible cause of a problem that could occur down the road if things change on the layout. I also find it easier to feed one twisted wire than two singles around the underneath of the table.
The more you do in construction of the layout to eliminate future problems the fewer you will have.
Some people create their own luck.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
The idea of twisting is that both wires pick up the same interference, so that at the receiving end when you take the difference it cancels out. For the purposes of the DCC power bus it's irrelevant, of really close to it. The data transmission speed is very, very, slow (in terms of what the interface could be capable of handling), and the signal is huge, it's not getting lost in the noise in any circumstance. You might, possibly, be able to see the difference on a scope, but it won't come close to mattering to the decoder looking at the signal.
Control bus signals could be a different animal, from system to system. There, do what the manufacturer tells you to!
Jeff But it's a dry heat!
I've used common stranded conductor speaker wire for the bus on a large HO scale club layout with cable runs of nearly 50 feet with no crosstalk problems at all, even when running parallel to other wiring.
"Twisting" the wires was a way to get around interference in conversations when the wire was used for phone or other data transmission purposes. It has no bearing on our electrical systems because of how we use the wires. I can't ever remember having heard of it as relevant even in DCC. No worries. Just respect the load capacity of the wire gauge as usual.
Lou
Not necessary, but on the other hand it won't hurt anything if it makes you feel better.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
wdcrvr I have read about using a twisted pair when running the bus wires for my dcc layout. However, my layout, even with the add ons that I am contemplating for the future, will only reguire bus runs that will never exceed twenty feet. I am going to use 14ga solid wire. Do I really need to twist my wires or is that overkill on a layout of this size? What problems am I likely to face if I don't bother with twisting the wire? wdcrvr
I have read about using a twisted pair when running the bus wires for my dcc layout. However, my layout, even with the add ons that I am contemplating for the future, will only reguire bus runs that will never exceed twenty feet. I am going to use 14ga solid wire. Do I really need to twist my wires or is that overkill on a layout of this size? What problems am I likely to face if I don't bother with twisting the wire?
wdcrvr
On a 20 foot bus wire run, twisted wires is overkill and totally unnecessary. Mine is 162 feet, I don't twist the bus wires, and I have no problems.
If you have long bus wire runs, 200 feet or more, it may be worthwhile to twist your bus wires. This will greatly reduce interference if you were to have that issue.
Rich
Alton Junction
It's not necessary. The track is basically a buss and it's not twisted
Springfield PA