I get my feeder wires from electronics places. You can order wire online from Mouser, Digikey or All Electronics. If you're lucky, there may be an electronics supply place close to where you live, but you're more likely to find a train shop in town than an electronics place. My own LHS, by the way, does have wire.
Radio $hack has indeed become a place for cell phones and RC toys. Wire there is very expensive and very limited.
Your big-box hardware place may have telephone wire. I used to find it in 100-foot rolls. This is 4-conductor wire, and you can split the wire up and use the wires individually, if you'd like. It's a bit thinner than the #22 wire I like for feeders, but it will work adequately. I prefer this phone wire for running switch machines and Walthers traffic lights, which need 3 or 4 conductors. The last time I looked, though, I couldn't find telephone wire. It may be that nobody installs telephones anymore.
When you buy wire, get at least 100-foot rolls. Buy several rolls in different colors. Establish a color code for your wiring and stick to it - this makes your wiring task much easier later on.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Try door bell wire- comes in a pair. One red- one white- 20 gauge
The red and white #20 wire I have is labeled as 'alarm wire'. Works great.
Wire marked for "Low Voltage" means it is not suitable for 120/240VAC. DCC at 12-15 volts IS low voltage.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Feeder wires grow in the garden, next to the morning glory, and sometimes under the ferns. It should be easy to find once you know what to look for.
Or you can simply go to the power house and find all of the wire that you like in the scrap wire box under the plumbing fixtures. LION uses what ever wire he can find when he is looking for wire. Best place for wire is to cut up old parallel port printer cables. We gos spools and spools of 25 pair overhead telephone wire in the back of the power house in what used to be the coal shed. Telco pulled down the poles 30+ years ago, and now have even abandoned the in-ground copper in favor of optic fiber. But pulling the old cables out of the ground is not possible. (If it were easy, I would have done it already.)
Ok, buy the stuff if you must, LION would look on-line for the best prices, for you will not find those in stores unless mayhap thermostat wire will suffice for you. If I had to go to a big box store, that is what I would look for.
Hey LOOK!.... There is some thermostat wire in this scrap wire box, and it is just what I want. I think I'll take it up to the train room before someone else finds a use for it.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
rrinker The red and white #20 wire I have is labeled as 'alarm wire'. Works great. Wire marked for "Low Voltage" means it is not suitable for 120/240VAC. DCC at 12-15 volts IS low voltage. --Randy
The WIRE is suitable for any voltage: The insulation is not.
woodone Try door bell wire- comes in a pair. One red- one white- 20 gauge
Really?
Doorbell wire or phone wire 'I got free from the repairman' has been the bane of model railroading for years and years. It is usually solid wire, breaks easily and is for low voltage/amperage circuits. Some of the stuff labeled 'Alarm Wire' is more suitable. It is much more 'flexible'.
I use #14 solid wire for my main DCC bus, and #20 stranded for my feeders. I 'tin' the feeders and solder them to the rial. The #20 feeder and #14 bus fit into a IDC just fine. The IDC data indicates that #22 will work as well, but I never get a good solid connection with the #22 I tried. I make up the feeders in 'batch' ahead of time, and they are 12-15: long, with one end striped and tin'ed.
The OP mentioned 'low voltage' - DCC is low voltage, and #20 feeders every 3-6 feet will carry the load. My layout is 25' by 20' and I have some 30' plus bus runs. I have no voltage loss over these runs and I can do the 'quarter' test anyplace on my layout. When I bought wire, I just got a 500' spool each of red and black #14 for the main bus wiring at the local Big Box home improvement center, but could not find #20 there. I would up ordering it via Mouser or Digikey(I can't remember that far back).
If you do not want to use IDC's, go buy an Ideal 'Stripmaster' wire stripper - It will cut/push back a 1/2" section out of your #14 wire without nicking it. Just strip the end of the #20 feeder and wrap it around the #14 bus and solder. A little 'liquid insulation' painted around the joint will seal it.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
if you have a non-ferrous metals recycling operation nearby, check with them. they often get short spools of surplus insulated copper wire in for scrapping and will sell it by the pound. the guy i dealt with had a giant container box on a pallet full and let me pick out what i wanted and throw the rest back into the box. since they were paying about a buck a pound for the stuff, you can expect to pay a bit more than that but it would still be a bargain.
charlie
Dave,
While Radio Shack wire is expensive relative to other sources, it is readily available in 3 colors in stranded 22 gauge and not that expensive. They also used to carry larger rolls that were a better value, so these may be available special order through the store to save postage. You can cut a lot of feeders from it while finding a cheaper source, like a local electric supply source or online.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I dunno how flexible my alarm wire is, it's solid, and if you work it back and forth it will snap off like any other solid wire. Since feeders shouldn;t be moved around, this isn't really a problem.
Speaking of high voltage insulation, I once had a piece of some sort of ultra high voltage wire, it was maybe 3/8" diameter on the outside of the insulation but the wire inside was maybe #22 at best. I think the markings on the insulation said something like 6KV - 6000 volts.
I bought 50 feet each of black and white lamp cord. It's 18 guage stranded wire, and when split in half, netted me 100 feet of both colors. By the foot, it's pretty inexpensive.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Not to hijack this thread, but I have a related question. Right now I am using DC, but I have an NCE Power Cab DCC starter set that will be installed very soon. I use Atlas snap track and flex track throughout my humble layout (HO scale). I use the Atlas terminal sections (straight and curved) and have them scattered and hidden around the layout. Can I still use these terminal sections when I upgrade my feeder wires and convert to DCC or do I need to solder the wires directly to the track?
Thanks all for your time and information.
Regards, Don
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that both engines have failed, and we will be stuck here for some time. The good news is that you decided to take the train and not fly."
We're actually working with Extra low voltage with our trans. Under 50 volts is considered Extra low voltage. 50 to 1000 volts is called Low voltage. That's right, the power in your house is low voltage. Low voltage is voltage that will not normally arc to ground through air.
Anyhow, low voltage wire will work just fine with extra low voltage. just don't use it for high voltage >1000 because as Randy pointed out the insulation is very thick.
Martin Myers
EMD.DonCan I still use these terminal sections when I upgrade my feeder wires and convert to DCC or do I need to solder the wires directly to the track?
If your trains run well with that arrangement on DC, they should be fine on DCC. DCC is a bit more fussy, though, so you may find you have dead spots you didn't know about.
For either DC or DCC, the more feeders you have, the better your trains will run. My moderate-sized layout, 100 square feet or so with a good deal of track, has dozens of pairs of feeders. While those terminal sections are perfectly fine for attaching feeders, you may find that it's awkward (and expensive) to provide enough of them to do a good job of providing connections. Also, snap track sections are short, so you've got lots of rail joiners. These are typically the weakest points in your power distribution network. They will loosen with time. You may find that soldering these joints will help a lot.
So, are you ready to place that order with an electronics place? To reduce shipping costs, it's better to place a large order than a small one, so here are some suggestions of other things to pick up at the same time:
A decent but not overpriced meter for measuring volts and amps.
Soldering irons. Yes, plural. Think of one with a standard tip for most work, and a small-tip one for decoders and such. Don't forget solder, and maybe one of those solder-sucker gadgets or solder wick to clean up your mistakes.
Shrink wrap insulation in a couple of different diameters.
Liquid insulation that you paint on. This stuff works, and is convenient in some situations.
A magnifier lamp. These things can be expensive. I got a small, cheap one for $16.
LEDs
Toggle switches, in particualar DPDT, SPDT and SPST. SPDT momentary contact for twin-coil switch machines.
Cable ties.
MisterBeasley If your trains run well with that arrangement on DC, they should be fine on DCC. DCC is a bit more fussy, though, so you may find you have dead spots you didn't know about. For either DC or DCC, the more feeders you have, the better your trains will run...Also, snap track sections are short, so you've got lots of rail joiners. These are typically the weakest points in your power distribution network. They will loosen with time. You may find that soldering these joints will help a lot.
For either DC or DCC, the more feeders you have, the better your trains will run...Also, snap track sections are short, so you've got lots of rail joiners. These are typically the weakest points in your power distribution network. They will loosen with time. You may find that soldering these joints will help a lot.
Thank you! That helps a lot, much appreciated.
rrinker Speaking of high voltage insulation, I once had a piece of some sort of ultra high voltage wire, it was maybe 3/8" diameter on the outside of the insulation but the wire inside was maybe #22 at best. I think the markings on the insulation said something like 6KV - 6000 volts. --Randy
That sounds like solid core spark plug wire for an older car. High voltage and low current, which is why the small conductor and large insulation.
Speaking of auto parts, your local Pep Boys, Auto Zone and O'rielys are great sources for wire, switches and cable ties. Go to their webpages and see.
Sort of, but not quite. The insulation was a see-thru red color. I suppose it could ahve been a hunk of fancy plug wire if youw anted to have a dressed-up car instead of the typical black wires, but I think it may have been a high tension wire for CRTs or some such thing. It came in a box of electronics a neighbor gave to me when he moved, I was about 9 or 10 at the time and he knew I was into electronics.
My friend has it now, and after 30 some years he actually used it to connect to an electric fence.
Did it look like this?
Yes but with a much thinner conductor. The wie inside was so small a size as to be more like a hairline inside the insulation.
mfm37 We're actually working with Extra low voltage with our trans. Under 50 volts is considered Extra low voltage. 50 to 1000 volts is called Low voltage. That's right, the power in your house is low voltage. Low voltage is voltage that will not normally arc to ground through air. Anyhow, low voltage wire will work just fine with extra low voltage. just don't use it for high voltage >1000 because as Randy pointed out the insulation is very thick. Martin Myers
When referring to residential use, normal voltage is 120 and low voltage refers to things like alarms, doorbells and outdoor landscape lighting that run on only a few volts and need to be stepped down from normal household current. That's why I wasn't sure if I could use their wiring for the trains, since we plug those directly into the normal household current. I wasn't sure how much it got stepped down by the transformers.
My point was that in electrical manufacturing terms the label low voltage refers to wire that will handle up to 1000 volts. 120 volts is higher then the 12 to 18 volts we use for our trains but in electrical parlance 120volts is low voltage. The wire company doesn't know that we are going to use the product to run trains so it has to be labeled correctly for all users. So wire labeled low voltage will work for extra low voltage because really the difference is the insulation. So if it won't arc through its insulation at 120 volts it won't arc at 15 volts.