Just finished laying track for addition to my layout. I have discovered that I have created 3 areas of polarity mismatch. I want to use a PM42 to subdivide the areas into their own districts. My questions are:
1. when going from booster to PM42 do I use the same size wire as would be used on track bus? (12 g)
2. when going from "PM42 track outputs to the track to be controlled" can this be a terminal block that powers more than one or two sections of track? What is the wire size? I am assuming 12 g
3. what size wire do I need to connect "the REV pins and adjacent TRACK OUTPUT pins on the 44-pin connector" will 20 g be enough?
Any and all input will be greatly appreciated
Bootin
The reason that we use a 12 gauge bus wire is to prevent a voltage loss in long distance runs. If you are running a short distance, under a foot or so, you can use a smaller gauge wire, say 18 gauge. This allows for easier wiring of units such as a PM 42 and or an auto reverser. So if your PM42 is close to your booster, you can use smaller wire. But then when you go out of the PM 42 to the rest of the layout, you need to switch back to 12 gauge wire.
1. It depends on how far apart the two are.
2. Yes.
3. Depends on how far the wire is going.
Again, for runs under 1 foot, 18 gauge will do. For runs longer than 1 foot, 12 gauge is the norm.
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.
You will NOT get #12 wire attached directly to the edge connector for the PM42. However, over short ditances, smalle wire is fine. I use smaller wire, in short lengths, to connect the PM42 edge conenctor to a terminal strip. On the other side, I could easily connect the full siz bus wires.
Another option is the breakout board sold by Acculites. It has terminal strips built in, and you just lug in the PM42, no soldering needed.
http://www.readingeastpenn.com/images/construction2/dccboard2.jpg
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I used 20AWG wire to connect the PM42 to my clubs command station. It is such a short distance, maybe 6"-8" I don't think it will matter. I prefer the PSX series breakers for circuit protection. 14 and 12 AWG wire attaches to them without soldering.
rrinker You will NOT get #12 wire attached directly to the edge connector for the PM42. However, over short ditances, smalle wire is fine. I use smaller wire, in short lengths, to connect the PM42 edge conenctor to a terminal strip. On the other side, I could easily connect the full siz bus wires. --Randy
Randy & Others
I have done it on ALL of my PM42 units.
I take a place of Sheet Styrene and cut it the size I need to fit the PM42 Connector and a Double Row Screw type Treminal Strip
Plus a 3 position terminal strip for the Power & Ground Connection.
I bolt these connectors to the Plastic Sheed square with the approperate Nuts in Bolts.
I make up short lengths of Solid #12 wire - Crimp & Solder this Solid #12 to a Wire End and attach it to the Tremianl strip.
Then cut and bend the end of the Solid wire to fit along side the Plug Card Connector (full length) and solder the Solid #12 to the Plug Card terminal.
I then do this for the rest of the need connectios whether for a Circuit Breaker or Reversing Unit.
Finish up adding the wires (of a smaller gauge) for the Power Nonnection and the Ground connection is also a #12 Solid wire bent to fit the connector and go to the 3 terminal Strip.
Then the whole board can be mounted under the layout or on a Panel Board.
This way I have the max size of wire and with the wire being solid makes the whole connection between the PM42 Plaug Card and the Termianl Strip a lot more solid.
My units are approching 15 years old now and I have NEVER had to even look at them in that time!
While the Acculites is a more elelgant - the cost of building mine is just time and old #12 Solid wire scraps and terminal strips.
All that is different is - Money for the quick fix - or Time for the least costly route - One just has to make the choice!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
You;ll see that's exactly what I did with mine, it's just all attached to the same shelf I mounted the booster and power supply on. Since I only needed one PM42 for the whole layout at the time, just a 10x15 around the walls in a room - and one district wasn;t even hooked up because I never got around to building the penninsula for the cement plant.
I soldered up a couple of PM42s for the clubt he same way, made a pigtail off the edge connector to one side of a terminal stripusing wire that is WAS possible to solder to the edge connector, layout bus is #12, connects to the other side of the terminal strip. Easy peasy.
For those witht he skills, yeah, the Acculites boards cost a lot more than just buying a terminal strip and some wire, plus a little bit of time cutting, stripping, and soldering. For the others though...
Once upon a time, it seemed like everyone centralized it all - in which case, a nice card cage holding all the boards would be neat. However, it makes a LOT more sense to distribute the power source than to wire home runs from every power district back to a central base - all that heavy wire adds voltage drop whereas if you just distribute the boosters and run s imple loconet cable, you might even get away with smaller size bus wires since the runs won;t be as long. Phone wire for loconet is cheap, #12 not so much - why do you think so many tweakers are willing to risk electrocution to steal copper wire, copper is pretty expensive these days. And if the concern is with turning it all on and off, well, that's what X10 and the newer home automation stuff is for - multiple outlets, each with a switch module all set tot he same address. One button turns off all the boosters, even if they are in different outlets.
I use HO rail joiners to connect 16 ga wire to PM42 edge connector terminals. Spread the wire side a little to receive the wire. Crimp it to hold the wire and solder the whole works to the edge connector. If it need to be removed, simply heat the rail joiner and pull it off. Of course a piece of shrink tube on each connection to finish.
Martin Myers