Aluminum is a bad choice all around - it's a much poorer conductor than copper. There's a reason it was cheap. Aluminum was used in some homes when copper prices were incredibly high back in the 70's. Combined with outlets and switches made for copper only, it was the source of many problems, not the least of which was your whole house burning down.
Don't buy by the foot, buy the rolls. a 500 foot spool of #14 stranded at Lowes is less than $45. Only $20 more than a 250 foot spool, so it may pay to buy more than you need rather than have to go back and get another short spool. They have many colors available. I use red and white for my bus, since there is a #20 loosely twisted 2 conductor wire they also have in spools that is red and white which I use for feeders.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Jersey Southern RR OK THANKS EVERYBODY! One answer-why did I buy cheap wire off the internet? I have over 300' of wire on the layout. Standed 14 guage two conductor from ACE hardware is 69 cents a foot, 22 guage is 39 cents a foot. That is well over $100 worth of wire. Paid under $30 for the wire on the net. thanks again. dh
OK THANKS EVERYBODY!
One answer-why did I buy cheap wire off the internet? I have over 300' of wire on the layout. Standed 14 guage two conductor from ACE hardware is 69 cents a foot, 22 guage is 39 cents a foot. That is well over $100 worth of wire. Paid under $30 for the wire on the net.
thanks again. dh
I certainly didn't ask you why you bought off the internet. I only said I would have bought wire at a hardware store where I can see what it is I was buying.
The following is from Ace Hardware (off the Internet):
12 gauge stranded wire, available in 50 foot and 100 foot lengths. 100 foot price $29.99
50 foot bell wire $8.49.
Ace has much more wire available than I could find prices for on the internet and I'm uncertain what the gauge of bell wire is. By buying from a hardware store the shipping price is a part of the price you pay and not added on. Also, you have many more options available.
All I was really saying is I would by these items at a store, where I can put my hands on it and read and see what the stuff is made from.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
CP5415 Automotive wire is available in spools of 100'. This is what I use. I figure if it can handle the 12V abuse in your vehicle, then it can handle the 12V abuse of my model railroad.
Automotive wire is available in spools of 100'. This is what I use. I figure if it can handle the 12V abuse in your vehicle, then it can handle the 12V abuse of my model railroad.
100' spools are EXPENSIVE. LION buys 1000' spools (for computer network, of course), which would translate into 8000' of hook up wire. Maybe more than what you need, but LION bought 100' of 25 pair cat-3 phone cable to reach distal parts of the layout. (That is 50 conductors in 1 cable, and him cut that in half to have himself two 50' cables, so ewe know the LION likes to use lots of wire.)
Most wire LION gets for free. Is best kind of wire. You need fine wire for signals or maybe for wiring rolling stock, you cannot beat opening up a parallel port printer cable. The older ones would have 25 conductors, the newer ones would have 25 pairs of conductors, all nicely colored for your use. Dead mice, nice wires. take them up to the train room, I gaurantee they will not smell up there.
The white conductors here came from a 1920s vintage pipe organ. The organ was removed from the church by a collector of organs, but he just cut the cables and left them behind. LION found that there were six twists of 11 wires each inside of each cable, and him had four cables about 24' long. (One cable for each manual on the organ).
These were OLD cables, made before the use of rubber or plastic insulation. The whole construction was made of string, and wax paper and more string and waxed string. And all of the conductors were white. Well they were in 11 conductor bundles within the cable, and I needed 10 conductors for each station on my layout so this worked out quite well, I attaced the wires at one end without regard to which went where, then I put a voltage on the one I wanted to connect at the other end, and tested for the voltage, then I had my wire. It took time but not much more time than if the wires were color coded.
You get what you pay for.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I learn that most wire is fine, but copper clad aluminum (cca) does not like solder or low voltage siginals. A test with 20 feet of 16 guage oxegen free copper (ofc) wire resulted in perfect performance. Not sure the OFC wire is needed over regular copper stranded but I have found a source for less than 40 cents a foot or less which is the same cost as copper hook up wire from Home Depot.
So now I will shell out the $100 or so and redo my 10 plus hours of work.
Brought to you by the letters C.P.R. as well as D&H!
K1a - all the way
Copper wire.
definately copper.
But the problems you are describing point to your connections rather than to the quality or gauge of the wire. LION stripped some 14 ga solid wire of its insulation to use as a bus wire. Idea looks good, practice does not, it is almost impossible to get solder to adhere to it. Probably a coating residue, which you could have with any insulated wire. LION should have cleaned the wire with laquer thinner before bringing it up to the train room. Live and learn. Now I may have to pull that wire out and try again.
If you are suing mechanical connectors, such as suitcases, then these and not the wires are the root of your problem. The problem can also be in your solder connections to the rails. A total re-wire job is in order. LION has used stranded 14 ga insulated speaker wire (good qulity wire) with no problems.
Jersey Southern RR Ok I have a MRC prodigy express system. It has been acting up and losing speed control. I finally discoverd the reason - cheap internet speaker wire I used (labeled 12 guage and 20 guage, but it is not). Running my test decoder right off the system leads it works. But after running 25 feet of this "12 guage" wire I can not operate consistantly. So I know i need to rewire. But with what wire?? Speaker type wire is easier than single conductor. What about OFC (oxigen free copper) wire?? I can find lots on small decorder wire but nothing about the track hook up wire. Suggestions and sources apprecited. thanks
Ok I have a MRC prodigy express system. It has been acting up and losing speed control. I finally discoverd the reason - cheap internet speaker wire I used (labeled 12 guage and 20 guage, but it is not). Running my test decoder right off the system leads it works. But after running 25 feet of this "12 guage" wire I can not operate consistantly.
So I know i need to rewire. But with what wire?? Speaker type wire is easier than single conductor. What about OFC (oxigen free copper) wire?? I can find lots on small decorder wire but nothing about the track hook up wire. Suggestions and sources apprecited. thanks
So, I suggest walking into your local hardware store where you can find almost every conceivable wire type, size, material there is, and buying your wire there! You can go with either solid; or, stranded 12 gauge for the bus wire and solid; or,stranded 22 gauge for the feeders. Your choice! Mine would be stranded bus and solid feeders.
Our club uses 14 gauge speaker wire. Labeled as such. Very flexible.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
I use 14 gauge stranded house wire, solid 24 gauge wire for drops and connect the two with Posi-taps, never a problem (except for my soldering skills when connecting to the track, had a few that I had to redo).
Since my 5x9 HO layout would include relatively short busses, I used 16AWG stranded wire from Lowes for the buss wires. I used 22AWG solid wire for the feeders, as I liked the way I could put a short bend on the end of the solid wire where it attached to the side of the rail for soldering. I ordered the feeder wire from the folks below as I liked the selection available (colors):
http://www.hobbyengineering.com/SectionSP.html
How are you making your buss to feeder connections (e.g., solderered)? I used the (debatable) suitcase connectors, but I've had good performance so far, using 3M only and installing them carefully.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
Our 20x40 foot HO scale club layout is wired with stranded 16 gauge speaker wire purchased in bulk lots from All Electronics, their catalog number 16C-100, and we have never had any problems with it.
All connections are through terminal blocks with crimp-on connectors. You didn't mention how your bus wire is connected to the feeders, but if you used suitcase connectors, that could very easily be the source of your problem.
There's no need to pay extra for OFC wire for model railroad use.
I used 14g stranded wire for my poser bus and 22g solid wire for my feeders. The bus wire was purchased at one of the big box hardware chains. I used black & white since that is what they had. Color doesn't matter but I do recommend two colors--one for each track. The feeder wire was purchased from an electronics surplus store. Again I used black & white.
Your use of the term "speaker wire" leads me to believe it is not 12g or even 14g. Most speaker wire I have seen is 18g which is too small for power bus wire unless you have a small layout.