RR_MelElias You need to look into ribbon cable for multi conductor wiring. I recently bought a 100’ roll of 16 conductor #28 zip for $18.85 delivered off eBay. Great for signal wiring, single to 8 pair.
Seeing as LION has over 200 conductors running from his relay room out to the layout, him will stick with the 25 pair cat 3 cable.
Of course LION started with about 100 feet of organ cable, intended to connect the keyboard to the organ pipes. The man who bought the organ just cut the cables and left them behind.
This cable had six 'ropes' of 11 conductors each. All are white, and the insulation is made up of waxed strings. You could just push it aside with your fingers.
Wrapped in greased paper and bound in strings.
LION had to connect a 'rope' to the terminals in the relay room, and then had to be tested out on the railway end of the cable to connect the correct conductor.
Well what the heck, they were free.
One cable per manuel on the keyboard, eleven conductors per octive, one 'rope' with 12 conductors for the common.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
The terminal strips I used....imagine two parallel rows of 10 connections, are connected top top bottom not left to right.
If you want to have one incoming line (+) to the top, you can buy or make jumpers that connect top 1 to 2 to 3 and so forth all the way to the 10th. All bottom rows will be powered the same (+).
You can also divide up the jumpers and the inputs so (+) connects to Top 1, and jumpers thru to Top 5 and (-) connects to Top 10 and jumpers to Top 6. 5x5
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
floridaflyer The wire you have would work. twisting the smaller wire would also help. As mentioned above other smaller wires are available I would use terminal strips rather than have a bunch of connectors coming off your power bus, but either method would work.
The wire you have would work. twisting the smaller wire would also help. As mentioned above other smaller wires are available I would use terminal strips rather than have a bunch of connectors coming off your power bus, but either method would work.
And for a terminal strip -- do I need one for anode and different one for cathode? Does the power bus then get run separately to each strip, so one wire to the anode strip and one to the cathode strip? I haven't used a strip before.
LION uses Nails for binding posts. Terminal strips cost lots of money, and given my fingers, it is much easier to solder than to turn a screw.
This circuit panel controls six tortoise machines, the logic circuits for the machines, and track power to the terminal tracks and also blocks operation of the mainline No. 2 Track if the turnout is thrown against it. All interlocking signals are controled from the tortoise inputs.
You are talking about LEDs. Bell wire is far too stiff to really use neatly on a layout. LION prefers printer cables. Take an old parallel port printer cable, cut it open and you will heve either 25 of 50 conductors depending on how old the cable is. That is PURRFECT for all layout wiring other than the third rail. (Track power)
For longer runs the LION buys 25 pair cat 3 cable. Google that and you will find a vendor.
I have checked with many vendors of wire, and found it cheaper to buy cat-5 cable then to buy the wires separately.