What size (guage) wire, and type ( Stranded or Solid core ), do you use for track feeder?

[DavidGSmith]

20 ga for feeders they only go 2' so the power drop is minimal. I use #14 for a buss stranded. Seems to work for me. I wired with the idea of changing to DCC soon.

[rexhea]

I am sure you are quite correct in the cost involved in build-your-own projects. I have ran into that several times before when I was in industry. I do wi***hat I could get hold of a dated cheapo Programmable Controller with software. You could have a ball in this hobby with the ladder logic configuring "if's", "and's", "or's", and etc.

OK, thanks again for the guidance Randy,

REX

[rrinker]

Not really - the track signal is anything but proprietary. Only the throttle buses are proprietary, but Lenz, NCE, CVP, and Digitrax all disclose their electrical specs and command structure.
Google DIY DCC and MERG, you'll find lots of references to DIY DCC circuitry. I've considered building some things like extra boosters, but at typical discount you can usually buya commercial product cheaper than the parts cost. If you have a source of nearly free electronic components, it might be worthwhile. Sometimes samples can help - I built my own Locobuffer for < $20 because I got the two most pricey components, the PIC and MAX233 interface chip as free samples from Microchip and Maxim. All I had to buy was the PC board (I'm not into making my own) and the rest of the generic components.

--Randy

[rexhea]

Thanks Randy. I lost track of the other thread when my Internet when down. I will try to find it again and look into Don Crano's posts on the Digitrax forum. I have a feeling that most information is covered up in assumed proprietary rights. I have been primarily interested in the adaptation of home grown circuitry to the DCC system format.

REX

[rrinker]

I didn;t reply because I saw others already had - I don;t really know of any technical DCC publications other than the NMRA specs - I have all those PDFs downloaded and printed out. Good reading if you can't sleep. The only other place I have seen any real in-depth technical information is some of Don Crano's posts inthe Digitrax Yahoo Group. I think some people get annoyed when he answers what they think is a simple question with a page or page and a half dissertation on why things work the way they do, but I enjoy reading that stuff.

--Randy

[rexhea]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrinker

I tried to explain that in the other thread [:D][:D][:D]

Yeah, I know we have gone this route many times. Randy, you never did get back to my question about availibility of any in depth publications on DCC. Like you, I hold a EE even though it is covered with cobwebs from lack of field work. If you know of any , please drop me an email. Thanks

REX

[rrinker]

I tried to explain that in the other thread [:D][:D][:D]

[rexhea]

Keep in mind that unless you have only 1 power feeder, the current is paralleled to all feeders at the same time. Yes, current likes to take the shortest less resistive path, but will still divide to all paths with some feeders handling a little more than others. The difference in one adjacent path (feeder) to the locomotive to the next adjacent feeder is so negligible you can really look at the two feeders being one and double in size. Solid 22 and stranded 24 gauge is plenty big for HO since no single feeder will have to carry all the current.

REX

[grayfox1119]

Solid #22 Gauge is leading the pack so far, I find this rather surprising. Most people running DCC have said they are using heavier gauge, and mostly #18 either solid or stranded. Hmmmmmmmm !!!

[Don Gibson]

Antonio:

Your 16 AWG for feeder's for voltage distribution is way too much. Use A lighter guage - and more of them.

NMRA recommend's 20AWG - 24AWG.

[jrbernier]

YUou really are asking 2 questions here. I use a 6" piece of #22 stranded soldered to the rail for the rail feeder 'drop'. The 'drop' is attached to a #18 stranded 'bus' wire with 3M 'suitcase' connectors. The 'bus' runs back to my PM42, which is fed by #12 stranded from the boosters.

Ther is no problem running 5 amps over the #22 wilre for 6". At our club layout, we used #18 stranded for the feeder 'drops' - way to heavy and looks bad. This is on the staging tracks - We plan to use #22 in the future. The club 'bus' is #12 wire back to the PM42's/DCS200 8 amp boosters. With that much power, we have 4 PM42's dividing the entire 'staging yard' area so we do not weld an engine to the rail, or shut down the booster if someome shorts the rail.

Jim

[Tracklayer]

Not sure what gauge it is, but I've always used common speaker wire because it's plentiful and easy to work with...

Tracklayer

[Big_Boy_4005]

I use 16 gauge stranded to go to the rails, and 12 gauge stranded for the main bus. Way too big for HO, but very comfortable for 3 rail O.

[Pruitt]

I use telephone wire for feeders. I'm not sure if it's 22 or 24 gauge. My buss wires are #12 stranded. From them I go to an `18-gauge silid wire sub-feeder, when then ties into barrier strips. The number of connectors on the barrier strip is two times the number of tracks that will be supplied from that point. The sub-feeder ties the appropriate number of connections together in the strip, and feeders come off the other side to the tracks.

[orsonroy]

I use solid 22 AWG wire, simply because I have a 1000-foot spool of 6-conductor phone wire sitting around! It's been used to wire five home layouts and something like 15 Ntrak modules, and I'm not even halfway through the spool!

If I had to buy new wire, I think I'd go with 20 AWG stranded; it's a bit more flexible.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Overdurff

I think that there is some trade off in gauge and number of feeders and amps required to run a number of locomotives or lighted cars. If 20/22 ga wire only carry 5 amps there are likely several feeders carrying this load to a usually large length of track (another feeder) . With modern low current motors in N and HO I would only shy away from 24 ga. solid telephone wire as feeders.

Will,
The issue on feeders and bus wire size is not one of ampacity, but of voltage support.

When you look at the entire electrical circuit feeding the locomotive from the power supply, you have multiple parallel paths. You also have a dynamic current vs. time relationship to worry about for the heating of the conductors, which is a I^2T calculation. The end result is that each feeder will likely see less than half of the current being drawn by the locomotive.

Unless you're running G scale under heavy loads with hills, I'm going to step out on a limb and say that 22 gauge feeder wires is fine electrically for anything we're likely to do.

Mechanically that may be a different story. Some time you just want to use heavier wires so they don't break off from normal usage.

I'm using 18 stranded and 20 gauge solid simply because that's what I have on hand. Works fine, will last a long time.

I'm using stranded 14 gauge wire you buy for outdoor low voltage lighting circuits. It's cheap, flexible, and easy to run.

Mark in Utah

[Anonymous]

I think that there is some trade off in gauge and number of feeders and amps required to run a number of locomotives or lighted cars. If 20/22 ga wire only carry 5 amps there are likely several feeders carrying this load to a usually large length of track (another feeder) . With modern low current motors in N and HO I would only shy away from 24 ga. solid telephone wire as feeders.
Obviously the larger diameter wire has greater amperage potential, with stranded wire having potentially more "surface" area to carry amperage than solid. A healthy gauge Buss feed is of greater concern than "many" individual feeders of a lesser size and solid or stranded a matter of personal preferencefor soldering to the rail.
Will

[grayfox1119]

This is interesting, people are using some very small track feeder wire sizes, 20 and 22 are very small and carry less than 5 amps.

[AntonioFP45]

I'll be going with stranded, likely 16 gauge.

[Paul3]

I use solid 22 AWG because it's simple to use (no tinning the wire), holds it's shape, and is pretty cheap. It's also for my home layout, which is only a 2.5 amp system anyways (Zephyr) that I operate at most for 2 hours at a time.

At my club, we're using 20 AWG because of the higher demand we expect of the club's large layout and the 8 hour continuous running that we do for our open houses. We are also using stranded because our electrical chairman likes it. Why? Because it looks better under the layout. Personally, I could care less what it looks like as long as it a) works, and b) makes sense. Solid is just easier to install, IMHO.

On both layouts, we're running feeders every 9' or so to the track buss (at both places we're using 14 AWG). For main power from the boosters to the various circuit breakers, etc., we're using 10 AWG buss at the club.

Paul A. Cutler III
*****************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*****************

[grayfox1119]

I have read many, many threads over the past two years, and I found it very interesting that the size and type of wire used for track feeders, was more varied than I thought it would be. Some feel that DCC wiring should be heavier, other feel that this is baloney, where's the proof they say?
Some feel that solid core wire is much easier to solder to the tracks, while other seem to like stranded because it is more plyable. Still others feel that solid core wire stays in place better and holds the track in place also.
So I thought that this poll might show us some interesting stats.