I am starting out fresh at the age of 65 and am about to start wiring the basic layout that I am starting with. It shouldn't be a problem since I have done amateur radio work and other types of wiring during my time with various hobbies, but I am wondering if I should just buy my terminal strips/blocks ready-made or should I just make them myself? I know you guys can not answer that for me but I just wonder how many of you do actually fabricate your parts like the strips and switches. Granted, it is much easier to buy purpose-built parts, but I live a pretty good distance from town and sometimes it is just as easy for me to throw the parts together (providing I have the basics to do the fabrication) as it is to drive to town. Paying shipping charges for small online purchases just seems to be a waste. What do you guys usually do?
Absolutely nothing wrong with taking some long brass bolts and sets of nuts and making your own terminal strips. Back in the day, my Dad did this on the layout we set up int he family room for the holidays. He used a piece of plexiglas, drilled holes for the small diameter (maybe 2-56 or one size up, but an inch or more long) bolts, using a washer on either side and one nut, it was screwed fast to the plexy. As additional connections were made, usually with ruing terminals, these were placed over the boilt anbd another nut toghtened down. ANd some more on top of that,. etc. Some of them also were wired to switches, these had a ring terminal instead of the washer on the inside of the plexi, and the plexi was attached to an aluminum faceplate that held the toggles, forming a triangulat shape that sat on the control panel, switches to the front, the bolts of the terminal strip to the back.
--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 terminal strips at my main DCC source, at my control panel (for turnout control) and under the layout at each Tortoise.
I got terminal (barrier) strips, jumpers for same, wire for DC to Tortoises, DPDTs and LED indicators for Tortoises at control panel, IDC (suitcase) connectors mostly at All Electronics and some at Mouser, both on the web. Good prices (a fraction of Radio Shack) but you have to pay shipping.
I got my DCC 16AWG stranded DCC bus wire at Lowes, and 22AWG solid track feeder wire (various colors) from another web shop who had good selection.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
If you decide to go with manufactured terminal blocks, one of the cheapest sources I know of is All Electronics in Van Nuys, California. I purchase terminal blocks and crimp-on terminals in bulk from them.
http://www.allelectronics.com
Randy, that sounds pretty nifty using the plexiglass and small bolts and nuts. There are a lot of different ways one could make a block and that sounds like a great idea, even if I do decide to buy ready-made, that is something I will keep in my memory bank. Thanks for sharing that.
Paul.. I completely forgot about Mouser. I have one of their catalogs laying around here somewhere from my old radio days. They are a great source of anything electronic. Thanks for reminding me.
Bill
cacole If you decide to go with manufactured terminal blocks, one of the cheapest sources I know of is All Electronics in Van Nuys, California. I purchase terminal blocks and crimp-on terminals in bulk from them. http://www.allelectronics.com
Buying these in bulk would probably be a good way to go. I wouldn't have to worry about looking around for more when I expand later.l Good idea.
I fabricate terminal blocks with plain old steel machine screws, nuts and washers, on an insulating substrate, set up the way Randy described. I have used plywood, heavy styrene and even (deeply countersunk) 1" pine for the substrate
Most of my wiring is #22 solid, which I simply bend in a hook around the vertical stud. Stranded wire, when I use it, gets a stake-on first. Individual wires on one stud are separated by thin washers, and a single nut on top of the whole works, gently torqued, holds everything together and in full contact.
My largest terminal block to date has ninety studs (10 rows of 9.) When I install my CTC panel I may need to make one with even more studs - a bridge I'll cross when I reach it. I run analog DC, MZL system on a double garage filler, so I need a lot more wiring than someone running DCC without signals.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Chuck... I'm setting up a DC analog system also but I am keeping an eye on possibly converting to DCC before I acquire too much equipment. You are absolutely right about the analog systems needing a lot more wiring than dcc but to me that is a plus. I like to wire things, but I don't think I have ever had a terminal block with 90 connections. That should certainly keep you in business for a while.
I am wanting to build my own terminal strips as I unfortunately am unemployed and don't need to spend what $ I have on things that I can build myself, I have been losing sleep on this matter for some time and some photos of some homemade terminal strips would really be beneficial to those of us that are only cabinet maker model railroaders who therefore lack the very basic electrical knowlage to replace your basic night-lite lightbulb.
Arbuckle Bill!
Welcome to the forum!!!!
I think this is a question where you have to do what suits you best. If you only need a few and you have the basic ingredients available then by all means build them yourself. However, before starting and especially before ordering the parts, ask yourself if there are other more important (and perhaps more rewarding) things that you would rather spend your modelling time on. Terminal strips are avaliable on line for very low prices. If you feel that shipping costs are a killer, then organize your future projects and buy as many components as possible for your various projects to save on shipping. Caveat to Canadian buyers on making purchases of more than $100.00 in a single order from the USA - you will incur duties when your order goes over the $100.00 mark. Best to order in shipments of less than $100.00 each and pay the multiple shipping charges assuming they aren't exorbitant.
Choice is yours. Everything that you build qualifies as modelling, and nobody will say you did it wrong if you build everything from scratch. In fact, you will have bragging rights!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Dave... I am sure someone will post some pics for you but in the meantime I would like to offer a suggestion. If you haven't worked with circuits a lot it may be easier for you to work with two terminal blocks at a time. You can use one block for your negative connections and the other for the positive. Just set the blocks side by side or end to end (not touching) and run your black wire from your power supply to one block and the red wire from the power supply to the other block. You can then connect all of the screws along one row with a single wire in each block. Then all you have to do to connect your switches etc. is run one wire from each block to the device or switch where you need power and you are done. If you can't visualize what I am saying just do a Google search of "how terminal strip" and you will find quite a few pictures to help you along. Once you understand the concept of what they are doing you can dream up your own design. It is really very simple once the light goes on in you head. I know it took a while for my little ole brain but it is really easy once you find the right picture. Check either "how terminal strip" or "how terminal block" and you will find some nice pictures and instructions. Good luck...
I use barrier terminal strips on my layout as I have good access to an electronics supply store and I'd rather buy them ready-made than make them myself. However, back in the day when I worked in the telecom industry, nuts and bolts were common as terminal strips. There would be a 50 or 100 pair cable coming into a block of what looked like some sort of expoxy material with internal connections to blots sticking out the front. We terminated the local wiring to those bolts. The sequence was flat washer, wire (either wrapped around or with a lug), another flat washer and a nut. Depending on the size of the terminal block, we could get 3 or 4 wires on each bolt. The down side? If we had to remove a wire that was at the bottom of the pile, we had to temporarily remove all the wires above it, interrupting those circuits. My point is that there is nothing wrong with nut and bolt terminal strips. They have been used in the industry for decades.
..... Bob
Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here. (Captain Kirk)
I reject your reality and substitute my own. (Adam Savage)
Resistance is not futile--it is voltage divided by current.
Bob back in the days of old I worked for the phone company. I worked PBX and those old systems had screw, wire wrap, and punch down termination. As the new electronic systems came along a lot to that stuff was abandon in place and I used to remove it and take it home for the DC layout. Now that I'm into DCC that stuff is just gathering dust in the backroom.
Fond memories
Thanks Wayne
Fond memories is right, Wayne. I worked on all those types of terminations and brought stuff home that was being replaced and thrown out, along with too much multi-conductor cable. Got miles of light gauge solid wire out of it. Remember when we had to lace cables? Now we just go through plastic ties like they were free.
I was in a basement of an old building with a new guy and we were locoking at the terminal and cables. I said knit one pearl two and he looked at me strange. I got some waxed string and laced some cable and he said oh you're the guy that did that!
Wayne