DCC wiring question

[Anonymous]

Just a quick DCC question, does the Buss wire (black and white) need to be run seperately, or can they be strung side by side? I was just wondering if there is any decoder interference if side by side. I'm using 14 ga house wire.
Thanks

[Anonymous]

There shouldn't be an issue with interferance.
The only consideration as to spacing might involve how you connect your feeder wires up to the track from the buss wires. If you plan to solder the feeders, you need to make sure the spacing of the buss wires is sufficient to prevent a short if you have a soldered splice close by. If you use the Scotchlock or suitcase connectors to attach your feeders, the buss wires could be closer together.

[mcouvillion]

higssy,

You might consider using wire of different colors than black and white for the buss. Black, white, red, and green are found in 110V wiring (Romex). DC wiring often uses red and black wire. To avoid a potential problem later (possibly by an enthusiastic but un-trained "electrician"), use an odd color pair (blue/orange, yellow/gray, purple/tan) for your DCC buss(es). You would sure hate to have 110V potential on your main line.

Since the buss carries the DCC signal in addition to track power, you are not going to cause decoder interference. Keep the wires apart if you intend to solder track feeders to them. They can be closer if you intend to use suitcase connectors (crimp-ons). These are easier and faster to install, and easy to move if necessary.

Mark C.

[ClinchValleySD40]

You want the two wires to run together, side by side. If you're going to have a long run (say over 50') it is a good idea to twist the two together.

[nslakediv]

the longer the run from base unit the heavier gauge wire you will need to use. the rule of thumb I use is for every 15' of run I go down a wire gauge. example: 30 run to A block would start with a 12gauge wire then 15' later would go to 14 gauge. I have used 10 gauge on a friends large layout as well. Is it overkill? maybe, but I did have problems with just using all 14 gauge wire at first. I have a large alyout though and a smaller layout would not need such a rule.Randy

[mcouvillion]

I wired our club layout with 14 AWG wire. The specs on the wire spool showed that it was rated for something like 15 amps over the 100 foot length. Since the club layout would be essentially a circle, and power fed in both directions, and the maximum booster is 8 amps, I don't see why you would need heavier wire. All the way around the layout is less than 50 feet. If you start running more trains, or increase the length of the layout significantly, add another power district and send the command signals to it by the Loconet or similar system.

The current has to ultimately pass through the motor windings, which are tiny. I think a lot of the recommendations of minimum wire gauge are such huge overkill that it just doesn't make any sense. But then again, I've seen guys try to power their railroad with phone wire - only.

Mark C.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the all the advice. My layout is 18' x 11' L shaped and I'm going to divide it up into 8 districts with 2 boosters. I plan on running 15 + engines, it looks as if bigger is better, but overkill is easily done as well. The longest run I'll have is 40 ' and thats on my under table helix, so it looks like 14 ga with 18 ga feeders is sufficient.

[Anonymous]

Do not use Black & White as the colors for this wiring. In 120 volt AC circuits, Black is the hot, ungrounded wire and white is the neutral, grounded wire. Red and black are the old code wire colors for DC (yes, the DCC buss carries AC). To simplify, I would go with red and black (or whatever color the current DC negative is now)! I would twist about a half turn per foot.

[cacole]

I wired a 20 x 40 foot HO scale layout with speaker wire that can be purchased at Wal-mart, K-mart, and other discount stores, and we have had no problems at all with this wiring for over three years now.

[Blind Bruce]

I would presume that the twisting of the buss wires would lessen the posibility of the DCC interfering with AM radio reception. A small amount of turns per foot is

[rrinker]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DeSchane

Do not use Black & White as the colors for this wiring. In 120 volt AC circuits, Black is the hot, ungrounded wire and white is the neutral, grounded wire. Red and black are the old code wire colors for DC (yes, the DCC buss carries AC). To simplify, I would go with red and black (or whatever color the current DC negative is now)! I would twist about a half turn per foot.

I WAS going to use black and red, but my father in law brought up a good point. In the dark underside of the layout, red and black will look a lot alike. So I went with red and white.
I have no reason to run 110 AC anywhere on the layout benchwork, and everything else I am documenting. Plus, the feeder wire I got ALSO comes in red and white, so it's a perfect match. I don't forsee any problem with this.

--Randy