wire questions

[Anonymous]

several questions on wire.

is there an easier way to strip the triplex wire on atlas N switches? i see this strip tool on tv and was thinking someone must use something like that. i know they sure give me a fit . being small and stranded and combined in a trio makes them tough for me with sight prob.

secondly i have a roll of themostat wire 18 guage solid . is this too big and cause resistance problem? my layout best as i can tell so far will be 4-5 wide by 12 feet max length. thats what i have room for anyway and also have walkway. said good bye to the panel saw i was trying to restore so we have room for MRR.

im hoping to use this wire i have as its color coded and also has a covering for the inside pairs. it seems like i did use this wire way back when i had my other layout but im not for sure its the same roll or not now..

being solid i could just trench a small slot under roadbed for the track terminals as im going to have to go with block wiring again .

much thanks, john

[Anonymous]

I have some Atlas switches at home, I will have a look when I get there later in the day.

As for the 18G wire, I assume you are proposing to use it for block wiring? That is one length of 18G wire to supply each block? If so then I think it should be okay as you will only have the consumption of one train at a time.

John

[Anonymous]

great that is good to know. as i have about 300' of this wire and its one less thing ill have to buy.

yes please take a look at them switches. i thank you sir. john

[ereimer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by John Hall
secondly i have a roll of themostat wire 18 guage solid . is this too big and cause resistance problem?

actually the bigger the wire the lower the resistance , which is good .

[Anonymous]

excellent ! with it being solid makes my working with it so much easier too.

very very i thank you much. john

[rolleiman]

Your 18 gauge thermostat wire will be fine... No point in making the suppliers rich if you don't have to... As for your flat wire, look for a stripper that is meant for flat phone wire. I think places like the depot sell them.. something similar to this..

http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=780&item=MPCPT-6&type=store

Jeff

[Anonymous]

my gal goes for preop tomarrow in a real town that has such as depot and lowes ill see what they have . i need to get something other than kliens or even small needlenose. all still way to big to feel the pinch.

thanks much Jeff

[MisterBeasley]

For the Atlas flat cable, I usually separate the wires first (for a couple of inches) by slicing them apart at the end with a utility knife. A quarter-inch cut is enough, and then I pull them apart by hand for an inch or two. Then I can easily use a cheap wire-stripper to remove a bit of insulation.

The Atlas cables are very, very short though. For my turnout wiring, I went to Home Depot (Lowes didn't have it) and got 4-conductor telephone wiring cable for 8-something dollars for a hundred foot roll. (They call it 26/2, which seems to mean 2-pairs of wires for phone cable.) It was cheaper than buying 3-conductor from an electronics place, and it works just fine.

[Anonymous]

A lot of the higher quality wire strippers will strip all of the conductors (wires) at the same time. Then you can separate them.

When you see somthing like 26/2 this means 2 conductors with a wire size of 26 gauge. 26 gauge is pretty small for track usage.