Is there some way to splice two NCE RJ12 7 foot cab bus cables to get a 14 foot cable or do I have to replace the 7 foot cable with an RJ12 40 foot cable?
Bear "It's all about having fun."
Yes. You need a 6P6C straight through connector. Any place that sells/installs data systems should have them. They will have the cables too. Your choice.
Martin Myers
Thanks, Martin. I will be on the hunt today.
Are you looking for the 4-wire cable or the 6-wire cable?
Rich
Alton Junction
6 wire and after doing some more net surfing I think I know what I can do about this.
If you don't want to make your own, Monoprice has all sorts of lengths and colors available, and the price is right. They offer both voice and data versions - you want the data ones.
Here for example is a plain grey 6p6pc data cable, 14 feet, for a whopping 97 cents. https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=940
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
doesn't the cab bus require only 4 conductors?
the outside 2 conductors are for providing track power
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
I'm not sure, Greg, all I know is that I need a 6 wire cable. NCE is clear on that. However, I do know that the cable I need also supplies power to the track.
gregc doesn't the cab bus require only 4 conductors? the outside 2 conductors are for providing track power
The outside wires are used only for the Power Cab. The 5amp system only uses the middle 4 wires. The outside two are "reserved for future use". You only need 6wires between the Power Cab and its PCP. Any other cab (Pro, 04,05,06) only has a 6p4c plug on it.
You can make your own cables with 6p6c (RJ12 modular plugs) and a roll of Cat5e. The crimper can be found for less than $30. BNM hobbies sells a tester that works pretty well, just dont use it with 12vdc plugged into the back of the UTP
You can also use two wall plates as a cable tester. Plug cable into both wall plates, check continuity with a multivolt meter pole between each screw on the back on of one plate (this should be an open circuit), and between each wall plate (should be a complete circuit). When you hold the two plugs together, with the locking tabs up, you should have the same color pattern left to right in each plug. It does take practice to get the connectors right.
AHA, I think I know what the problem is. I did not mention, and I should have mentioned, that I am using the NCE Power Cab.
bearman AHA, I think I know what the problem is. I did not mention, and I should have mentioned, that I am using the NCE Power Cab.
This is so you can keep the PowerCab tethered?
It has to be tethered to the power panel via the left socket because those 2 extra wires supply the power to the rails. The right socket is 4 wire for an extra cab and I also have another panel wired to the main power panel which can be used for two more cabs. I do have an extra cab and it can be unplugged from any of the other three sockets and plugged into another of the sockets without shutting the system down.
So what exactly are you looking to do? Add mobility to the PowerCab or are you adding additional UTPs?
Actually all I want to do is extend the tether. But, I think I have the problem solved.
I mentioned 6P6C couplers because:
1. I wasn't sure which he needed, and they work equally well with 4 conductor cables
2. Straight through 6 conductor couplers are much easier to come by.
Now that I am aware that it is a Powercab, extending the cable may not be the best practice. Since track power is carried through the outside (1 and 6) wires, there will be additional voltage drop if that cable is extended too far. Someone with more experience of Powercabs will need to chime in on this.