Track Bus Wiring

[astapleford]

I am very new to DCC. I am planning on converting my DC layout to DCC this winter. I have read all four Kalmback books on DCC from cover to cover and then some!

My question is in regards to track bus wiring. I am presently stringing 14AWG wire for the bus and will use 22AWG for the feeders. The books mention keeping the two (black and red) bus wires parallel and fairly close. Some have mentioned a loose twisted pair for the bus, and others have said keep them far apart to prevent "cross-talking". I have been threading them through the benchwork girders at about 1-1/2" apart which seems reasonable to me. There are a few areas where they go around some benchwork structure at about 4" apart. Also, I am using solid wire for the bus and will do the same for the track feeders.

Am I on the correct road here with what I am doing, or does anyone suggest something better?

Thanks.

[Stevert]

What you're doing sounds pretty good to me, except that I personally find stranded wire easier to use for the track bus simply because it's more flexible.  But there's certainly nothing wrong with using solid bus wiring.

As for the "twist/apart/cross-talk" thing, it sounds like you're confusing some of the concepts. 

Some folks advocate twisting the track bus to avoid generating and radiating signals which could interfere with adjacent wiring (Reduce the generation of cross-talk). 

But you can also keep the bus a few inches apart from other wiring (such as the throttle bus), so that the other wiring won't pick up the radiated interference (Reducing the effects of cross-talk).

So it isn't a question of twisting or separating the bus, it's twisting it to keep it from radiating interference and separating the (twisted or not) bus from other wiring to avoid having that other wiring pick up the interference.

[rrinker]

 FOr really long runs, twisting the bus wires seems to improve the signal accuracy, when viewed with an oscilloscope. I don;t twist mine, and I've never had a problem.  Plus when you connect all those feeders you have the power going to a long perfectly parallel set of wires known as the track.

 I too use stranded for the bus, it's way easier to pull through the benchwork. I use solid feeders because it's easier to push down through the holes. No need to rip it out and repalce, either works, but if starting from scratch I recomend stranded for the bus.

                                              --Randy