I am purchasing a Digitrax Superchief Xtra Radio system. I have been looking at the online instructions in the Digitrax website, but they don't seem to recommend a wire gauge to be used from the booster outputs to the track, which actually will be going to the power bus. I ultimately plan on wiring from the booster to a 4-way circuit breaker and then to the appropriate power bus for each district. My power bus is 14AWG. What should the outputs from the booster be? I 18AWG ok? or should I be using 14AWG?
Thanks.
Use 14 all around. 14 is actually about as big as you can fit int he terminals, so if you needed a larger bus, then a short run of the smaller wire would still be ok, The 18 would work, but since your bus is 14, stick with the 14.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
The reason a large bus wire size is used is that it has a low resistance for a long run.
If you only have a couple of feet from the booster to your circuit breakers, you can use 18 AWG without problems.
The output of the circuit breakers (bus) should be 14 AWG. However, if 14 won't fit on the breakers, you can also use a short length of smaller wire then splice it onto the 14 gauge bus.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Thank you for the suggestion. I am planning on connecting the outputs from the breakers to a terminal strip (barrier strip) and then distributing the wires from the terminal strip to the track power bus. Based on what you said about the wire resistance, perhaps I can use 18AWG from the circuit breakers to the terminal strips (about a foot, or so) and then use 14AWG from the terminal strip to the appropriate district track bus, also 14AWG.
That brings up another thought.........does it matter at which point on the track busses that these wires should be attached? near the end, or center?..... They will, of course, be soldered to the bus in a "T" type fashion.
Look at it this way: we know we need a substantial gauge for the bus to get the most voltage the furthest away possible as we begin to connect feeders to it. If you cut in a booster here and there, what you are doing is essentially extending the bus. Ergo, maintain that substantial gauge of wire beyond the booster.
Only the feeders should be lighter, and I don't see the benefit of using even heavier wire beyond the guage used to get to the booster....unless it is handy and you don't want the expense of acquiring other gauges.
If the booster won't accept the 14 gauge, and I would be surprised if it won't, then a very short thinner wire would be okay until you T. However, I would wonder why you are T-ing at all. If you place a booster where it makes sense to do that, for extending both voltage and its resident DCC signal, then simply run the heavier gauge bus extension until you either reach the limit you need or until you must use yet a second booster.
Crandell
Basically, I am using one booster (8A), with 4 breakers. I want to place the breakers where it is convenient and practical. Right now, I am looking at using either 2 separate breakers next to each other or a 2-way, such as a PSX-2 for districts 1 and 2, and then maybe 2 PSX-1's wired to the other two districts. One of the districts is narrow gauge. Looking at the possible number of locos with and without sound running at the same time, this arrangement looks reasonable to me, from an economical and practical stand point.
astapleford Thank you for the suggestion. I am planning on connecting the outputs from the breakers to a terminal strip (barrier strip) and then distributing the wires from the terminal strip to the track power bus. Based on what you said about the wire resistance, perhaps I can use 18AWG from the circuit breakers to the terminal strips (about a foot, or so) and then use 14AWG from the terminal strip to the appropriate district track bus, also 14AWG.
Yep. That would work just fine.
astapleford That brings up another thought.........does it matter at which point on the track busses that these wires should be attached? near the end, or center?..... They will, of course, be soldered to the bus in a "T" type fashion.
No, not at all. What you don't want to do is make the bus into a loop where one end connects back on itself.
gandydancer19 ..l. What you don't want to do is make the bus into a loop where one end connects back on itself.
..l. What you don't want to do is make the bus into a loop where one end connects back on itself.
This seems to be a common misconception. If a DCC signal runs through an entirely soldered loop of rails, no breaks, then it is a problemless loop. So, having the bus below the rails looping as well is not going to create a problem.
What you don't want to do is to create a closed loop with the two ends of the two wires comprising the bus. That would be a sizzling, flaming short. DO NOT LET THEM TOUCH EACH OTHER. However, each end could safely be brough back/looped back to its own terminal. Said differently, each bus wire can be safely looped to itself, or back to its starting terminal. Two loops then, but not one where the two bus wires connect with each other...anywhere.