dcs wiring

I don't think you'll see enough difference in wire to make any real difference.

What is the recommended minimum wire gauge for the average layout?

is Radio Shack a good resource for layout wire and terminal blocks?

OGR Wire, recommended for DCS

Also good luck at RS for anything. I went to go pick up some some terminal blocks a few months ago  and all 3 local shops only carried 2 each because that is all the computer allows them to have. I also found no Banana plugs or other non-typical wiring items in stock. It's sad because RS was Grandpa's favorite place to go when I was a kid. he was a real electronics guy. He even showed me how to fix my old TV using their Tube Tester

Best become familiar with DigiKey , RS days are numbered and they will probably be gone very soon.

I would 2nd the OGR wire. That's what I am using, good stuff and supports our friends at OGR.

I have also notices RS cutting the amount of stuff carried. A couple years ago they had quite a few of the Euro style terminal strips, now not so many.

Gentlemen,

    I like the 14 Gauge stranded wire for my FasTrack DCS layouts, works great. I got all my good Gold Banana plugs from RS, when I bought the last ones, I had to ask for them and the sales clerk got them from some place in their back room.  The expensive gold Banana Plugs I like, were not out on display any longer.   It is a shame what has happened to a once good electronic franchise, RS is definitely not what it once was.

PCRR/Dave

The gold RS Banana plugs on the reworked ZW & KW transformers, with the 14 Gauge stranded yellow wire.

Radio Shack is a shadow of what it used to be.  They've turned into just another overpriced electronics and phone store.  They have very few parts anymore, not like they once had.

Radio Shack is in the process of closing many of its Stores.  Sales have fallen off dramatically.

Terence, the bast answer to your question is that given by Pine Creek:  14 gauge stranded for powering tracks.  I won't get into a discussion of whether stranded carries a better DCS signal than does solid, but it is easier to work with.  Both Lowes & Home Depot carry 14 gauge single conductor stranded in a variety of colors.

Gentlemen,

   I guess I should purchase a couple more sets of the RS Gold Banana plugs before they disappear completely.  Next time I am in Penn Hills I will pick up a couple more pair if they still even have them.

PCRR/Dave 

Ironically, I worked at Radio Shack back in the mid-1970's -- when it was a real electronics store. Now I just go to a local "junky" hobbyist electronics store where they sell parts and almost no consumer electronics. First time I walked into the place I felt like I'd come home after a long journey. They're out there, but you have to hunt. They usually have banana plugs loose in bins, plus the double headed ones that fit in Z-4000's.

For long runs, there's a wire used for low-voltage outdoor lighting that has a very high strand count. Rayman4449 was using it for outdoor DCS and I believe it's 12-Gauge.

PCRR/Dave,

Try Monoprice online

http://www.monoprice.com/Produ...p;seq=1&format=2

They look like this, and are less than $1 apiece!

Use 'em a lot!

Side or back wired, if you side wire they are stackable too.

Ed

Pine Creek, you must be walkin' in tall cotton to use gold. I settle for "fool's gold" (i.e., copper)

Actually, while I recognize gold has conductivity advantages, does it really make a difference on a train layout?  I've heard some say the expensive connectors available for hi-fi don't make a difference?

I also wonder how suitable the banana plugs are for higher currents, since it appears the contact surface is rather small, compared to a crimped spade or ring connector.  Just raising the question, not contesting the issue.

While gold looks classy, I don't see it as being any better for the kind of use we're putting them to.

... they're 24K gold-plated over a brass plug.

Specs say they are designed for 18 to 12 AWG wire.  Should have plenty of current carrying capability.

If you look at the 4 strips of metal, 1 on each side of the plug, and the length of the strips - that adds up to a lot of surface area.

Ed

Eddie, maybe.  The 4 strips are in an arc.  An arc contacting a straight object only makes contact at one spot.  A good contact would only exist is the ID of the socket were such as to press the strips in until they are flat and pressing against the socket for their full length.

Doesn't Barry recommend twisted pair instead of single conductor?

John

Eddie M,

   Great find, thanks for the heads up I will put those in my favorites list right now.

They are almost identical to the old RS Gold Banana plugs, and no they have never been solid Gold, 24K over Brass, works just fine, the old RS plugs were stackable also.

Thanks again for the vendor!  You just got to love the OGR forum for advise and contacts.

PCRR/Dave

Doesn't Barry recommend twisted pair instead of single conductor?

Yes, he does.

I removed my only long piece of 12 gauge when I was tuning my RR. I use the same outdoor low voltage wire, but all 14 gauge. Sounds crazy but I swear the signal was better with 14 than 12?? Maybe it was the quality of the wire?

I believe the OGR wire just happens to be twisted pair also.

Edit: Just went to check the specs on the OGR wire, they have changed the Web Store and I can no longer find the wire listed. Hope that's just temporary and it will be re-added soon. Was going to get some more this fall, hope it's hasn't been dis-continued.

The Radio Shack in Seymour is the same way, just a phone store. And they wonder why their business went south.

Around 1960, there was a Radio Shack on Comm Ave in Boston, across from B.U., that was a treasure trove of electronic junk.  I expect that, with the rise of integrated circuits and cheap Chinese pre-assembled electronics, the market for components has largely evaporated.

Having common buss wiring, I really don't have any twisted pair.  Layout works.

I believe the OGR wire just happens to be twisted pair also.

The OGR wire is excellent and I used it to wire most of my layout. It is 2 insulated wires, wrapped a bit around each other, inside a plastic sheath that pulls easily through benchwork.

If you cannot get this wire from OGR for wherever reason, or if you'd like a price break on large quantities, Windy City Wire in Chicago sells the same wire.

Thanks! It is great wire. I will continue to get the larger wire from OGR, if they make it available again. Have quite a bit now, but will probably need more later on.

Also, thanks for the Windy City tip, I have been looking for some in other sizes, hopefully they will have it. Want to use it for switches, lighting and other stuff so I need more conductors and smaller sizes. Going there soon as I hang up here.

Look in my first post (4th from top) Link to the OGR wire is there

Thanks, your link was to the old familiar looking page. If you go to http://www.ogaugerr.com/ and got to Web Store you get a new page that is missing the wire. Hopefully they are still updating/re-doing and will add the wire back in soon.