I would like to find two strand jacketed wire like OGR used to sell to use on my next layout. Does anyone have a recommendation for obtaining a similar product? Thanks, all.
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I think Mr Muffin has similar wire.
"All Electronics" has a lot of all-copper wire
Google 2 conductor stranded 14G and you'll find lots of sources for speaker wire, security system wire, etc. The river site has red/black speaker wire in various gauges that are appropriate.
If you want 16 gauge, here is a bulk option from Home Depot with a black and red conductor.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sy...-PB-BK-500/308561367
George
Del City also has a variety of wire that I've used before.
https://www.delcity.net/store/Primary-Wire/p_360
I use 12 ga copper-clad aluminum speaker wire:
https://www.amazon.com/Gauge-S...580400099&sr=8-1
$20 for 100ft.
FYI, when picking wire gauges, 16 gauge wire is rated by UL for 13 amps at under 50 feet and 10 amps at over 50 feet, however, they rate that wire at 600 volts, which would be 6000 watts! Lionel uses a very small gauge in their hookup wires. I believe they are 18 gauge or less. 14 gauge wire is sufficient for a 15 amp circuit at 120volts. So, buy what is most economical and easy for you to use.
Also, the ampacity should match the circuit size. For example, if you are using DCS in active mode, there is a 10 amp fuse in the TIU, and a PH 180 power supply has a 10 amp breaker. That means you should use 16 gauge stranded wire.
George
Here's a great tool I just found. It's a voltage drop calculator.
https://www.calculator.net/vol...=5&x=33&y=23
This is why folks run larger gauge wire. I can actually see this on my meters when my train crosses between blocks. You also need to add the distance of the end of the block to the wire length. I suspect the quality of the connections also plays a factor.
George
The gauge you need depends on amps you want to deliver over X-length. So design with the most abusive draws you can actually create on the layout or over the transformer capability (better imo). "AWG wire gauge selection charts/tools" are all over the net.
Now the transformer can't ever cook the wires, even with a nail across 3 rails AND a stuck transformer breaker(super rare). An extrnal fuse/breaker too and you're bullet proof.
(volts are nearly redundant for us "low volters"). (amps/resistance are the heat creators here)
Oversized wire is good for high power delivery and having cool wires. On rare occasions some signals/frequencies don't like oversized wire/low strand counts; but that's a bridge you likely not need to bother with.
If you use aluminium wire for power, I suggest using a heavier gauge than if copper wire (copper is king).
The jacketed wire was loosely(?) referred to as "communication wire" in my circles; unshielded, or shielded, conductive, non-conductive, etc...all liners inside)... I never ordered it myself though.
The only reason I can think of for keeping wire light is the cost of copper 🤑
