Legacy Ground Plane Questions

The ground wire should not be real close to the top tracks, it's actually best if it's an inch or so away to minimize capacitive coupling between the ground and the track.  It'll be quite effective to just run it along the side of the tunnel area an inch or so below the level of the upper deck.  The object of the exercise is to couple to the antennas on the lower track locomotives.  You don't need it to run back and forth, a single run of wire should be plenty.

I have no answer to your question but hope you post progress pictures of you layout!

Doug

Ground plane issues ( if you have one) typically effect the loco (s) with the weakest antenna. For this reason diesels are more succeptible.

Just because you have multiple parallel tracks, or multi-level tracks, this does not guarantee that you will have ground plane issues.

Some folks have issues, some do not, its kind of a case by case thing. When it does occur,  often times it can be only one locomotive out of dozens that has problems.

Eliminating any potential risk by adding a ground plane wire, is certainly not a bad idea.

With three levels on the Munoz Lines I sought to avoid ground plan issues by avoiding metals such as screen wire for scenery. I used plaster soaked gauze. I sometimes have issues in or around the roundhouse where there are 10 or 11 tracks in close proximity.

Eliot

It appears the thickness of your 2nd level deck and soundboard should get close to the inch away from the rails that GRJ suggested.

It would matter for testing purposes that the Legacy wire and the commons were connected to the upper track for signal to be present on that level.

The screw that holds the outlet cover on should be earth ground as long as the receptacle is properly wired.

The rest of your questions have already been answered.

Thanks for all the information guys!  

I have a question for Gun Runner John.  The ground wire will be about 1 1/2 inches from the upper level track.  I'll start with a single wire run a few inches in from the edge of the isle. I will run a 14 gauge wire around the perimeter.  Is 14 gauge sufficient?  

I was thinking of running the wire that I attach to the screw of the outlet to a terminal block in case I have to run additional ground wires somewhere else on the layout.  Is this OK to do or will that make the ground less effective in some way?

Also, do you terminate the end of the wire in any way, or just end it (not attached to anything)?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to figure it all out.

Thanks   

You don't need heavy wire, any size will do the same job.  Why spend the money for #14, run some #24 around.

There is no termination of any kind, you just want one end of the wire connected to earth ground.  The wire should not connect to the track in any way!