Hello everybody, I have a 38 ft layout and some areas are causing a the train to slow down. I have a bunch of terminals around the layout and that doesn't seem to help. Maybe a very stupid question but how about me hooking up two terminals from two different VWs to get additional wattage and voltage? Thank you very much, Jerry
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No, not advisable. They would have to be phased & synchronized precisely for starters, and then you would still have the same voltage drop per foot you started with.
Run larger bus wiring to the far reaches... low voltage operation(20v & under in our case) requires larger wire than a similar distance on 120/240v.
I thought so. Thank you very much for your reply as it was very much appreciated as usual. Best, Jerry I will now add thicker wire.
12 or 14 gauge bus wire might do the trick.
For a conventional layout with a 38 foot run, I'd be thinking #10 for the main bus for the longer runs.
My layout is 18x45 and I used #10 for all my buss wiring and #16 for drops about every 8-10mfeet and I have no problems with a single Z4000 running two main lines and 4 trains.
Thanks for all the replies. I only have to go 15 ft Max because I have the Transformers in the middle of my layout. I went to Home Depot and bought bus 12 gauge wire and will be hooking it up soon. Again thank you all, best, Jerry
For 15-20 feet, #12 will be plenty. Looks like #12 would be good for over 60 feet with a 1V drop at 5 amps. Since it's a round trip, that's 30 feet of power & ground.
Attachments
Along with heavier wire and more jumpers, make sure the joints between track sections are tight.
If your layout is on a platform, make sure the table is level and the surface isn't sagging (ask me how I know!)
If your layout is on the floor and you are running conventional postwar locos, then the answer is to break it into insulated blocks. Feed the slowest (uphill) part with full power direct from the transformer, and use number 81 or 95 rheostats to reduce voltage everywhere else.
It will take some fine tuning. If you have a reversing loop or occasionally run the train in the opposite direction, it gets a little tricky. Maybe time to invest in LionChief with speed control