+- (https://bigbluetrains.com)
+-- Forum: The Back Shop (https://bigbluetrains.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=52)
+--- Forum: DCC (https://bigbluetrains.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+--- Thread: Calling all Wiring Experts (/showthread.php?tid=5631)
Calling all Wiring Experts - teejay - 12-11-2012
...even wiring pretenders will do .
Two Questions :
1) Regarding the buss wires .....I have a white buss and a black buss under the layout . The wires at one end of the layout will plug into the Digitrax Loconet , right ? What happens to the other ends of the busses .....do they hang out in space ?
2) My feeders are soldered in ( as best I could ...would NOT win a soldering contest ) and these connections are out in the open . Is it necessary to tape them , paint them ?????
Thanks , T
Re: Calling all Wiring Experts - Mark R - 12-11-2012
Hi Terry !
Yes, your buss wires can just stub end, they don't have to return to anything. In all honesty, and only because I didn't know any better sixteen years ago when I wired my layout, I looped them back around to where they came from. Sixteen years later, I have never experienced any adverse situations, so they still remain that way !
My drop-feeds are soldered to the buss as well and are not not taped / insulated, mainly because they are staggered in such a fashion that they can't even be pulled together to create a short. If there's any chance they could touch each other, it might be a good idea to insulate them.
Mark.
Re: Calling all Wiring Experts - teejay - 12-11-2012
Thanks , Mark , ....I guess I inadvertently did it right , as in " good guess " . My feeders on the white buss are not directly across from the feeders on the black buss , they are staggered so will never touch .
T
Re: Calling all Wiring Experts - Puddlejumper - 12-11-2012
I have heard that if the bus is extremely long, it should not loop back to itself. Sounds like Mark has not had problems with his, so I don't know how true it is. My bus just stub ends. I covered all my soldered connections only because I'm extra cautious. Prolly won't hurt anything to leave them open, as long as they can't touch each other or be shorted out by other objects.
Re: Calling all Wiring Experts - Charlie B - 12-11-2012
Teejay, if you are talking DCC you may need buss terminators which are just a resistor and a capacitor. I do intend to in stall some but so far I haven't had any problems. I think they prevent some sort of radio frequency problem. I read about them a year ago so the reasons have long since drained from my brain.
You might check this out, he explains how to make them here.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC.htm">http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC.htm</a><!-- m -->
Charlie
Re: Calling all Wiring Experts - teejay - 12-11-2012
...like the flux capacitor ?
Re: Calling all Wiring Experts - Mark R - 12-12-2012
There is the issue of signal "ringing". This is caused by voltage spikes which can corrupt the signal's square wave. This happens with very long runs of bus wire when there is no load on it. Unless you have a really big layout with a very long buss run, the buss terminators are a moot point. All of the latest, or I should say after the first generation of boosters, have built in terminators anyway.
Mark.