I’m looking for some colored 22 guage wire for down legs. my radio shack only has red, black and green. Does any one know of a a place to get some? Thanks in advance.
Walthers has it - made by Wire Works. You can also get it at First Place Hobbies cheaper (www.firstplacehobbies.com)
Scott, if you have one, you might also try an electronics store called Fry’s. I purchased 20 GA pre-tinned solid wire in spools of 100 ft for $7. Being pre-tinned means I do not have to pre-tin the wire or the rail before attaching the feeder. I’ve a friend who did this with great success.
There is no “brand” name on the spools. The spool is labeled SO20-100R, 20GAUGE SOLID WIRE, PVC JACKET/TINNED COPPER, 600V 80C UL&CSA 100FT. The PLU# is 1616318.
Regards,
Home Depot and Lowes will have it in large spools. A lot cheaper than Rat Shack which liekly won;t have ANY anymore, since they ave pretty much converted to being a silly cell phone store now.
–Randy
Menards Lumber carries it also, best prices I have seen also.
I have to second the Menards mention. Menards has a great selection of good birch ply in many thicknesses along with Homasote in 4 x 8 sheets and very good prices too
My local Lowe’s and Home Depot DO NOT carry wire this small exceptfor speaker wire. I buy 12 AWG wire for my bus at Lowe’s, but my track leads (20AWG) I have to buy at Radio Shack, but I only need red and black. Try an electrical supply shop, especially if you need large quantities.
Ron
Wow, that’s wierd. In like a 20 mile radius I have at least 4 Home Depots and 2 Lowes, and each and everyone one has a large electrical department with spools of all sorts of wire, in various colors and sizes. Both packaged spools you just pick up and go, as well as a huge powered rack where you can get wire by the foot. I can see stuff like insulation materials being stocked in stores by location (why people in Californaia have trouble getting 2" pink foam) but wire, I’d kind of think they need EVERYWHERE. Just wierd.
–Randy
My local Lowe’s has the same thing, but the smallest wire they carry in these bulk supplies is 18 AWG. You can buy smaller speaker wire or very small rolls of 22 AWG “doorbell” wire, but larger quantities of this size and other smaller sized they do not carry. Same with the Home Depot locally.
Ron
The wire I got at HD might actally be #20, not #22, but it was twisted pair red and white solid wire, I got a 500’ spool of it. Don’t overlook the multipel conductor wire liek this - it’s only lightly
twisted and pulls apart easily. Plus it matched the red and white #12 I used for my bus. Why red and white instead of red and black? Because in the shadows under the layout, red and black will look similar. Red and white - obviously different, even in dim light.
–Randy
You may have to ask an employee at Home Depot as they have a large vertical carrousel that contains about a hundred different spools.
Most of the spools cannot be seen without having an employee rotate it.
Isnt 22 gauge a bit tiny?
Im thinking of just fat solid 14 gauge for bus and feeder work.
I dont go to Radio Shack much at all anymore, that is one store that whose time has passed into history but refuses to accept it’s obselence and just go away. I have other reasons for not going. One of which in my area they are like crab grass everywhere and all are rather pushy the moment you walk inside. Bleah.
Enough about radio shack. If you can get pre-tinned wire go for it.
I dont think these lumbering Levithans like Home Depot or Lowes have realized that they are particpating in the hobby business.
Why is it so difficult to get Blue or Pink foam anyway? I see stacks of plywood, fancy woods and more steel/plastic stuff but hardly any foam except the awful crumbly white stuff.
You can also use multi-conductor “bell wire” or “Thermostat wire” available in any electrical supply house. It comes in 22-2 conductor, 22-3, etc. up to at least 22-12. It may also be cheaper than the single conductor stuff depending on supplier.
The seperate conductors are very easily separated from each other and each additional conductor adds another color for your enjoyment.
Good luck,
Karl
Good luck soldering #14 wire to the track for feeders in HO or smaller scales [:D]
#12 or #14 for the bus, but the drops fromt he track have to be somethign you can solder to the rails without making an unsightly mess. #20 or #22 is good for HO scale. The short ditance these will run, plus the fac that you should have several around the layout, mean any voltage drop will be negligible.
Good place to point out that the chart in the latest issue of MR is for ONE WAY - ie, the table lists voltage drop by current draw in a particular length of wire. The actual distance you bus wire can run and fit those chart numbers is HALF the number given - you have to have 2 wires for a complete circuit. I think there’s a notation in the fine print about that, but then that brings up the question of why bother giving the chart like that in the first place? The complete circuit is what’s goign to matter to modelers, how far you can run from your booster before there is too much voltage drop, or you have to use heavier wire. I know this wasn’t Kalmbach’s doing, not complaining to them.
–Randy