28 awg vs. 30-32 awg

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

I am attempting installation of a Soundtraxx sound decoder in a Bachmann GP7.

The bill of materials call for 30-32 gauage wire. I have shopped around and the smallest I can find is 28 gauage wire from Radio Shack.

How important is it to use the 30-32 gauage wire for this job?

Thanks for your help

Ed

2

You can buy decoder wire from various model sources, most of the decoder makers sell it, for example. The reason for the specified wire is that decoder wire is smaller, and generally more felxible, which is usually important in a decoder install. If it fits, there is no harm in using larger size wire.

After a few installs, you usually end up with leftover bits of wire cut off from teh harnesses of the decoders you’ve installed.

–Randy

3

Thanks Randy and thanks for not mentioning my incorrect spelling.

4

You already have the smaller wire ready at hand. (Assuming that you do not have a wireless mouse). Certainly you have dozens of dead mice in a box near your train room. Cut off the mouse and the plug, slit open the cable and there are all the wires that you need. No need to spend big bucks in the store.

ROAR

5

Using wire form an old mouse would work great! If you don’t have an old mouse I buy my wire from TCS.
http://www.tcsdcc.com/Customer_Content/Products/Supplies/Wire/Wire.htm

Mel

6

Any old LAN, computer printer, or serial cables laying around? Slit open the jacket and you have all kinds of very small gauge, flexible wire that can be used for decoder installations.

If you purchase a decoder such as the NCE D13SRJ, it will have a wiring harness in the package with wires long enough that you can cut off most of them. I save this wire when I install a decoder, and keep all the leftovers in a glass jar.

7

As a rule of thumb, if the AWG number you have is lower than the specified number, the number you have will have ample capacity. #28 AWG wire has about four times the current capacity of #32AWG wire, so then the limitation becomes one of stuffing a rope into a place designed for a string.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)