Several years ago I made a great find, SIP micro connectors (Single In-line Package). I now use them for almost everything on my layout. Using the micro connectors is very cost efficient too. The cost per contact is about 2¢ to 3¢ each when bought in 40 pin strips off eBay at $7 for ten 40 pin connector strips, that’s 400 connector pins for $7.
The 40 pin SIP connector strips are “breakable” (actually I use a Atlas Snap Saw) to get any contact arrangement. The pins are removable from the strip housing so they can be easily removed and turned 180° to make a set of polarized connectors to prevent accidental reversal.
For sometime now, I’ve been using similar connectors between my DC-controlled locomotives and tenders, most of which use all-wheel current collection.
The first ones used a joined pair of male connectors on the locomotive mated to a joined pair of female connectors, wire-mounted, on the tender. The excess wire is simply stuffed into the tender, beneath the modelled coal bunker. I drilled shallow holes in one mating set of the plastic insulators and filled them with red paint to ensure proper polarity.
Putting the male connectors on the locomotive allows me use jumper wires from a workbench powerpack, obviating the need to remove the superstructure for simple maintenance such as lubrication of the running gear.
Most of my subsequent installations put the female receptacles right on the tender’s frame…
…which allows the wires to look more like the hose connections between tender and locomotive:
This modified Bachmann Ten Wheeler got the same treatment:
I bought mine at a nearby electronics supply warehouse, but they were apparently phasing out those particular items when I last v
I have been using them for quite some time now…but I am a little lazy, instead of making My own, I buy them already made, with 8’’ leads. Anything that I want to be removeable I have been using them on and really quite robust for their size:
The standardization between locomotives really helps too. Most of my SP articulateds use the same type oil tender so they are interchangeable. The SP put the engine number on the rear of their oil tenders so that’s how I address the decoders, by tender number. I only have three oil tenders with DCC decoders installed so I swap tenders between 19 locomotives.
This is my configuration. The connectors are wired to the standard NMRA 8 pin connector. The dual row 80 pin SIP pin connector strips cut to 8 pins are directly compatible to the standard NMRA DCC 8 pin connectors. I standardized all my steam locomotives with the red wire (pin 8) on the lower right corner.
I use the pin strips too, but I didn’t know that the individual pins could be switched 180 degrees to maintain proper orientation of the plugs. Thanks for that.
I use my long nose pliers to push the connector through the housing/strip from the solder end. I’ve also used the male SIP pins in the female housing/strip, that keeps the soldering side of the connectors the same.
Edit: The male SIP contact pins are a tad larger in diameter than the reverse side of the female pin so they fit tighter in the female pin.
For a reversed pin to seat properly I use a #49 drill as a countersink so the pin fits flush. A dob of super glue will insure the pin stays put.
For the 8 pin NMRA version I use a dob of red paint on the housing at pin 8 (red wire).
On the inside of my locomotives between the shells and components I color code each pin on the strip for
