Next question related to the 4x8 layout I’m building…
I’ve built the bench work in sections so I can disassemble and move/store the layout if need be. It is made up of six sections. Three of them are 18" x 48", two are 24"x30" and one is 12"x48", as seen below - indicated by the blue lines. There will be a 24" high dividing backdrop down the center, as illustrated.
So my question is, what is the best way to connect the wiring between these modules?
The wiring won’t be anything fancy - just two bus wires, running the lenght of each section. This is a real basic layout - power needed for track only - and maybe some lighted structures some day, but the turnouts will all be controlled via ground throws.
I once connected an extension to a previous layout, and i used banana plugs to connect the wires from the layout to the wires for the extension. This worked ok, but there was still wires dangling with the banaplugs at the end. This isn’t a huge deal - but I thougth maybe I’d pose the question to the forum to see if any new ideas pop up I hadn’t thought of.
I use terminal blocks with soldered spade connectors on the wire. I did have those two-piece connectors but had to much trouble taking them apart.
Archie
My favorite is NOT accepted by most clubs, but it does the job, is easy, and is available at any auto parts store…the flat style plug-in trailer connectors. I use the 4 wire so I have 2 DCC bus wires and 2 accessory wires. the best way is to use a 4 position terminal block at each end of the module, and the connectors have about a 12 inch drop. If you are going to use your modules in group layouts or shows it is easy to add whatever style the group has standardized to the terminal blocks.
My Ntrak club has switched to the flat trailer plugs, until Ntrak gets off their butts and decides on a replacement for the 50+ year old Cinch-Jones plugs that’re currently the standard (and which C-J will stop making in the near future). The work well, although I personally prefer terminal strips and spade lugs (which take longer to set up, but which are more universal, and cheaper). My last layout was sectional and I used term strips and spades without any issues.
Personally I use 1/4" mono jacks and plugs, but I have those around because I’m a musician and they tend to be in plentiful supply in the parts box of any musician who uses electronics. Pick a connector with the right number of jacks at your local Radio Shack and stick to it…RCA connectors would be a little shakey, perhaps, but could do in a pinch and are plentiful and cheap.
If you are planning to assemble/disassemble the layout on a regular basis and move it, then use the trailer plugs or some of those heavy duty white ones at Radio Shack, or similar ordered from one of the bigger electronic houses like Mouser or Digikey (cheaper than RS). Trailer plugs are probably the cheapest, and would work great.
If you are only making this modular so that it CAN be moved if you HAVE to move it, save yourself the money and use terminal strips and jumper wires with spade lugs. Or even better - don’t do ANYTHING. The first time you have to move it, tag and cut the wires. When you put it back together at its new home, use terminal strips and spade lugs.
One thing you should NEVER use is a standard household extension cord socket and plug. Although it is a very unlikely occurrence, I read a newspaper account once about someone mistaking such a plug as requiring 110 Volts AC and electrocuting themselves when they touched the track. It didn’t say what happened to the locomotives and rolling stock that might have been on the layout at the time. Just be aware that there might even be something in the National Electrical Code prohibiting the use of household wiring sockets and plugs for such purposes, and remember Murphy’s Law –
When I built my layout, i had to make my control panel portable,(long story why) anyway I used telephone wire and telephone jacks. It’s quick and easy and cheap. And you can get telephone wire and jacks up to 8 conductors.It’s as easy as unplugging your phone.
Telephone wire is just not a good choice for any DCC use, or HO or larger DC control. It’s just too thin. It’s great for electronic signals like from track detectors and to power signal heads, but it really has no place in track power applications, unless you have a small N or Z scale layout where the wire runs are short and there’s not much current being drawn.
My N-scale layout has been built with the idea of moving it some day (this is our 6th house in 29 years). It consists of 11 modules: (6) 16" x 96", (2) 32" x 48", (1) 16" x 48" and (2) 16" x 84". The layout is wired for two cab operation. When fabricating the module frame work, I drilled holes in the cross members and pulled five #14 bus wires (cab A, cab B, common and 2 for accessories). I left a 6" drop on each end. When I added the module to my layout, I used wire nuts to connect the wires. This made wiring easy, and it was very inexpensive! If–or I should say when, we move again disassembly will be very easy.
I used John Colley’s technique (earlier post) for rewiring the East Texas and Gulf modular layout several years ago. The trailer connectors come in 2, 4, 6, and 8 wire variations. We set them up such that it was “idiot-proof” - there was no way to connect the wires up wrong from one module to the next. It is extremely reliable. You can use colored electrical tape to color-code the wires of common connectors to help speed up connections (this layout goes to many shows), but it is not necessary. I recommend having the male of one bus on one end of a module and the female connector of any second bus on the same end. The corresponding mates are on the end of the connecting module. You can’t connect them wrong! Also, use the terminal strips at the end of the module with the open spade lugs on all wiring ends. It makes it SO easy to make changes, if they are necessary. Don’t use the Cinch-Jones connectors. I used them 20+ years ago and those are by far the worst electrical connectors I have ever had the misfortune to use.
[?] What problems have been experienced with the Cinch-Jones type connectors? Our travelling modular layout has used two position since 1996 without problem and we use 10 position connectors to electrically join the modules in the yard.
[?] #2. What information is there the C-J connectors will no longer be distributed? I know Radio Shack no longer carries them and the two position connectors have been discontinued by some mail order houses.
I can’t take credit for this suggestion. The guy who built my layout 3 layouts ago used these from Radio Shack. They are super easy to use and come apart quickly if you have to move. (Speaking from experience here, 5 moves in 4 years.) For 2 wire connections just cut the plastic down. The 12 count is the cheapest one if you plan to use many. These can also be used for switches, control systems, etc… I LOVE them!
I found out about the discontinuation of various C-J’s being discontinued through a Ntrak rumor, and backed up by a press release on the C-J website. Essentially, the C-J’s that Ntrak settled on in the 1970s have been in production since the mid-1940s (they were used on B-29’s!), but because of changes in technology are basically a dead product line.
