Well, I’m turning 40 next week, and my wife just told me that she has ordered me a Digitrax Zephyr for my birthday. She blew me away. I haven’t started wiring yet on the new layout, so I guess now I’ll have to wire for DCC. A surprise I had not expected. The best kind…WoooHoo!!!
OMG! I’ve not been paying attention. Crash course required…What gauge should I use for feeder wires and for the main bus line?
Trevor
Welcome to the world of DCC. I’m turnign 40 later this year myself, but I already have a Zephyr…hmm…
Wire size all depends on how big yor layout is and how long the wire runs have to be. Feeders don;thave to be big at all, you want somethign easy to solder to the track, #20 or even #22 is fine for this purpose - feeders are normally short, and there should be plenty of them (every 6 feet or better). On my layout, I have about 20 feet or less of wire going out in each directon from the Zephyr. I used #12, but eventually the layout will be much bigger and I’ll need it. For what I have, #16 would probably work equally well for a power bus. A small 2x4 switchign layout doesn;t need any more than #18 wire. For a big layout, dont run more than 50 feet even with #12. With the Zephyr in the middle that spans 100 feet total. If you layotu is that big a) you need another booster located remotely to reduce the length of wiring runs and b) you probably NEED the extra booster because your layout can handle more trains than the Zephyr can power by iteself.
–Randy
Hey Trevor, I’m not sure I want to go there…LOL
As for your ?‘s, Randy has answered correctly, as he always does. Go with #12, it is actually cheaper at Home Depot than #16/18 because it is so common for house electrical wiring. You can buy 250’ spools of #12 for about $30 at Home Depot, not that you need that much, but you might have some home projects sometime, and this will come in handy.
40 huh?..now the fun begins…the mind says “yes’ …and the body says 'no way!”…It’s great to have a wife that gets you stuff like that…my wife always lets me have a free-for-all in the walther’s catalog on holidays and my birthday…she’s a good gal …I’ll be 47 in a couple of months…geez!..chuck
Yeah, get the big spool, you’ll use it somewhere - and if you need more than 2 of the small spools you’ll loose money by buying the small one twice. I couldn;t believe a 500 foot spool was less than twice the cost of the 100 foot spool. I knew I’d need more than the size of the small spool, and when I looked at the next larger size, it was a no-brainer. I have plenty left over right now, but it willg et used.
–Randy
My guess is…your getting older [;)]
You can also use #14 gauge copper wire as it is just as common as 12 gauge but will save you some green backs in the long run plus its easier to work with (more flexable) as far as feeders go any 20 - 22 wire works the smaller the better here and make sure its not the solid wire like the #12 or 14 wire so it will be easier to solder. I put mine every 3 feet as its a proven fact the anything over 3 feet in nickel plated rail and the current will start to drop off. I also include feeders at every turnout because 9 time out of 10 if you have any electrical problems this is where it will be at in DCC.