As some of you may already know I will build my layout as modules if I must move the layout in the future. Modules that don’t look like modules, if you know what I mean.
I will use 3M suitcase connectors for the feeders. I already have lots of them just waiting for me… But how do I connect/disconnect the power bus between modules? I want a easy way to connect/disconnect the power bus between modules.
electrolove, I’d say run out to your local Radio Shack but since you’re in Sweden… (and the kicked our rearends in women’s hockey and curling!)
Seriously, check with an electronics store for a low voltage two prong connector. Should be able to get male and female ends. Also check at an auto parts store, since most vehicles are 12 volts, the may hav something that will work as well. I wish I had exact item numbers, but I think most would be for US stuff. I will check on Radio Shack website for you and post later.
Rick
I’m also building my layout in sections. I use the Eurostyle Terminal Strips and 12 gauge STRANDED wire to connect or jump between sections.
The bus wires run under the sections to feed the tracks. The ends are connected to the terminals.
I solder the bare ends of the wires so they don’t splay and help hold their shape.
I just used barrier strips with screw terminals at the end of the busses of each module. The modules are connected together by short lengths of wire with spayed connectors and color coded the same as the bus wires.
Not very elegant but I don’t intend to move the layout often, if ever.
I think I do. Maybe
It’s not that I’m a stickler about terminology. I just wonder if you had heard this before.
There is a difference between Modular and Sectional layouts. Both can be dis-assembled and re-assembled.
Modular means that all units are interchangeable and can be re-arraigned to any configuration.
Whereas Sectional units are not interchangeable. Each section fits another section like a puzzle.
Which one are you building electrolove? My guess it’s sectional.
Electrolove, here is an excerpt from NMRA reccomended practice for connecting modules (not your type per se, but they would work). Sorry, I couldn’t find any on line.
Terminal blocks will have connection to rail and connection to other module end, and may be a 2 pin Cinch-Jones (TRW#P302 & S302) or Radio Shack plug (#274-201 & 274-202). These connectors will have the wide blade (pin 1) connected to the outside rail terminal and the narrow pin (pin 2) connected to the inside rail terminal.
Rick
I have a small modular-style layout as well. I’m using trailer-hitch connectors for the wiring. These are meant for attaching the wiring from a 1:1 scale trailer to the wiring on a truck, but so far they work well for my wiring. They’re made of plastic and are quite durable. Oh, and these connectors will only fit together one way, so there’s no chance of mis-plugging something.
Go to Free-mo.org and check out the standards using Cinch-Jones connectors. To be a “Module” it must be able to connect in either direction, anywhere in the set-up. That is the subtle difference between sectional and modular. jc 5729
This is an alternative being used in module groups now. The Anderson Power Pole connector. It is supposed to be easier and less expensive yet more reliable. I am building a layout entirely out of modules and will be using these.
I use Molex connectors. They come in everything from two to 36 conductors.
Here is a cheap substitute from Radio Shack but they work.
http://www.radioshack.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2032286&cp=2032058.2032231
My modules will not be standard modules. My modules will only fit together with my own modules in one way. Think of it as a regular layout divided into smaller units in case I must move. So there is no need for any standard at all.
I like the look of these:
That is great if they come in more than 2 connector sets.
They come in singles. You snap together as many as you want to make a multiple connector. The white stuff in the above photo would be tape holding the pairs together (they tend to slip apart).
I wold go withthe 4 pole terminal strips as I am always afraid of corrosion and other connectivity problems with pronged connectors, expecially if you unplug and replug them very often. My new layout is sectional and I went with the terminal strips.
Ron
It’s about time the plug and socket standard for modules be revised to something other than those Cinch-Jones connectors.
I understand the reasoning for selecting the Cinch-Jones connector was its polarization so the electrical connection between modules made by different people would be the same and interchangeable, but the last time I tried to purchase some of them I could find only one source – Mouser Electronics in Mansfield, Texas, and they had nearly tripled in price.
Electrolove – If this is for your own use only and is not part of a modular layout that will be taken around the country to club meetings or train shows, any type of connector you can find that is polarized or can be color-coded so you can keep the wires properly sorted should be fine for your use. As others have suggested, the plugs and sockets for automotive wiring may be a good choice, and you should be able to find something suitable at any store that sells automotive or caravan (travel trailer) supplies. My personal choice if I were doing it would be the 4-wire computer power supply connectors. You can purchase these as power supply extension connectors with a male plug on one end and female on the other, and then cut one end off or purchase just the plugs, pins, and crimping tool and make your own.
I really like the trailer light connector idea. They’re simple, readily available, and are an industry standard so they won’t disappear when the next greatest connector comes along.
4 wires give you track power and an accessories bus. Color coded.
Mike Tennent
Why change? [?] The Cinch plugs are darn near indestructable, over 10 years of taking modules to shows , we have yet to break one. heck, we’ve even run over 1 with a trailer and all we had to do was straighten the pins.
Molex has failed on us, 5-pin din connectors have failed us, trailer connections have failed ( I wind up replaceing the one on my trailer bi-yearly) RJ connectors are a joke!
Digi-key, Mouser and others stock them (the 2 pins are getting harder to get, but the 6 and 8 pins are easier to obtain)
Terminal strips will work just fine on a layout that might only be moved a few times, but laying on my back trying to attach screws from below ain’t model railroading,its a sick form of torture![}:)][}:)][}:)]