i was wondering where do you purchase the wire to connest to the switches on the fastrack. say instead of the switches being mounted beside the switch and over there by the zw’s. it is a 3 strand wire that can be connected to the switch wire and the switch can be mounted by the zw’s that way i dont have to run around the layout to try and hit the switch before the train gets there. i went to lowe’s and they didnt have any. could please help me locate the wire.
thatboy37 aka reggie
You can get multi conductor 18 gauge stranded wire, in two, three and four conductor versions. This stuff is supposed to be Gragraves, but I don’t see it on their web site:
Look for telephone “station wire” or thermostat cable. Lowes probably has these, just not with the building wire.
Radio shack has 4- and 6-conductor station wire and 4-conductor zip cord.
thanks for the info and yes lowe’s did have the telephone wire but i didnt think it was as flemsy as the remote switch wire and was kind of scepticle bout buying it. also does that wire work good with the switches.
Reggie,
I have heard several folks using the telephone wire for fastrack switches, so it is accepted and tried. Also, you can count on the information from Bob Nelson, he knows a thing or two about wire and electronics.
Dennis
[:)]…Reggie…I see from the previous threads that you are going to build huge layout and I would advise you to plan ahead on wiring up your layout with the amount of switches that you are going to use. I would suggest you get advice from some of the old timers here on this fourm that have had a lot of experiance on a project that you are about to do.Working in the telephone field for many years I have seen a lot of rats nests{…Messy Wiring…} in my life time. I have worked with Ho equipment before but this is another ballgame you are getting into. Good luck…Felix
you know the guy who is designinb it for me is sending me an all out diaram f how to wire everything and i have all the books that everyone has recommended to me which has really been a great help to me. i been thinking of how im going to wire the layout. i was in lowe’s last night past closingtrying to purchase wire harnesses and wire. i’ve seen the new fastrack book and the guy by the name of bill langsdorf has a massive layout and alot of wirng going on there once i got finished reading the book i said to myself that i really dont know what i’ve got myself into. but i’m ready as to i’m good with electronics and i wired a few car stereos in my day. plus i started thnking of all the stuff that i will need as far as wirng i’m know where near finished buying items for this layout. but this is a lifetime hobby that is not supposed to be finished in one day and thats the mind set i have which i have to get out of if i want a quality nice working layout that can and will attract many visitors over time. but thanks for the advice as i will take it all into consideration as i move along with my layout and if i have any quetions of how to do something you know i’ve been counting on you guys for help and i will continue to. until next time peace.
thatboy37 aka reggie
If you use Three strand thermostst wire from Lowes,(as mentioned above) it is solid conductor,18 Guage wire and will handle plenty of current with no power loss.I have used it for years and had no problems yet.I run the controller wire to a terminal strip and from there to the turnout.This makes wiring simpler and easy to test with a test lite in case of poblems.
Ed
If you can stand to wait a week or so, try these web suppliers:
http://www.stanorrtrainparts.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/catalog.html
http://pictures.olsenstoy.com//search_lionel.htm (Search on Wire or 3c)
http://www.scottsodds-n-ends.com/ (They have wire but I’d didn’t see 3 conductor)
http://www.georgetebolt.com/postlist.html
oh thanks for the replies i went to home depot on monday and they had 22 gauge 4 strand wire that came in 500 feet rolls for 70 dollars and i got one roll hoping that i want need any more but the way things are looking i will need one more roll, but who knows maybe i want need anymore. lets hope that i want. until next time peace.
thatboy37 aka reggie
Yeah, copper pricers are outragous right now. That $70 roll was probably alot less just a few weeks ago. We took a big hit at work recently when the price of some copper coax more than doubled per piece in a few days. Worse than gas!
As usual, Bob knows his stuff about wiring. Used telephone station wire and thremostat wire for years. Never had a problem.
the name of the wire is sound and security 22/4 strand do you think or know that this wire will work the same as the thermostat or telephone station wire. i hope so. until next time peace.
thatboy37 aka reggie
Should. On my old layout, I had long runs of the thin telephone station wire and it worked great. If you do run into problems, double it [two wires to each post, but to get three sets, you will have to pull another set].
i figure since the wire that i have i the same size as the wire on the switches it should be the same thing and work the same. also will i need the terminal switches if i purchase the tmcc ps2 switch and accessory controllers which run through and with the cab-1 controller. until next time peace.
thatboy37 aka reggie
Reggie
i have been following what you have been doing and it looks great! You are about to enter into the hard part of construction - layout wiring.
It can get out of hand real quick. Several of the “guys” have been SOFTLY suggesting getting the layout wiring plan down pat before you begin. Their advice is sound. There’s a lot here with all of the electronics and the HUGE investment you have. I am working on a 30 x 20, all TMCC, in some cases 4 levels with 50 switches and turnouts, 60 accessories and counless lights. I don’t know what i would have done without the forum advice - a large FIRE perhaps.
Think of color coded wire and terminal strips. Cable runs are easier to find that way and the strips allow you to correct mistakes more easily. Looking forward to see your progress.\
god bless
ralph
i think our layout is about the same size maybe yours is alittle bigger than mine by like 20 square feet. so cheech you would not reccommend the tmcc SC-2 switch and accessory controller item # 6-22980 which receives signals from the cab-1 controller the throw and activate either 6 switches or 12 accessories. or like you said just go with the terminal switches that way the problem if any problem is easier to find. i have planty of terminal switches and a few of the SC-2 swithces but contiplating which one i want to use. i want it as easy as possible but also to look as neat and professional as possible. until next time peace.
thatboy37 aka reggie
You can run the SC-2 in parallel with standard throws, even having a throw near the switch and one at a central control panel.
The usual problems with the SC-2 are signal pickup and powering. I’ve never used the wall wart pack and have always used an auxiliary power feed and never had any trouble with Lionel O-22, DZ switch machines or FastTrack switches. Only “issue” is to make sure the SC-2 is within receiving range of the TMCC signal. SC-2 The receivers pick up signals from the tracks the way a loco would, aka the CAB-1 talks to the Command Base and the Command Base talks to everything else. ASC controllers use a daisy chained serial wire to forward commands so placement is not an issue. Either the SC-2’s need to be placed near the command base’s main antenna feed or near a piece of track to “hear” the commands. Note, the TMCC signal does penetrate bellow the track unless you take steps to block it so an under the table mount might make sense. If the SC-2’s are farmed out around the layout, the wiring runs to the switches and accessories are shorter and may be easier to keep track of. Good Luck!
so what you are saying is forget about the SC-2 switches as they might be a little harder to control and just stick with the terminal switches. and also what do i need to run all of my accessories since i have kind of made up my mind not to use the SC-2 switch accessory controllers is there an alternative way to to control them without this part. until next time peace.
thatboy37 aka reggie
SC-2’s are great. I have four of them. If you don’t want to rely on RF signals, you can use the ASC (Accesory Switch Controller) devices. These use a pair of wires to send commands to the controller. More wiring, less problems with radio interference. You can use both a remote switch controller and standard switch throws. Remote control like the SC-2 allow for creation of “routes” where a single command can throw/align multiple switches with a single button push.