What’s the advantages/disadvantages of terminal strips. I ask because I was considering running my feeders to terminal strips located around the layout w/bus wires running to the terminal strips. Good idea or bad??? Dave
Terminal strips have a few disadvantages, one being is that they degrade the incoming signal/power, they are prone to oxidization, and the connectors used are prone to broken wires.
it’s better to run a continous bus and have quick splices attaching the feeder wires. the chance of degrading signal/power is reduced, as the bus wires will be continous, instead of broken (no changes in the conducting area). and there’s little to no chance fo oxidization, loose connections, and broken wires that terminal connectors and strips are prone to.
Jay
Thanks Jay,
And I would guess that with DCC these disadvantages would be even more of a long term problem. Dave
The Cochise & Western Model Railroad Club’s 20 x 40 foot HO-scale layout is wired exclusively with terminal strips and crimp-on connectors, and we have had absolutely no corrosion or loose connection problems. The biggest advantage to the use of terminal strips is that you have multiple test points if you do need to trace wiring for any reason, and any modifications or additions to the wiring because of changes in the track plan are much simpler to make if there is a nearby terminal block than they would be if you have to run a separate wire all the way back to a control panel or cab. On a club layout, the number of terminal strips and crimp-on connectors used was certianly not cheap, but the ease of modification makes up for the added expense, especially if you get your terminal strips and connectors from a surplus house in bulk, such as All Electronics or Mendelson Electronics.