Staging Canyon Pt. 1: In order to lay cork past the hidden staging on the north side I needed to figure out how long a bridge was going to be in this section of the double track mainline. I could of laid the cork and even the track and cut it out later but the situation gave me an excuse to dive into scenery a bit and see if I liked it or not. I didn't finish the small canyon completely but feel good enough about it to move back to the laying cork and hopefully rail also stage. . . . . . . . . . If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
i like that . might have to run (er drive down ) to the handy store over here an get some of that sandy stuff. there's ice and snow out right now. yesterday was just ice .you could skat5e on the road,. I might say your pretty fast building all this.
. The Hot Wire Foam Factory 3” hot knife and sculpting tool came in that I'll use instead of the Woodland Scenics and Gochange tools. Tested them out and like how fast they heat and they work great. I didn't want to have to plug and unplug them from the power supply so made a little 1 to 3 adapter so I can have them all plugged in at the same time if I want. They have longer cords than the other tools I have so that is another bonus. Sumner
Did you alter the connections on the tools? I recently tried finding additional fittings for an electric tool but couldn't find anything close.
Yep, cut the plug jacks off the ends of the cords for each tool and put the shown male plugs/jacks on. The freehand router tool had a larger jack that plugged into the female jack on the end of the power supply cord. The other two tools had smaller jacks and they supplied a short adaper cable to use those with the power supply. I wanted them to be uniform and also wanted to not have to plug and unplug them. Took 20 minutes or so to change the plugs and setup the block of wood. I just ordered more male/female sets last night. 10 pairs for $8. They are rated at 1-36v and 5 amps. The power supply can put out 6 amps but checking with the tools none of them drew anywhere near 6 amps so felt these were fine and they don't get warm or anything so think I'm good to go. Sumner
Perimeter Buss Wiring Pt. 1.... Buss wiring. How many different ways has this been done? Lots and I'm sure someone else has done the following also. I'll be 79 in a couple weeks and can still get under the layout but hate to do so even thought I've designed it so there is a lot of room under there to move around and I can use the body creeper I made. Do I want to go under there and how much longer will I be able to is the question. On my test layout where I got familiar with how I wanted to lay track and which switch machines I might use I also ran the main buss around the outside of the layout's fascia. Doesn't look as cool as if it is hidden but it sure made track wiring much easier to do. Most all of it was done standing or sitting in an office chair at the edge of the layout. To wire track sections or frog I'd drill a hole or holes where I wanted a drop and another hole between the + & - buss wires. Put the 'drop' wire through the hole and a ways under the layout. Reach under the layout from the side and pull the wire over to the side and put it through the hole at the buss wire. Strip and solder it to the appropriate buss wire. Cut it back at the track and solder it to the track. Your done and you never went under the layout. Above is a picture of the test track and I did the same for switch machines that are controlled at the side of the layout and that have a SPDT switch on them that can power the frog. Drop the frog lead and take it to the side and wire it to the SPDT switch and the switch to the buss. Above you can see the frog wiring and the track feeder wires attached to the buss. Also there I used insulated wires but decider to try uninsulated this time to avoid having to strip it although that wasn't that hard. I moved the wire clamps closer together and they are 3D printed. You can find them with other 3D printable clamps on my thingiverse account ( HERE ). . Spending 20 minutes making the tool above really speeded things up. I'd drill the four pilot holes. Use the length of the tool to go to the next four, drill them and move on. Could drill the holes for a 10 foot section in a couple minutes and they were perfectly spaced when I screwed the wire clamps to the fascia. . . . Next when I get my power district boosters and circuit breakers in I will come back and drill a hole between the two buss wires at some point and bring the wires from the circuit breaker and solder them to this section of buss wires. The layout is going to be divided into 8 districts so there will be 7 sections of buss wires like this around the perimeter and I'll put one underneath for the upper level tracks down the middle on both sides of the center backdrop/divider. So I will have to go underneath for the upper level tracks. As you can see above the bottom two wires are #14 wire for the DCC buss and the upper two wires are #16 for the 5 volt buss that can be used for servo switch machines, LEDs and anything else that can run on 5 volts. When I finish the track in this area (hidden staging) I'll replace the upper level that goes above it and there will be another buss there as that area is on a separate circuit breaker that this area. They both will be on the same booster. I'm not trying to convince people to take this approach and probably wouldn't of myself if I was 20 years younger but I'm not and some of you might not be either. This might provide a way for you to continue enjoying the hobby if going under the layout has been a game changer for you. If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
smart thinking . i too like my wires out side so no crawling under. pretty cool watching this progress.
Could you send an e-mail with the name and address of the supplier of those connectors. I'll probably use them on the layout but right now I'm thinking of connections on my electric bicycles and trailers. Some need to be disconnected at times. Or if it works just post it here. Thanks! Your still doing great work.
Innovative wiring access solution! Will there be a cosmetic and/or protective cover over the bare wires? They seem rather exposed to damage and/or shorting. While the wires themselves can safely handle the short circuit limit on their supplies, whatever brushes up against them might not... I can imagine a screwdriver, pliers, etc. sticking out of your pants pocket being a problem. Beyond that, what all might catch on the wires, pulling/breaking them, insulated or not? Your first picture shows the bus wires are insulated wires, which would prevent shorts in most situations, but does not protect against catching on things being carried near the layout. Perhaps a removable/hinged wooden cover (finished to match the fascia) over the wires would solve this problem.
A link to those that I showed ( HERE ) but you can find them on the Bay and other places also. I just found the ones ( HERE ) and ordered 10 pairs of them. I like the other ones but if somthing is repeatedly plugged and unplugged I don't like the connection with the wires stripped and inserted into the end of the plug. Over time that point is going to be a weak connection as it bends back and forth. The new ones are better at taking a strain there and you can solder them to the longer wiring and use heat shrink tubing to strengthen the connection point. I'm going to use these for locations where I might plug and unplug more often. Remember these are rated at 5 amps and I don't think I'd use them in an outdoor environment. I have a number of trailers and use traditional trailer plugs on them. On our electric bikes the battery removes easily and can be charged off the bike. Does your battery remove? I took our bikes to Phoenix and found out that there people pry/steal the batteries when you are in the store shopping. If I'm there with the bike now I remove the battery and take it in with me . Sad that we have gotten to this point. Here everyone leaves bikes, motorcycles, atv's, trailers, boats unlocked by their houses. I have tongue locks on the trailers and the canoe and kayaks chained down to at least slow someone down. We live right on the main road/highway through town and I feel we are more exposed than most here so take more precautions. Sumner
No, at least not at first, but there will be controllers for switch machines all along the fascia so one would also be hitting them. If it ends up being a problem then I'll cover them with some strips of plastic (I have some of that white plastic wall board that can be used in bathrooms and it isn't expensive if I need more). I wouldn't do that though until I have the wiring at least initially finished as I'll be soldering onto those wires a lot. Other than the wife wandering out into the shop I'm pretty much the only one there so not a high traffic area . I have a master on/off going in for the layout (went in yesterday) so unless I'm running trains or trouble shooting something power won't be on. Sumner
Thanks for the links. I have issues with that dealer but may try anyway. I need connectors for individual lights. The connects to the trailers will be normal automotive type. I like having working 12 volt tail, brake and turn signals. The head lights are 48 volt. I've always cable locked my bikes and a small cable and lock around handle on battery but as you say 'take it in with me' is probably the best way to go now. I use a lock on the hitch. Life just keeps getting more interesting. Thanks again.
I hear the way locks, cables and such are handled now is with a batter powered 4" grinder or cut-off wheel. Saw one lock demo where somehow they have a steel composition ( if I understood it right) that will make a grinding disk or cut-off wheel disintegrate. The video was impressive but so was the the price for the lock. It was a start-up deal and don't know if it went anywhere or not. I figure the items I use might encourage them to move on to all the other local items that aren't locked at all. Little or no crime here but when I had the trading post open there were two breakins on it. The alarms scared them off before they took anything. I had lots of jewelry and Navajo rugs in the store that were targets. My bigger problem were the items that were stolen during store hours while I was working . Sumner
i hate thieves . ive been known to wire 220 volt to items that might disappear . they touch it once then the second time they leave it alone if there's a second time. probably could use a fencer but i like steady volts with 50 amp or higher breakers that way they dont trip for at least two attempts But my dogs usually let me know if something or somebody is out there.
It I may change the subject a little. I know the board is safety conscious as well. So how do you add those ( HERE )s in here with a connection that what mayn't be allowed? I have found them useful.
Boosters & Circuit Breakers Pt. 1... I'm dividing the layout into 8 power districts. I'm using a DCC-EX Command Station and so far love it. For under $100 I feel it is a great value and comparable in many ways to commercial command stations and gaining new features all the time. I can't see myself ever outgrowing it. If you are interested in how easy it is to build a very powerful command station that also has WiFi for phone and other throttles check it out ( HERE ) and ( HERE ). I've seen articles on building boosters and circuit breakers and even bought the parts to build a booster buy after researching them more decide to go commercial for them. I'm using Tam Valley boosters and circuit breakers along with their frog juicers. I won't be using the frog juicers for turnouts as my switch machines and controllers can power the frogs. I'll be using them for reversing loops/sections and the frogs on crossings. You can to some degree mix and match some of these components from different manufactures but I want to stay with one manufacture to avoid potential problems doing that. There are a number of options for these parts from various manufactures so check around and use what is best for your situation. If you are joining the build here the layout is 24.5 ft. x 6 ft. so fairly large. To handle the track current I might need running trains and to help troubleshoot shorts and/or other problems I didn't want the layout to be one huge power district. I've decide on 8 power districts. The boosters receive the DCC signal from the DCC-EX Command Station (it no longer powers the track). Each of the four boosters is powered by a separate 12 volt/5 amp power supply (cost $12-$15 each). I have individual power switches that plug into the two common power strips with surge protection. With those switches I can easily cut the power to any individual booster. Normally they will be on and the layout power will be controlled by the main power strip (seen with a red light on it further below). Each booster will have two circuit breakers attached to it and each will protect one power district. You can use a Tam Valley booster on a layout to boost the DCC power and it will also act as a circuit breaker. So if you have a smaller layout but still want a booster just get the booster and it will boost the power and protect the layout from shorts. Also you can put more than two circuit breakers on a booster so lots of options depending on your situation. One final comment, you can also use the booster for your DCC accessories if you have any such as stationary decoders on turnouts. Using one for this takes that current demand off your command station and if there is a short on a track the accessories can still receive commands from the command station (as long as you are using a separate booster for track power also). A short on either power district won't shut down the command station. So on to making panels for the four boosters and eight circuit breakers............. . . . . . . . . If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
Boosters & Circuit Breakers Pt. 2.... Finished wiring the two panels for the 8 power districts. This went pretty fast and they all seemed to work on the first try. Need to mount them next on the side of the layout just behind the fascia. They will be easy to see the indicator lights there and to make any wiring attachments needed. . . . . You can find more info on the solder pads ( HERE ) and the print files ( HERE ). . . . . For a test of the components and watching the first loco run 'on' the layout click the image above or ( HERE ). If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
