By this weekend i will have all the primary track feeders hooked up to the main bus lines and i was wondering if i schould test the track before installing in any more feeders, or hooking up the switchs to the decoders.
You can make a test run even without all the feeders installed but you will maybe have more troubles with trains going far from the feeders. I had on a previous 'layout' only two feeders on an 7' by 15' one. Trains were still running at the other end but trains ran erradicly at some places due to the lack of current. Also, the dcc signal took more time to arrive to the locomotives. Testing your layout now will be possible but don't be surprise if trains don't run at the furtest point from the feeders as well as on the section with them.
Alan: I would test the feeder hookup as you go along. When I installed feeders on the JJJ&E, I tested the connections after soldering a group of feeders. DON'T wait till you're finished. If you get a short circuit because something was wired correctly you won't know where to start searching. Test your layout after you make a new set of connections. Have fun... Stay cool and run steam.....
I would concur with Bob. It is really easy to lose track (Excuse the Pun) and mix up the "A" rail and "B" rail wires.
I leave track power on while wrapping the drops around the bus. This way the DCS100 will beep if I get one wrong. Gary
I prefer to leave the power off when I wrap the feeders to the bus line. Before they 're soldered I turn the power on with a handheld controller to check them out. Stay cool and run steam.....
I took an even more simplistic approach. When I was wiring the track I did not have my Set100 yet, so I used alligator clips on my multi-meter. Set the meter to the continuity setting, hook one lead to each rail. If you create a short with a new feeder, the meter will sound off and let you know that something is not quite right. CT_Mike
What ended up doing is tracing the path of one rail, each time i got to a feeder i would pull up the other side feeder wire and that way i would know that all the wires sticking down were for the brown feeder. I then feed the other wires back down and hooked them up to the gray wire. I will use this same process for the stationary switch decoders as well. Once these are are hooked to the switchs and are numbered i will hook the track power lines to the main bus lines and program them according to the instructions.
Alan: It's so much easier to test the connections as you go along. Then you know right away where you stand in your wiring and if it's correctly done. But there are many ways to complete a wiring project. Stay cool and run steam.....
You should also do the "quarter test" to make sure there are enough feeders. Short both rails with a coin. Check many spots and as far from the booster as possible. Easier to add feeders now than after paint and ballast. Martin Myers
I always recommend dropping feeders from each piece of sectional track. It might seem like alot of work but you have no electrical conduction problems after the track is wired in this manner. Stay cool and run steam......
Bob, From each piece of track....holw cow that could be allot of feeders. I have read some places saying every three feet and others saying every 6 feet. Every three feet seems like a decent compromise. Now I know you use Unitrack and I am planning on doing the same for the Canton Divison. My question is, do you use the Kato feeder track or do you have another method of soldering your feeders to Unitrack? and no, I am not stalking you.....you just seem to be on every topic I am looking up tonight
Matt: I don't use Kato feeders as they use 24 gauge wire and that is too thin for a medium to large scale layout. I use 20 gauge wires for the feeders that I solder directly to the rail using a digitally controlled Hako soldering unit. You could also solder the feeders underneath the Unitrack to the copper insert of each railjoiner. That is more time consuming than directly soldering the feeders to the rails. That method didn't occur to me six years ago when I was doing the feeders to the track. I belive in doing wiring correctly to eliminate any possible problems later on. That's one of the reasons I solder feeders to each section of track., which in essence is making each section of track it's own individual block. It's great for finding electrical problems with this method. I use 14 gauge solid copper wire for the bus lines. Stay cool and run steam.....
WOW every section of track I guess I could trial run with every three feet (track will be down and operating before actual scenerey and gluing of the track occurs). If I run into issues, then I will adopt your method with every section of track. Thanks for all the info.
