06-26-2010, 09:29 AM
If anyone is interested in the mechanics of the wiring under the layout, here goes:
The following is a section of the original layout. The drops from the track are existing #22 solid wire. To get them attached to the track bus, here is what is done:
First, cut the wires, one shorter than the other, and strip some insulation off the ends.
Then attach #18 wires to the #22 wires. Wrap the #22 around the #18. I am using green wire for the back rail, and white wire for the front rail. Notice that the wire joints are staggered... this is for the next step. Also, doesn't hurt to check from the rail to the wire with a meter just to make sure this is correct!
Solder the joints next. Instead of insulating the joints, what I am doing is sliding some jacket from some cat5 cable over the feeder wires. Because the joints are staggered, they will be isolated from each other inside the jacket.
And here is the completed connection, with the jacket all the way up into the botom of the benchwork. If I really wanted to fix it right, I would use some caulking in the hole to smooth everything out, then paint it gray.
continued....
The following is a section of the original layout. The drops from the track are existing #22 solid wire. To get them attached to the track bus, here is what is done:
First, cut the wires, one shorter than the other, and strip some insulation off the ends.
Then attach #18 wires to the #22 wires. Wrap the #22 around the #18. I am using green wire for the back rail, and white wire for the front rail. Notice that the wire joints are staggered... this is for the next step. Also, doesn't hurt to check from the rail to the wire with a meter just to make sure this is correct!
Solder the joints next. Instead of insulating the joints, what I am doing is sliding some jacket from some cat5 cable over the feeder wires. Because the joints are staggered, they will be isolated from each other inside the jacket.
And here is the completed connection, with the jacket all the way up into the botom of the benchwork. If I really wanted to fix it right, I would use some caulking in the hole to smooth everything out, then paint it gray.
continued....
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