Month: July 2014

DCC and Electrical System, Layout Construction, Planning Book6 Comments

Build #16: Wiring and Weathering (Part 1)

traiNmaster

Last weekend I installed the track bus on all 3 modules (Segments F to H). This week, I added the feeders from the terminal points to the rails using AWG20 (0.5 sq.mm) wires. Each wire was connected to the respective points on the terminal strips. The DCC buzzer was helpful to detect any shorts while wiring. For such wiring, you would not normally make mistakes but as the layout gets larger and more tracks need to be wired, it is always good to have such buzzer. Thus, I started getting use to the habit of using DCC buzzer now. As … Continue reading Build #16: Wiring and Weathering (Part 1)

DCC and Electrical System, Layout Construction, Planning Book4 Comments

Build #15: Good Wiring is An Essential Lifeline to A Model Railway

traiNmaster

It was a nasty Saturday this weekend but it was a good time to spend indoor. I corresponded with Jason Reis about DCC wiring my modules some 3 months back and in between, I let the notes of our discussions set for awhile. A recap of those notes: The bottom level (pic below) will be divided into 5 small power districts. For circuit breakers, Jason recommended auto tail-light bulbs. Cheap and effective. The top level (pic below) will have 4 small power districts. I started with the bottom level wiring first: the track 2 (dark blue marking). I have read … Continue reading Build #15: Good Wiring is An Essential Lifeline to A Model Railway

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Build #14: Turnouts Turned Out ….

traiNmaster

I am satisfied so far with the flex tracks that I have laid so far on Segments G, H and A as you can see in Build #12 and Build #13. Since then, I have spent about 10 minutes per day running my ICE 2 (Fleischmann) and ICE 3 (Arnold) models up and down the double tracks. The idea was to make sure that the track work does not cause any derailment. The track work was perfect. There was an “unintended” derailment, but not due to track work (see my Facebook report in germaN160 by traiNmaster on 25 June) Over … Continue reading Build #14: Turnouts Turned Out ….