[Brian Considine]

At the end of the day you cannot beat a properly soldered joint.

However, there is nothing wrong with a crimped joint provided the crimp is the correct size for the cables/wires & it is crimped correctly with the appropriate tool.

The main thing is, whatever method you use, solder, crimp, terminal to ensure that there is as much contact point between the surfaces being joined.

 

[Brian Considine]

QUOTE (Smokeyone @ 13 Nov 2007, 07:41) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hello
I have noticed various sizes of bus wire suggested and all seem to me
much larger/far better than any supplied with a dcc system. My Fleischmann
system has wires/connectors supplied with sizing on a par with telephone cable.
How do you get round the tiny plug problem that goes in the control unit.
If you start off with say .75mm and go on to 2mm does it not rather
defeat the purpose.............

Always makes me chuckle that many systems have these tiny wires, that often are connected to larger ones - the trick is to keep the tiny wires as short as possible.

 

[Brian Considine]

AFAIK the Twin-Centre is rated at 3amps - I'll look it up (I've got the spec' somewhere).

 

[Brian Considine]

I can never understand the us of solid core (new or scrap) twin & earth cable.

You can buy a 100m reel of 2.5mm Tri-rated single flexible from CPC for 21.44 (inc VAT), so for 42.88 you get the equivelent of 2 x 50m reels of T & E from Wickes) for around the same price.

The tri rated is far easier to work with & is available in a range of colours. Red & black are easily identifiable. Some of the browns & blues found in current twin & earth cables are very "wishy washy" & not so easy to identify in poor light. Some batches have been found diffecult to strip.

Invest in some more suitable cable, you won't regret it.

You won't find any scrap cable in skips in our erea now either - the eastern europeans will almost certainly beat you to it !

 

[Brian Considine]

QUOTE (Brian @ 14 Nov 2007, 18:18) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Scrap if free

T & E is so easy to come by..... All DIY stores sell it, OK prices may vary, but that's the buyers choice where to purchase from...
Best of all its easily obtainable - so you can buy now and no waiting to order flexible from a remote suppler and waiting etc.
Once in palce 2.5mm solid is very easy to strip the insulation from whenever a dropper is needed to connect to it - Run a craft knife around the insulation and slice off 15-20mm or so . Flexible conductors are very much harder to strip along their length. It keeps flexing then the knife digs into the soft wires and fractures a few conductors so you end up with 2.5 cable reducing it to around 1.5mm if you're not careful.

If you're using 100mtrs of cable for a DCC bus you have one big layout!! Most layouts wouldn't want anywhere near this amount. 20 to 25 Mtrs easily doing a 7 x 6 Mtr (21 x 18 feet approx) layout and that's big for the UK.

Scrap is indeed free - but it is just that - scrap.

Must be a great problem, suddenly deciding to install a power bus & having to wait 24hrs for a delivery from CPC, Maplins or others.

OK, easy to strip if you are careful, but not harder than flexible.

Why quote prices for reels if you only want a few meters ?

Your choice of course, but I certainly would not either use or recommend it.