Cable

[Rhinochugger]

So where do people buy suitable cabling for internal loco wiring?

What spec / description should I be looking for?

I've just binned some rubbish bell-wire that kept snapping

 

[PhilP]

How often / much do you use? - 'cos that governs whether the answer is 5 metres of a few colours, or 100 metre reels..

But for most jobs:
7/0.2mm stranded will be fine..

I also have a reel of brown, and one of white, of 16/0.2mm. - Which I use for track power / battery on larger loco's.

I have tended to get 100m reels from Rapid, just for convenience really.

If you only need a few metres, of a few colours, then PM me..
PhilP.

 

[PhilP]

Oh, another option is 'Alarm Cable' (from local Electrical Wholesalers) though IMHO it is a bit 'light' for large-scale use, and the insulation tends to 'creep' when you solder it..
Available in 6, 8, and (more rarely) 12 core / colours of insulation.

 

[dutchelm]

I go with Phillip. 7/0.2 or 16/0.2 from Rapid (depends on current). Available in at least 10 different colours. Alarm cable is a bit flimsy & breaks easily.

 

[Zerogee]

If it's for occasional jobs, Rapid do some very handy little packs of 2m each of eleven different colours - get a pack or two and then you'll always be able to find a length of the right colour you need!
Rapid 11 x 2m Stranded Equipment Wire Pack
I use this for all my internal loco wiring jobs.
If you have a LOT to do, like Phil does, then you could splurge on a whole reel of each:
Rapid Equipment Wire 7/0.2 (11 Reels of 100m)

Jon.

 

[PhilP]

If you have a LOT to do, like Phil does, then you could splurge on a whole reel of each:

Except I refuse point-blank to wire anything in pink!

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Starting at the beginning, I would say to stick with stranded wire, you make a reference to "bell wire" which means light gauge solid.

It's too easy to nick the wire when stripping and the rigid solid wire tends to break connections more than stranded.

I like using as heavy a gauge as I can in general to keep voltage losses to a minimum, but within a loco, I would go with 18 gauge, still heavy enough for good current handling but small enough to fit most connectors. Use this for track pickups, motor leads, i.e. where you have the most current.

For lighting I'd drop back to 20 or 22.... LEDs surely won't need anything heavy, but sometimes incandescent lamps will need the larger gauge, especially if there are long wires and/or you have lower voltage to start with.

Greg

 

[Rhinochugger]

Thanks for your comments - I have been sent some supplies by PhilP of this parish, and am stocked up ready for the next project(s)

 

[Tanker man]

I have recently ordered 7/02 wire from 'Bits Box' a small variety of colours, any length you want and very quick return service, as was suggested by members of this forum
Dave

 

[ebay mike]

I've been using 20 and 40 core computer cable sourced from the Bank I worked in when the whole lot was upgraded in the 1980s. It served me well on N gauge, HO, O, Gauge 1 and T as well as my latest G ventures. It was pvc covered plated multi-strand stuff inside a braided sheath (presumably to guard against interference) with a plastic coating. Not very flexible until the last two were carefully removed. Once released it was brilliant and came in at least 20 different colours. Something like the multicore cabling for larger office internal phone systems.

 

[Rhinochugger]

I've been using 20 and 40 core computer cable sourced from the Bank I worked in when the whole lot was upgraded in the 1980s. It served me well on N gauge, HO, O, Gauge 1 and T as well as my latest G ventures. It was pvc covered plated multi-strand stuff inside a braided sheath (presumably to guard against interference) with a plastic coating. Not very flexible until the last two were carefully removed. Once released it was brilliant and came in at least 20 different colours. Something like the multicore cabling for larger office internal phone systems.

I haven't robbed any banks lately