Phone/ethernet cables between cars?

[Lylat1an]

I'm thinking that a phone or ethernet cable would be convenient to connect electronics between a tender and locomotive, or between other cars.

But are the wires inside too thin for this purpose?

Specifically, I want to connect a Tam Valley DRS1 system's receiver in a tender to a sound decoder in the locomotive, along with a backup light in the tender controlled by the locomotive's decoder.

Might a 4-wire telephone cable have sufficient gauge wires to properly carry the signals and voltage, or perhaps I could use an ethernet cable with 8 wires and combine the cables into pairs they're too small on their own?

 

[ntpntpntp]

My immediate thought is the cores are probably too thin, plus as a cable the whole thing would be rather inflexible?

 

[Greg Elmassian]

The connector is not designed to have cable movement, so the connector is a bad choice right off. Wire too thin for motor power also. Connector not designed for several amps of current.

Use multi pin "jst style" connectors:

Connectors

Greg Elmassian web site on large scale trains and garden railroads, cigars, and computers

elmassian.com

 

[Lylat1an]

I take it USB cable wires would be too thin as well? Those cables are more flexible.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

the USB connector can handle more current, but typically the wires are not appropriate at all.

I gave you the best suggestion already, take the advice of people who have done it for years. There are other types of connectors also, but you keep looking at connectors whose main purpose is to carry data, not voltage and current. Also, because this is outdoors, you need something more robust in terms of contacts.

Also, I favor locking connectors for outside use, so they cannot vibrate loose, although you can clip off the locking mechanism if you are in the school of thought that wants "breakaway" connections.

Greg

 

[Lylat1an]

I gave you the best suggestion already

Sorry, I was looking for a solution that might look like a prototypical tender connection.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

you mean like a water line?

 

[Lylat1an]

Exactly

 

[Greg Elmassian]

too small to be scale... you want 4 conductor, you might be able to find a DIN connector.

search "4 conductor miniature din connector" ..... this is the diameter of the mouse and keyboard connectors before they went to USB.

there are smaller ones, but now you are back to running into current handling capability.

Greg

 

[Lylat1an]

Do you mean DIN as in PS/2 connectors, or the larger DIN connectors used on IBM PCs and their clones?

I work in an e-cycle warehouse, and have access to plenty of PS/2 cables.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

I will revise: this is the diameter of the mouse and keyboard connectors immediately before they went to USB.

yes, ps/2 type, not the original 5 pin din used on the very first PC's

(also those were 5 pin, the ones I indicated are 4 pin)

still larger than scale.

 

[dunnyrail]

Sorry, I was looking for a solution that might look like a prototypical tender connection.

Have a look at HO 4 way DCC connectors, though the wires are quite thin for small locomotives they are just fine and look pretty good as well. I have used them in a 3 car LGB DCC powered railcar.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

do they look like the op's goal?

 

[-bbbb]

I was able to successfully use an RJ45 cable between a tender and loco to bring battery power from the tender to the RC loco.
But I needed to remove the external shielding to get the proper flexibility:

I used a couple of the wires to power the train (motor, front light, and sound) with 9 volts, and a couple of the other wires to power the fire box lighting:

The loco motor/light/sound and the fire box lighting both have separate battery supplies in the tender, and separate power switches as well:

I've had no problems with this system. I can't remember if I doubled the wires for the 9 volt motor connection. If I did double the wires I merely would have put a jumper between pins of the pairs in the female connection, and connected the same pairs inside the tender as well.