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DCC Confusion
Mark is hoping someone experienced in DCC with guide him through the process and asks:
“I have just tried to build a layout, and up to now it seems fine. All the joins are ok, however, I have a DCC controller, and I just do not know how to connect the wires to the track and where? Also, what about when the track splits of to another loop, does it matter about the wiring? I am thinking I should wire the track about every 18 inches or so all the way around even on the different loop, although I dont know what type of wire to use? Is it better to solder the wire to the track? Please help as I am getting really confused and have come to a stop, as I dont know what to do?”
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For DCC Confusion:
Let me start with the track feeders. I’ve had good luck using 22 AWG wire soldered to each rail about 3 feet apart. The 22 AWG wire is small enough, if you are careful with your soldering, you can attach to the inside of the rail below the level of the wheel flange. I like to extend the wire 6 to 8 inches below the bottom of the layout. Run 12 AWG track bus wires basically below the track under the benchwork. Attach the track feeder wires to the bus wires. To keep everything straight, I use black wire for one rail and red wire for the other rail. The bus wires (black and red) connect to the track output on the DCC Command station. To avoid shutting down the whole layout in event of a short circuit, I would use some form of insulation to isolate parallel tracks or branch lines. If you do that, you should use zone circuit breakers which are installed between the command station and the bus wires. Hope this helps.