Building a OO-Gauge Model Railway (A How-to for Beginners) Part Three

The wiring is regarded by many as the most worrying part of the hobby, but it’s only as complicated as you choose it to be, and as your confidence grows, it actually can become a fascinating part of the hobby in itself, adding another dimension of realism to a layout.
Notes:
1. Solid core wire has a single strand of copper wire, and is used in model railway wiring, and for its size can carry a higher current, but it is less flexible that stranded (multi-core) wire. Some DCC systems recommend solid wire for certain applications.
2. Most DCC systems output at 5-8 amps, and the wiring should be rated for that, and minimal voltage drop is a very important factor. To make sure that you have covered any potential short circuit issue, carry out the coin test - ie, go around your layout and place a coin on the track and make sure the DCC command station cuts out immediately. If it doesn't, then the wiring at that point is inadequate.
3. Wiring lights for buildings, etc, in series on a layout means less current will be received by the bulbs furthest away from the power supply, and the dimmer they get, and if one bulb fails, all the rest will turn off as the current will have been broken by the dead bulb.
4. When using 3mm LED bulbs, the 1k Ohm resistors that must be soldered to the anode are rated at 1000 ohms which reduces a 12 volt supply to 1.2 volts. Red LEDs have the lowest voltage, yellow and green are a little higher. Blue and white LEDs have the highest voltages.
Flashing LEDs look like ordinary LEDs but they contain an integrated circuit as well as the LED itself. They are designed to be connected directly to a particular supply voltage such as 5V or 12V without a series resistor. Check with the supplier to find the safe supply voltage range for a particular flashing LED. The flash frequency is fixed so their use is limited, and you may prefer to build your own circuit to flash an ordinary LED, for example, using a 555 Timer Integrated Circuit in an Astable operating mode.
LEDS can be wired in series but have to be of the same type as they pass the same current. The power supply must have sufficient voltage to provide about 2V for each LED (4V for blue and white) plus at least another 2V for the resistor.
Never connect an LED directly to a battery or power supply because the LED is likely to be destroyed by excessive current passing through it.
Music:
Flying in a Dream by Grand_Project
Pixabay user_id:19033897
Photos:
Platform - pixabay.com/
LED Strip - ledstriplightm...
Rail Wires by Ian Robins - www.flickr.com...
Soldering Resistors by Dave Bodnar
davebodnar.com/...
LEDs Parallel Diagram from / @jrelectricschool
Track Leads from www.trains.com...
Other photos by the Author.
Sources:
electronicsclu...
Intro Music:
Flying in a Dream by Grand_Project
Pixabay user_id:19033897