hi  all     

   my  dilemma  is     that  my  layout  CANNOT    stay  horizontal    after  playing ( still in  building stage ) it  has  to  be  stowed  up  vertically
  question  is   my   layout  will  have  40  plus  points  ....  i  have  ordered  a  piece  of  perspex  to  affix  switches  to (40 off)

im  building  a  box  and  with  perspex   ...  problem  is  going  to  be  ...  it  will  have  to  be  plug  and  sockets  ...  im  looking  at  4 x  db25
  setup

   has  anyone  done /  tried  this  ...  ok  not  the  best  and  will  take  10 mins or  so  to  connect  said  plugs

   paul   .......  thankyou  in  advance

I use D-sub plugs/sockets without any problems - although, in my case, it's a mixture of 9w, 15w, 25w and 37w. The mixture is partly to provide the number of connections I require and partly to ensure that the various cables can't be put into the wrong sockets.

  thanks  for  the  info     ... a  blo**y  good  idea  to  mix  sizes   .....  didnt  really  think  about  that  happening

   paul

Quote from: paulbeckwith on November 21, 2021, 02:34:28 PM

  thanks  for  the  info     ... a  blo**y  good  idea  to  mix  sizes   .....  didnt  really  think  about  that  happening

You're welcome. Another thing I do is to swap the plug/socket genders to further avoid misconnections.

For example, should I absolutely need to use two 25-way cables between the control panel and a baseboard (my layouts are several baseboards joined together) then for the first I'll put plugs on the baseboard and control panel with sockets on the cable ends, whilst the second will have sockets on the baseboard and control panel with plugs on the cable.
Thus, it's impossible to connect the cable 1 output from the control panel to the cable 2 input to the baseboard.

thanks  again

  foolproof

  paul

I've used D37 plugs and sockets (with 36 core cabling) for decades as my standard between control panels and baseboards. I standardise on the "live" end of the cable being the female socket just as you would with mains power.   I build my layouts for DC with electrified points and isolating sections as required, so I expect quite a few connections to be needed on a typical baseboard. If it needs more then I add another D37,  maybe an occasional D25 if that's definitely all I need.   D15 for power from transformer box to control panel (3x controller, accessory AC, CDU power etc.)



Not sure about the "take 10 mins to connect up" - it should take you just a few seconds per cable.  You don't have to worry about the securing screws

3x D37 to one board and 2x D37 to the other for this loco depot currently in progress.  As you can see, loads of section switches on the panel plus controls for a traverser and a turntable

now  that  is  impressive    ...  thanks  for  sharing   .....

    thought  about  db37 s    plenty  on  e**y   ...  but  all  i  could  find  ( and purchased ) was 25  core  cable   ...  could  not  find  anything  with  more  cores     ...  im  going  to  try ... 1  live  feed  to  at  least  20  switches  x2  (40 points ) then 2  cables  out  from  switch  to  each  point
   not  sure  where  i  can  introduce  the  cdu   ....   i  see  you  have  1  per  point
  maybe  cdu  before it  enters control  box   ...  going  to  be  using  4700uf   cdu ....    should  only  need  to  fire  2  points  at  any  one  time 
  40  peco  points  plus  i  have  3  kato  scissor  crossings   ...  they  fire  all  4  motors  at  once

  paul

36 core cable is out there if you look at electronic component suppliers such as RS, Farnell.  You need to be sure you look for something with decent current carrying capacity per core, as some of the stuff out there is "data" cable rated at something small like 0.25A per core.  I made the mistake of using some of that for my cabling back in the late 80s. It works but on longer runs you get a lot of voltage drop. The better stuff is more expensive and thicker overall diameter of course.  The last lot I bought for a good price was actually a part-reel from a guy on ebay who was doing professional lighting displays for exhibitions etc.

Here's the ref number on my 25m reel


.. and comparing the core size with the original thin cored data cable I used back in 1986



Yes I have individual CDUs.  Another design feature from when I started my layout back in the mid 90s.  I had grand plans of maybe adding computer control etc. and wanted to be sure the points could be fired by a low power control system.  The automation never came to pass, but having individual CDUs has been great for an exhibition layout where you have two or three operators each doing their own thing. We can fire as many points as we like without hindering each other. Some of the fiddleyard routing buttons use diode matrices and fire up to 10 points.

My main "power box" on the floor containing the transformers etc. still has the original single CDU from my previous 1980s layout, should I ever want to power a layout which doesn't have multiple CDUs.


At least your Kato point motors don't really need a CDU like the Peco motors etc. do.  I must admit I recently modified the design of my little CDUs so that if necessary I can hook in a two-wire point motor such as Kato or LGB, by adding one of DCC Concepts' little adapter units they offer for converting 3-wire DCC accessory decoder outputs to 2-wire.

My layout is DC and I used 4 x 37 way SubD connections (power, points, signal/isolator rails and point direction LED power) to connect the control panel to the layout baseboard. The layout is mainly located on a large table and I wanted the control box to be both an easy push fit into the baseboard side and to sit on the table level with the baseboard.
Although doing it this way meant that they didn't have to be poke yoke (foolproof) I also created a 4 way umbilical to connect remotely (just in case I go down the exhibition route and a large table is not available) so soldered the SubDs in opposite positions on 2 of the leads. All connections are labelled anyway but I felt that this was more 'belt and braces'...

Hope this helps...

Glyn

thanks  for  that  input    .....  given  me  ideas

  paul

Paul, I was faced with a similar dilemma, but not on the scale of yours! I looked at various solutions and finally decided on a bus/network system. I was initially going to use the MERG CBUS, but it seemed overkill for my requirements. I then looked into other bus systems by MERG, and other providers; I decided on the MERG Ezybus system based on Arduino microcontrollers. This is now available from the MERG Kitlocker and has proved ideal for my requirements. I realize it is probably too late for you to consider this method, but maybe of interest to others on the NGF.
Cheers
Keith
NGS 21472

thanks  for  the  imput

  still  not  sure about  the  cdu    ......  it  will  have  to  go  before  the  point  switches ....  all  40  of  them

Yes the CDU (if you have just the one) goes between your power supply and common input to the control panel switches. 

Nice and easy, just keep in mind that with this approach whenever you press a button or throw a toggle switch you're putting that full burst of power through the switch contacts and all the wiring. Some of the sub-miniature push buttons and toggles may well burn out over time. Your wiring needs to be substantial enough to carry the current without voltage drop over longer wiring runs.

(As an aside, my use of individual CDUs with low power control signals has let me use lower rated buttons, smaller diodes in route matrices, and lower rated wiring,  but of course it's an approach the vast majority of people are unlikely to want to follow. It is more expensive, probably added £4-£5 to the cost of motorising each of my many dozens of points ).

thanks for  the  advice

  paul

hi  all   again    ....  purchased  off  e**y  36  core  multicore  cable    ....  awg  is  26   looks  a  bit  thin  for  3 to 4  metre  runs  between  points

    and  switches  on  mimic  /  control  panel   ...   i  suppose  i  got  what  i  paid  for   ...  and  will  go  in  the  bin

  cef ( www.cef.co.uk )  do  a  multicore  25 strands    stock item  number    0024-7021   looks  abit  better  ...  rated  for  300 volts

  any  advice  as  always  grateful       paul