# What cable to use on DCC g scale



## sbendall (Mar 20, 2013)

Hi all,

Thank you to everyone who responded to my eariler posting about which DCC to use, very helpful and some great advice.

I am looking at the NCE Power Cab Pro /R for my outside g scale layout that I am currently doing, the issue I have and even calling some train suppliers today they could not give me an answer.

The DCC controler (NCE) would be in my garage, and I have currently 3 * 7 core trailer wire going from the garage to the garden bed - approx 30 feet away. 

Whist setting this up, I would like to put in some block detection (NCE bd-20) in the layout. The question is the bd-20 connects to Auxiliary Input Unit which would also need to be in the garage, what type of cable is best suited to used between the db-20 to the Auxiliary Input Unit and is there a maximum length the cable cannot exceed?

Thank you all in advance for your help

Simon


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## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

Sounds like you're doing what I did. I have the NCE units in my garage, rather than have to wheel stuff out every time I want to run things. I have #12 Romex or maybe it's 10 (standard house wire) running from the garage and under the patio. The wire comes out of the conduit and connects to the track. 

The repeaters are velcroed to the soffits at each corner of the house to give me almost perfect coverage wherever I go with the handleld cabs. I used standard telephone cable, stuffed under the vinyl siding, to connect those units. Everything stays in place 12 months of the year. Radio Shack has 50 or 100 foot reels of the telephone cable and do-it-yourself connectors. If you hear of an amateur radio "hamfest" in your area, it's a good place to go for this kind of stuff. You might get a ton of wire for just a few bucks. 

Practically all my wiring is invisible. Everything is ready to go with the flip of a switch. My track switches are pneumatically controlled. The compressor sits in the basement so no one hears the noise. I have an old X-10 unit to turn it on or off. Again, the X-10 controller is in the garage, ready to go at a moment's notice. 

Can't help you with block detection - I don't have any. I'm not familiar with 3*7 terminology. Basically, to get your power (16 vAC) from NCE to track, the heavier the wire, the longer you can run it without substantial voltage loss. 

JackM


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