I am glad it works for you but it hasn't for others who have
done exactly that it still fails. You cannot get around the
fact the tortoise board contact are not gold plated allowing
oxidation. The thickness of the PCB board is undesized allowing
a lose mechanical connection. The board does not have tight fit
like a digitrax board has in it edge card connector for reference.

On 8/2/12 at 6:43 PM, m.maginness@... ( Max Maginness) wrote:

And the main reason the edge connectors are flaky is that the
tortoise edge is not a standard width for 8 pin connectors.
Consequently lots of slop, misalignment and bridging from
contact to contact. Easily fixed by a piece of styrene at each
end of the connector slot to center it up.



Max



From: WiringForDCC@... [mailto:WiringForDCC@...] On Behalf Of Mark Gurries
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 2:23 PM
To: WiringForDCC@...
Subject: RE: [WiringForDCC] edge connectors vs. terminal block





Being involved in the construction or debugging of many large
layouts, Tortoise edge card connectors are a serious potential
electrical failure point. I have seen it over and over that the
edge card connection used with the tortoise fail. The idea here
is fear that the tortoise itself will mechanically fail and by
making it an easy unit to replace will allow one to keep the
layout up and running with minimal down time. The problem is
the Edge Card connector fails first. If you ever had to clean
the contacts or played with the edge connector due to some
intermittent electrical issue or found that moving the wiring
around the tortoise seem to fix it, then the Edge Card
connector is the problem. Tortoise fail so rare that the cost
and time involved in using the edge connector is simply not
worth it. It cause more problems than is solves. Solder the
wires and do not worry about the tortoise.

On 8/2/12 at 8:04 AM, dvollrath@... <mailto:dvollrath%40magnetek.com> (Vollrath, Don)

wrote:

Your choices of connecting schemes depends greatly on what you
intend to do in the future, how flexible or reliable you want
it to be, your skill set and how much time, effort and $$ you
are willing to put into it. For example I simply solder #22
wires directly to the tortoise machines. They are so reliable
there is no need for a costly connector. Smaller gage wire
like telephone wire or flat cable will work also for tortoise
motor power or signaling, but not frog power switching.
However, smaller wires are somewhat fragile and may require
mechanical strain relief to unsure that the wires won't break off. A full wrap of tape or zip-tie around the body of the
Tortoise secures a loop of wires in place. A spot of Gorilla
glue or hot-melt glue works great to tack misc wires to the
underside of the layout. Adhesive tape usually doesn't stick.
Running those wires 15-30 ft to a central accessory decoder is
no problem. Make sure you have plenty of wire length to allow
for bundling without making additional wire splices. [Use the proper gage insulated crimp-on butt-splices and a good crimper
for that purpose if required.] Neatness isn't absolutely
necessary but does help to keep wiring organized and somehow
held out of the way so that you don't end up snagging dangling wires.

DonV

-----Original Message-----
From: WiringForDCC@...
<mailto:WiringForDCC%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:WiringForDCC@...
<mailto:WiringForDCC%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of

rneilphoto@... <mailto:rneilphoto%40aol.com>

Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 9:11 AM
To: WiringForDCC@...
<mailto:WiringForDCC%40yahoogroups.com> Subject:
[WiringForDCC] edge connectors vs. terminal block

Are there any recomendations, suggestions, comments for using
edge connector cards vs. terminal blocks for Tortoises? Any
discussion of benefits vs. pitfalls of one over the other?
Regarding blocks... how far away (what's the longest length)
from a device can a feeder wire be &/or what suggested
guage... 20, 22, ??? It seams that terminal blocks would aloww
mulitple similar devices to be connected to a neaby individual
block, ie: 3 Tortoise machince & their related LEDs (&/or
other devices) to a single block... right? Or not? Thanks,
Richard



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http://www.WiringForDCC.comYahoo! Groups Links

Best Regards,

Mark Gurries
Electrical Engineer
DCC Website & NMRA DCC Clinics: www.markgurries.com



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------------------------------------

http://www.WiringForDCC.comYahoo! Groups Links

Best Regards,

Mark Gurries
Electrical Engineer
DCC Website & NMRA DCC Clinics: www.markgurries.com