I was at Hobbytech this morning. Brian was doing some wiring and gave me some good advice. As I learned, you can't rely on rail joiners to provide consistent voltage across modules. Most hobbyists run voltage on 18 gauge wire under the surface of the table top. They solder 22 gauge wire to the rail and connect them to the 18 gauge feed inside the table. Brian was showing me how he uses wire taps instead of solder to connect the wires. I see the benefit of the wire taps. Since the club decided to continue using the Marklin K-Track, they have to use three wires for the power lines. For two rail track system, a red and black is sufficient. I'm told that those are the standard colors used, but I may elect to go with black and white for my layout. The reason is that I can see some of the red wire connected to the rail. For my layout, a white wire won't stand out. Brian used molex and plastic connectors to connect the 18 gauge wire between modules. I really liked that set up. It makes for very easy connections. He used a 12 plug connector. It serves to connect power in addition to the signals and solenoids for controlling the turnouts. I'm still a long ways from wiring, but it's not as overwhelming as it had looked before.
I stopped over at Active Electronics and picked up a soldering station and digital multimeter. With model railroaders, there are common tools that are a must have. These two items are definitely a must have. Active was having a sale so I managed to save myself about 25% off the retail price. I could have saved a bit more cash and bought a cheap soldering iron instead, but I elected to go with the Weller soldering station. It's better to get quality items that will last.
Some of the guys at the office recommended Fluke as the brand for multimeters, but the price difference was too big. Since I was only going to use it for continuity tests on the tracks, my criteria was simply something that was easy to use. I also picked up a vise by Lenline that clamps onto the table edge. It has a lever on the bottom that is used to lock the pivot head securely. Unfortunately, the edge of the table prevented the lever from locking tightly in place. 
Even if I could, the pivot head still felt loose. The price was right, but it was a perfect example of that old adage, "You get what you pay for". They have other vises that looked of better quality, but this one was just poorly designed. I may have to go back to Lee Valley and reconsider that vacuum vise. I pulled a photo from some website for reference of that lenline vise. You have been warned.
I stopped over at Active Electronics and picked up a soldering station and digital multimeter. With model railroaders, there are common tools that are a must have. These two items are definitely a must have. Active was having a sale so I managed to save myself about 25% off the retail price. I could have saved a bit more cash and bought a cheap soldering iron instead, but I elected to go with the Weller soldering station. It's better to get quality items that will last. 
Some of the guys at the office recommended Fluke as the brand for multimeters, but the price difference was too big. Since I was only going to use it for continuity tests on the tracks, my criteria was simply something that was easy to use. I also picked up a vise by Lenline that clamps onto the table edge. It has a lever on the bottom that is used to lock the pivot head securely. Unfortunately, the edge of the table prevented the lever from locking tightly in place. 
Even if I could, the pivot head still felt loose. The price was right, but it was a perfect example of that old adage, "You get what you pay for". They have other vises that looked of better quality, but this one was just poorly designed. I may have to go back to Lee Valley and reconsider that vacuum vise. I pulled a photo from some website for reference of that lenline vise. You have been warned. 
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