I cannot be the only one having this problem.....

[LIRR]

I have and NCE PowerCab system. It’s worked great since day one. But the coiled throttle cables are very fragile. The small plastic tab that holds the plug in the socket break off very, very easily. First time it happened I figured it was user error. But since the first one broke I pay close attention when plugging/unplugging and am careful not to break it. I’ve  had the system about 3 years, I’ve replaced the cable over half a dozen times....I’ve lost count.  I order 2 at a time now.

I tried replacing the ends, worked for awhile, but sporadic problems as the signal isn’t pure. Does some weird things, seems to have a mind of its own sometimes. I contacted NCE but they ignored me.

Anyone else dealing with this?

[wvgca]

nope, never heard of it .. by the way I run MRC

[Steveruger45]

I’ve not had a problem in over 4 years. But then I don’t use the coily cord but only the flat six wire cable on the power cab.
I’m guessing your copy cord is being used on another cab.  This is a four wire cord.  You can still us a flat six wire cord on an additional cab but only in the right PCP panel socket or any socket on a UTP.

[peteski]

I also have a Power Cab and never broke those locking tabs.  I actually made my own cable which is much more flexible than the stiff telephone-type cable they use.

That type of connector is widely used in telephone and  networking (with different number of terminals), but the locking tab is pretty much the same on all).  Since  I work with computers I have seen broken tabs on network cables, but not often.  Not sure why you are so unlucky.

How do you break it?  Actually plugging/unplugging the cable, or does it snag on something when it is not plugged in?

NCE is not the only system using those.  Digitrax (by far the most popular DCC system in USA) uses those to for tethered throttles. We don't see many people complaining about broken locking tabs?  Hmmmm.....

BTW, you can buy blank connectors and crimping tool, so you can replace your broken ones for a fraction of a cost of the new cable.  Well, the crimp tool can be pricey, but it will pay for itself. Or if you know someone with Digitrax system who makes their own cables, they might let you borrow their crimp tool.   Make sure that the crimp tool can handle 6-conductor connectors.

[LIRR]

Thanks....i had a major brain cramp.....i had forgotten all about the flat 6-wire cable that came with the powercab set

[MK]

I'm a Digitrax user and we do see those locking tabs break off every once in a while.  Most of the time they break because they get snagged on things and not due to plugging and plugging out.

Like Peteski said, you can get a crimper and extra RJ12 connectors (6P6C - I don't know what NCE uses) and roll your own.  I picked up a crimper for $10 at my local electronics shop and he sells the connectors at $0.25 each.  You can then make your own cable any time at any length.

Regardless of what connectors your system uses, the coily cable tends to be heavy versus the flat 6 wire telco cable so they put more stress on the connector.

If you are constantly breaking the tabs, get an inline coupler and a short length of cable, say 6-12 inches with connectors on both ends.  Now your 6-12 inch cable becomes the sacrificial lamb.  As you recrimp the cable over the course of time it will get shorter and shorter.  Once it becomes too short, replace it with another 6-12 inch cable.  This way your original cable is unscathed.  With Digitrax if you keep redoing the connector you will soon run out of a straight section on the coily cable or you run out of the flat cable.  You will have to either open up the throttle or send it back for a new cable to be soldered directly to the PCB.

[Bangorboy]

I had the same problem with the little latches breaking off when Digitrax first came out.  I found the answer at Frye's Electronics when I was looking for a crimper and new connector plugs.  They sold a boot you could slide onto the wire before the connector and it would cover the latch and prevent its snagging on anything.

These are not from Frye's, but they look like the same thing:  https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Cta6a-rj45-connector-PVC-boot-for_60650456353.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normalList.48.60367833L01QBo

It saved me a lot of replacements.

[MK]

Yes, those are typically for CAT5/6/7 connectors, i.e., RJ45.  Do they make them for the smaller sizes that we use in MRR like RJ12 that Digitrax uses?  RJ45 has 8 connections and RJ12 has 6. and the smaller RJ (number escapes me at the moment) has 4 that is used for handset connections.

[Bangorboy]

The ones I used are actually for a round cable, but they are tight enough to work fine on the flat RJ12 cords I use with Digitrax.  All my cords have them I don't think I've broken a latch in 15 years.

[Bangorboy]

I call them RJ12.  They are 6-conductor, so the plugs are 6P6C configuration.

[reinhardtjh]

Yes, those are typically for CAT5/6/7 connectors, i.e., RJ45.  Do they make them for the smaller sizes that we use in MRR like RJ12 that Digitrax uses?  RJ45 has 8 connections and RJ12 has 6. and the smaller RJ (number escapes me at the moment) has 4 that is used for handset connections.

Check Registered jack

RJ11 is the same overall size as the RJ12 but is a 6p2c for one phone line.  The modular jack used for the handset connectors doesn't have a "registered jack" number as far as I know.  I think it's just slightly thinner than the RJ11/RJ12/RJ14.  I used to call it the RJ11 but according to the Wiki page that is wrong.  I think others, call it that as well.

Update:
Apparently the handset jack is usually called an RJ9.  It's a 4p4c jack but it's not officially one of the "Registered Jacks" originally standardized by Bell Telephone.

Modular connector

[Steveruger45]

Just remember if rolling your own cab tethers for nce to make sure they are wired straight through, pin 1 to pin 1 etc etc., and not reversed like phone cables.
The way I do it is lay my cable flat, and crimp one end connector clip side up and the opposite end clip side down.
Oh, yes as far as trying to prevent catching he clips on the connectors I have made my own booties from the huge bits of heat shrink tube that I never use that are in those assorted sizes heat shrink selection boxes.  I just shrink (carefully) one end of the shrink tube on the cable.

[Bangorboy]

reinhardtjh is right, I was fixating on the cables between the command station and other Loconet devices.  I had broken the latches on them more often than I had the ones on my throttles.  But I had the same problem on both.  I used the same boots on the throttle plugs with the same results, so I still recommend them.

I can see how the shrink tube could work also.  I hadn't thought of that idea.  More than one way to skin a cat.

Love reading these threads and learning how others met the same challenge.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I think the root cause of this is that these things were not designed for the use we're putting them through.

Think about it. How often do ACTUAL phone jacks get plugged in and out? Once or twice in their lifetimes?

And here we are constantly messing with them and waving them all about.

I think the "boots" are the real fix. Well, that, a cheap crimper from Amazon, and a pile of cheap plugs.

[peteski]

I think the "boots" are the real fix. Well, that, a cheap crimper from Amazon, and a pile of cheap plugs.

I agree. I see those boots on network cables, but for some reason I didn't think to use them for our cables.  I suspect the main reason for that locking tab breakage is not insertion and removal, but snagging on things while unplugged.