Model Railroading > atlas signal cable for ho and n

Does any one know if a phone cable could be used for the original signal system cable?

thanks, paul

schneid Wrote:
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> Does any one know if a phone cable could be used
> for the original signal system cable?
>
> thanks, paul

You are leaving out a lot of information that we need to respond to you. 

When you say "phone cable", what exactly are we talking about?
Regular old 2, 3 or 4 pair "inside wire" that you use to connect phone jacks? BTW these use 24 gage solid copper wire.
25 pair PBX phone cable, usually grey in color, also 24 gage.

Wire used in phone wiring is normally solid copper wire. The phone company uses solid wire because stranded wire will eventually develop static due to the splices "losing their grip" on the wire.
The connectors can "bite" into the wire on solid wire and they don't normally get loose.
24 gage is the current standard, but 22, 26 and even 19 gage has been used in the past.

I believe the Atlas signal system used the same 2 pair extension cords that would be between the wall jack and phone. So, I would look at the conector and compare wire colors to a phone cord.

SP4360 Wrote:
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> I believe the Atlas signal system used the same 2
> pair extension cords that would be between the
> wall jack and phone. So, I would look at the
> conector and compare wire colors to a phone cord.

Okay, those are RJ-11 plugs. They have four pins. The slightly wider RJ-25's have up to six pins.
Both will fit in a normal RJ-11 wall jack.