Smart-N Module Standards: Revision History

Revision 2.5, 22 February 2009 (current)

• Makes PowerPole-based inter-module wiring mandatory, replacing the earlier jumper-wire system. Essentially, this incorporates the optional 2007 Extension into the standard.
• Section 2.3: Electrical jumpers are no longer required.
• Section 4.1: Crimped electrical joints are now permitted. Color coding for the mainline wiring is established.
• Section 4.2: PowerPole-equipped "pigtails" are incorporated as part of the connector block. Connector blocks are now permitted to be placed up to 6.00" from the interface.
• Section 5.1: Skyboards are no longer recommended; their use is entirely at the module-builder's discretion.
• An Appendix has been added to describe PowerPole connectors and related terms.

Smart-N Extension: PowerPole Usage, 17 September 2007

• Introduced the use of Anderson PowerPole connectors for inter-module wiring, as an optional replacement for the jumper-wire system described in Revision 2.01.

Revision 2.01, 25 February 2006

• Section 1.2: Updated MARRS web site to reflect new "marrsweb.org" URL.
• Section 2.3: Removed spring clamps as a permissable clamp type. Added a requirement to provide Snap-Track for joiners at the interface.
• Section 4.3: Removed the requirement for interface isolation on modules with over three feet of mainline distance; replaced it with a recommendation for isolation for modules with over four feet of mainline.

Revision 2.00, 07 October 2005

• Complete rearrangement and write-through to improve organization.
• The role of MARRS in creating and maintaining the standard is made more explicit.
• The MARRS-specific "Right of Refusal" is replaced with a more general "Authority of the Standard" section.
• Descriptions of possible module types, and several of the related "Recommended" practices, are now separated from the standard; this information is now found in the Smart-N Module Design Guide.
• Minimal acceptable wiring for mainline wiring is increased from 22 gauge to 18 gauge.

Revision 1.00, May 1998

• Original version of the Smart-N standard.
• Although not officially ratified until May, this standard was used to design the modules used for the first Smart-N setup in March 1998, and the first public showing at the Great Scale Model Train Show one month later.