[FrankJ]

I guess you do need at least one resistor to make the voltage drop. A good point. Having one on each end is for reflections you do not see on short runs as you said. Also as you said, it is always best just to follow the spec which requires terminating resistors on the ends. I have borrowed a termination resistor off one end the canbus & did not see a difference. I would not try this in a competition.

People also get away with using star topologies, which in not in the specification. It has the advantage of not depending on the through jag connection although it makes for a lot more wire terminations & raises a question on where the resistors should be. Having not tried this, I do not have an opinion on how well it works.