I hope its appropriate to ask this here as opposed to the DCC thread. I'm planning on building my first small N scale layout soon using Unitrack, including #4 and #6 turnouts, and a double crossover. I've bought all these and have been testing with them for a few months, and have been trying to research if any special modifications are necessary for DCC operation. So far I've operated them unmodified. I've used No6 as a power router for a small spur, and I know there are many that say not to do that. Also have toyed with the No4's frog power/routing options and am not clear what works best. I've tried to look through these threads so i'm not beating a dead dog here, but so far haven't found much. Some online subjects I've found call for near surgery, and I don't think I can swing that. I suppose what it really boils down to is what are ya'lls experiences on what works best for reliable DCC operation with these? And also if there is anything to improve upon for the double cross over? The only loco so far that seems to have an issue with the double crossover is my Intermountain AC-12. It gets jolty going through a strait section. Thanks in advance!
Unitrack works great with DCC. The turnout are no exception. The power goes to whatever the turnout is switched to. No modification are needed. Using a #6 for for a spur isnt a problem. just realize that if you park a locomotive on the spur and switch the turnout back to the main...the spur will be dead. In the same vein if you flip the turnout to the spur and forgot the is a locomotive sitting in there ts gonna power up that loco. My whole yard is set up with poer AFTER the turnout and runs off toggles. My layout is low enough that I dont use electrical switches of any kind to flip them. I use the little slider on the side of the turnout. The double crossover looks complicated...but its not. Just make sure both switches are aligned to do the crossover....piece of cake. I have a Unitrack dbl crossover at each end of my yard...they are geat for that. There are a lot of guys on here who use Unitrack...they will all be happy to jump in and help
What George said... Kato Unitrack works fine, right off, with DCC. No adjustments necessary. Now, as to where you need power drops, auto reverse, etc., that will all depend on your track plan. The more permanent the layout, the more important it is to have power to as many sections of track as you can manage. The beauty of Unijoiners is that when putting track together, taking apart, and then reassemble, they ensure good electrical contact between sections. Unfortunately, there can be problems if you leave track connected for years on years (I.e. permanent)
Check out this website. He has a detailed discussion about dcc and unitrack. http://www.wiringfordcc.com/index.htm He explains the use of Kato turnouts both for ho and n scales. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thank you Grantha, I've actually looked at that site. There is alot of info, just some of it confused me as i'm so "green" in the hobby again. Referencing that site, No6's are supposedly not good to power route through, so it raised a concern. I guess i'll insulate at the toes and run a feeder on the spurs for all switches. Thank you all for the input thus far.
No need to insulate anything on the #6s. They can power route just fine, but if you want the tracks powered, you will need to have feeders on each leg. That is best practice for all switches, and unless you have a want/need to have isolated tracks without power, DCC locos are just fine being on tracks powered all the time. Even then, I would do it the way George suggests, isolate the section you want to remove power from, and control with a DPST toggle switch. Don't rely on the turnouts.
Hi all! I have a related question - I'm planning the wiring for my new layout using Unitrack. I have mostly #6 turnouts, but a couple of #4s and a crossover. Basing my wiring from Dave Fifer's videos on the subject, I created a wiring diagram that is attached. The black bars represent insulating Unijoiners, and the red arrows represent Terminal Unijoiners. Does it appear that I have power to all tracks accounted for? Do I need to insulate each leg of the crossover, or does each leg need power flowing into it? Thanks in advance for any advice!
I might be a bit late with this response. I just joined this forum. I'm not sure whether you are planning a DC or DCC system? But given the line of thought through this thread, I'm assuming DCC. So. I just don't get the complexity and mystery people weave into using Kato turnouts/points on a DCC layout. I've seen the Fifer video and read the 'wiring for DCC' web page and many others. I'm nearing completion of the wiring for my third layout using Kato turnouts and I have never isolated anything. I guess I do just the opposite. I power every section of the track. Never had a problem even though my layouts have been a hybrid of Peco track and Kato turnouts. The Kato turnouts by the way are just fantastic. They don't look as authentic as Peco and other more traditional turnouts, but Kato leave the rest for dead for reliability and robustness. Just apply the KISS principle. (BTW the picture isn't me - its the 'toil and strife'!)
