I finally got around to installing my new dcs100 (superchief xtra) and found I am having issues. I setup my DB150 as a booster per the manual. What is happening is this. Turn on the system and it beeps as if there is a short circuit then runs fine. Then when I turn the track power off I get the 5 beeps indicating short circuit again. Today I fire up the system and the track power is on only on the booster and not the dcs100. Not sure what is going on here. Any suggestions? Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Kevin, any chance that there is a track connection between the ditrictss powered by the booster and by the DCS? They should be completely isolated (no cars / locos bridging a gap somewhere, etc). Once that is completely free, and operates with no beeps, there is also the possibility of polarity reversal between the two districts, which will then show up when something crosses between them
No chance of that yet since the layout is still under construction. I have three sub districts on each of the dcs100 and db150. These are separated by PSX boards. So far the track that I have down and wired only covers 2 of the sub districts and an AR-1 for the turntable. The AR-1 is not hooked into any PSX but goes to the Db150. I have been very particular when wiring the track feeders that I follow the same protocol or method so wires do not cross. I tried unhooking the wires to the turn table bridge from the AR-1 and no change. Up until now I have been running the db150 as the command station with no problems. Another disconcerting thing is I get 8 beeps from the dcs100 every time I power it up as well. On top of this I installed a digitrax SDXH166d into an athearn RTR and am having issues with that. With the decoder I have one more troubleshooting step to go and if it doesn't work then it will get sent in for repair. Only this booster thing I am at a total loss. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Kevin, Do you have a track / wiring diagram that you are working from? When I first installed my PSX's, I was getting shorts and there were two issues (multiples of each): mis-wired feeders (how can that happen???) and turnouts that we not insulated on the divergent paths.
Paul up until now I have had no shorts. I am going to go over the PSX boards again and check the wiring. Also all switches are as follows- walthers shinohara code 83 DCC friendly, peco insulfrog, and microengineering code 83 DCC friendly. The only line that has not been tied in yet with peco electro frog switches is the HOn30 line. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Kevin, Here is a picture of how I wired my 4 PSX's and 2 PSX-AR's. The power comes in at the bottom of the lower power strip and jumps to the bottom of the upper power trip, Then the PSX's are daisy chained and the outputs go back up to the power strips.
Kevin, I did not put insulated track joiners between my subdistricts and I am not certain they are required (after all my locomotives with front and rear wheel pickups will straddle them at times any way but that would be a temporary 'short' where parking while straddling may be an entire other issue as Rick was saying.
Simple trouble shooting suggestion -- does the 100 work ok if hooked up to an isolated piece of track (no booster, no districts, just simple track). Just wondering if something in it needs to be reset. Then, since everything was working with the 150 as your command station, try hooking "everything" up to the 100, and see if that works. Then, reintroduce the 150.
It is definitely something with the 150. I turned it on not hooked up to anything in sleep mode with the jumper in place between config a and ground and I got the 5 beeps. The dcs100 when hooked up to same section as the DB150 was worked fine other than the 8 beeps for CMOS being reset. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Does it mean anything if the green power on LED on the DB150 is flashing? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Update: I just got an answer from the yahoo digitrax group. The 5 beeps are normal for a DB150 acting as a slave booster to the dcs100. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Yes it is working. No short. The beeps are normal. The only thing left to do is change the battery in the dcs100. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
I have just come across a new problem. I have wired a section that goes to the DCS100 and it connects to the booster section powered by the DB150. There are insulated joiners between the two power districts. I run a locomotive over it and I get a short. Double checked the wiring no issues. Any hints? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
I was reading in the manual and came across one line. It said take a coin and cross one gap. If it shorts swirch the rail A and rail B outpits. I tested each rail this way. One rail shorted, the other didn't so I went what the heckand switched the wires. Works great now. And yes this is the first crossover out of a total of four maybe five. Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk
Kevin, I read somewhere that different versions of DCS100/DB150's had different polarities on the output to track connections so that becomes a test that needs to be performed when doing power districts.
Yeah, I wondered why that would be but hey at least that problem is done. Now on to the next one. I followed my LHS recommendation when hooking up my program track to use a toggle switch so I can use it as a operational track too. I used an on/on DPST switch. I also for giggles hooked up the UR92 track status light to it. Not sure what is going on but when I switch to program the track status light comes on, off on run. Also locos not running on it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
