I plan to digitize my scale n trains. Are there any decorders which are prefered using a dcc++ central? Are there any essential differences between Pololu MC33926 and Arduino R3 Motor Shields? Thank you!!! Robert
From what I understood, pololu can carry slightly higher current, but the pinouts jumpers are different. As I am Nscale, 2amps is adequate to my needs, and if not, there is always bodnars diy booster someday in a bazillion years when I have th3 need for it. Btw, the legit R3 shields are back in stock. I bought one last week.
Hi Onizukachan, thanks for your fast answer. I think I will also purchase the legit shield. Whats the average current consumption of a single n-scale train? Which decoders you choose for your trains? Robert
If you are going to do DCC get a motor shield (the Chinese knockoffs work 95% of time), get it up and running with JMRI. Thats step one. Browse the DCC++ forum at the top. Then pick your loco and depending on that that will give you an answer on decoders to consider. Lots of choices. Do you want/need sound, etc. If your loco is reasonably new then good chance it might have a drop in decoder which is a 5 minute job vs having to wire one which while not difficult does take some practice and skill level. If you don't have a loco yet then I would buy one already dcc equipped as a first step to get everything up and going and then you can go further and deeper into the intricacies as you grow in your knowledge.
Right now a GS-4 with Kato em13 is my only dcc engine. I’ve read anything from 300-500 ma per engine. Though sound does consume more. Personally as a single operator, I won’t be running more than 2-3 engines a time on my eventual layout. Maybe an AB or ABA freight running the mainline, or the Coast Daylight and perhaps a switcher. So two amps is enough.
The Pololu is 3 amps while the L298 is 2 amps although you can also use a LMD18200 & Max471 modules for 3 amps. Power input for HO should be around 18 to 14 volt and 14 to 10 volts for N-scale. Oni the amps are shared by all the decoders that are on the track, moving or standing. 4 shouldn't be a problem in HO. Locoduino has a nice breakdown of power consumption & requirements for the 2 scales.
Sorry for late repsonse guys. We spend some days in holiday. I have ordered 2 chinese l298p shields. Hope they come soon. More then 2 engines won't be running on my layout. Robert
If you are up to a bit of tinkering here are a few other options, some with a bit more oemf. http://www.trainelectronics.com/DCC_Arduino/DCC++/index.htm. He has a few power shield versions on this page and also some problems he has experienced in the builds and his booster (practically for any dcc CS) is at http://www.trainelectronics.com/DCC_Arduino/DCC_Booster/index.htm. He actually has a lot of Arduino projects on this site. About half way in the 'DCC++ESP32 Base station' post on this site is a sketch using a version of this power supply and also away around a L298N power shields that don't have current sense to trip on a short.
