Ok I have several issues and questions and options that are presenting itself. I hope to convey my questions and options clearly for all to understand. 1. I have a Walthers turntable that I built using their motor. When I built it I tested it with a DC power pack. Work great. Then I took and setup a DCC decoder and ran it off that. Worked ok for a while then stopped. I will now revert back to DC here. 2. I have an HOn30 section that I have yet to wire. I first thought of wiring a DCC decoder in line and using that but have since changed my mind (for the better my understanding). So now to wire it all. And here are my questions: 1. Using the accessory part of the DC power pack I am thinking of running the turn table and an oil pump using the Walthers motors. I will run wire to a distribution block. From there the turn table will only be a couple of feet where the oil pump will be around 10-12 feet. I also have an MRC tech 2 or 3 throttle that works off the ACeesory plug as well. This will run probably 15-20 feet from the distribution block. Will I have a serious power drop by doing this? 2. I would love to run the HOn30 off of DCC however my skills at installing decoder a (eapecialy in small locos the size of n scale) leaves something to be desired. I have 2 switches on this line. I used Peco insulfrog. If I wire this DC how do I wire these switches if at all? These are located at each end of the length of track to give me Spurs at each end. I have three minitrains to use on this line. Two modern and one from the late 60's early 70's. One will most likely end up static display depending upon the wiring route I go. 3. If I go DCC, it is easy enough. However as it stands it would give me 2 foot feeders. My understanding that this Is not good. So I have two options at running 12 ga bus wires. Splice in from one end and then duct tape it to the foam board just underneath the track. Or use an IDC and splice in the middle and run it along just under the track with duct tape again. This will give me the shorter feeder wires. Do they make IDC's that will handle 12 ga for both wires? The bus will be hidden by a mountain that I am building hence the narrow gauge mine train. 4. Full DC wiring of the HOn30 line with toggle switches to run the trains. I am lost on this one completely. Like I said, this is a conundrum for me. So hopefully I explained myself well enough here . I am not quite sure what route to take. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Here are some photos of the HOn30 line so you can get an idea of what I am doing. Also one of my track plan as well. The power supply will be in the upper left hand corner and I will run wires down to the lower left hand corner and out to the peninsula from the distribution block. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
I run a two cab DC layout. I will try to help you the best that I can... 1)For DC, 15-20 feet is a little too long unless you are using a lower gage wire... 14 should work. If you are using AC, you should be fine with 18 gage. Side note... one of my tracks in my staging has an 18inch radius... so, I actually had to add a short block at the curves with a resistor added in to slow the train down automatically... the line is separated into three blocks, but, all the blocks are powered by the same switch. 2)If your locos stall in the turnout, then you will need to wire the frog. If they do not stall... do not worry about it. If you need to wire it, basically, you will have the frog powered by whatever rail is "lined" through it. If I can find a pic of the diagram, I will post it... otherwise, I will need to draw a pic. 3)This answer will depend on #4. 4)Wiring a DC cab with toggle switches can be difficult... depending on how many "blocks" you want, how many "cabs" you want, etc... You will need to figure out how many blocks you want, and where you want them and how many cabs you want to control it. Once this is done, we can then move on to #3. Also, with your accessories... you should either you a power pack that will not be running trains, or find a "stand alone" power pack(like the ones you use to see in Radio Shack) to use. Hope this helps... and feel free to ask any questions. JMS
Here is a link to wiring Peco turnouts. They basically say you need to do it for DCC, with DC you should be okay. JMS https://www.sodigi.com/electrofrog.htm
If your feeders are the commonly used 22 AWG wire, then two feet is probably not an issue. Under DC a block will only be powering one consist at a time, and under DCC the effect is similar, with enough feeders no single feeder pair will be drawing all that much current. I wouldn't use very much longer feeders, but 2 feet is probably OK. 2 feet of AWG22 only carries 0.032 ohms. Even a full 8 Amps of current is only going to drop 1/4 volt over that distance. That said, it is a fairly good practice (with DCC) to follow the main line with the bus wires and keep the feeders as short as practical. I find it helps with debug to have the wire feeding the track roughly proximate to the track itself. As for the Bus wires, for DCC 12 AWG on a layout this size in my opinion is probably a bit of overkill. 14 AWG is plenty big enough as long as your individual bus runs are short enough (you want to keep them under 30 feet anyway), and it's much easier to find connectors for 14->22 AWG than for 12->22 AWG. And the 14 will be that much cheaper and that much easier to handle when installing. Again, at 8 Amps load over 30 feet, the voltage drop for 14AWG is only 0.6V vs. 0.384V at 12AWG. Hardly enough difference to be worth the trouble IMHO. At more reasonable and likely current levels the difference truly is negligible.
The layout has been wired for DCC all except the HOn30 line. I have two power districts broken down to three subdistricts. Once I get an understanding of how the DC wiring works I will wire the HOn30 line. I have the track set up to hold three different trains but only want to run one at a time. So not sure if I need to put rail breaks in with these switches or not. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
John, so if I run 18 ga wire from where I have all my power supplies at (roughly the center of the layout) then I should be fine? If not I so have two of these Bachman style DC power packs. They are the older style that used to come in the trains sets way back when. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Yes, 18 gage should be fine. The Bachmann power packs should also be fine. I use an old MRC throttle to power my hold out signal for my yard... however, I use a stand alone power supply for my RR crossing circuit. With, the pic above, it looks like 5 blocks. For only one cab you can use single throw toggle switches. For, two cabs, you would need double throw toggle switches. Basically, the hot(+) wire is what I use for making blocks... while the cold(-) is all connected with multiple connections around my layout. With your short run, you could probably get away with just two cold connections, one on each end. For the hot side, power would come from the power pack and run to the toggle switch. From the toggle switch, the power would then go to the block. For two cabs, hot wire from cab A would go to the bottom connector on the toggle switch, while cab B will go to the top connector. The middle connector would then take the power to the block. That way, the switch in the up position would be cab A, and down would be cab B. Middle position would then be "off". Keep in mind that you will need double throw switches for two cabs and that how they are built, switch in up position is the bottom and middle connectors connected, and switch in the bottom position would connect the top and middle connections. I will try to make a quick sketch later to show you. JMS PS- when running DC, each block needs to have a wire running to it. You can use the DCC feeder method if your toggle switches are going to be at each block. If you are going to have a "control panel" with all switches on it, then you would have 5 hot wires leaving the control panel (with the 1 0r 2 cold wires for 6 or 7 total) going towards the blocks.
Hmm, wiring will be similar to DCC with the added nuisance of adding toggle switches. Another question. Since I am messing with a turn table and oil pump I will need to use toggle switches. Right now I have one that is momentary on for the turn table. SP something or other. How is the best way to wire that? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
If you only want your turntable to go one direction... a single pole(SP) momentum switch will work. If you want the turntable to go in both directions... you have two options. 1)Keep it the way you have and just a switch to reverse the polarity. 2)Use a double pole(DP) momentum switch that has a "up" and a "down" position that resets back to the middle. You will have to do a little bit of wiring on the back of the switch(so the polarity gets reversed) for operating it in both directions. If you want to go option 2, I will draw up a wiring diagram that you should be able to follow to make it work. JMS
I would like to do option2. A diagram would help out a lot. Thanks Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Here is a diagram... basically, you have to get a DPDT(Double Pole Double Throw) switch and you have to wire the hot and cold across each other to the bottom. That way, it is hot-cold on top... but cold-hot on bottom. JMS
