[skoda12rar]

hi everyone just woundering if any one can clarafy that with dcc you can have multi power point (say for instance you have 2 main lines, a 8 road yard and a 6 road depot on displayed) ca be put on all parts of the track so u can have trains running on main line and a shunter running in a yard as well as locos moving around the deopt, plus is this easy to do????? please help

 

[dwb]

In theory, wiring a DCC layout can be as simple as attaching two wires to the track from the track output on your main controller. You can have as many locomotives on that track as the main controller can supply power for. Most modestly priced units will allow you to run four or five locos at a time with more "on standby".

In practice it's not quite as simple as that, but it can come pretty close for straight forward table top sized layouts.

David

 

[skoda12rar]

thanks buit the only problem is the layout is 16ft by 10ft and was thinking of useing the bachmann dyminus controller!!!

 

[dwb]

I've looked up the spec on the Bachmann website and it says it has a 2.5 Amp supply. At a conservative estimate, you could have 5 or 6 locos running simultaneously and an awful lot more sitting idly waiting their turn.

With 16ft x 10ft, your biggest challenge with the Dynamis is maintaining good contact with the base station. My own layout is 24ft x 8ft and controlled by an ESU ECoS. At present, it's just a two wire connection for the power from the ECoS. I have allowed for more in the installation but that's all I need right now. I cannot reliably control more than two trains at a time on independent tracks as there is no automatic signalling. I have about 13 or 14 locos sitting on the track. Even when I'm running two sound equipped locos flat out, the booster reports a current output of less than an amp.

In short, I don't think you should have any problems unless you have a lot of friends round to keep 8 or 9 locos running at once

David

 

[skoda12rar]

and also does it affect the polarity or the current around the track as in say from power point to track the from there to other point of the layout and does this do all the layout (2 mainlines) and the yards no problem!!!!

 

[dwb]

There are only two things to watch with power and polarity

1) You use a heavier enough gauge of wire to carry the current to the farthest point of the layout. The usual solution is to create a "power bus". The subject of power buses has been discussed extensively on the Forum. The main points are

• Wire thick enough to prevent voltage drops
• A horseshoe shape with the controller at the top of the horseshoe. In other words don't close the circle
• Don't rely on the rail joiners to make the connections - use "droppers" from each section of rail. (You need sections if using Electrofrog points in any case)

2) Wiring reverse loops. This is a problem in DC too but in DCC you can buy a special module which detects the short and reverses the power. The electronic ones are considered to better than mechanical ones. Again there has been frequent discussion of these on the Forum.

I hope this helps.

David

 

[FUNGUS]

Thanks Doug for the information. I was wondering about wiring for DCC and you have helped loads!
Respect to you Sir
Steve

 

[noblenoel]

QUOTE (skoda12rar @ 30 Jan 2009, 22:49) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>thanks buit the only problem is the layout is 16ft by 10ft and was thinking of useing the bachmann dyminus controller!!!

Hi just a throught on Bachman Dynamis I agree the proplem with it is with a large layout keeping it within site of the base statation , I have a layout 10 by 5 and if you turn your back you lose contact if you get me otherwise no proplem running up to 6 locos just keepin tabs on them all is the ??????????

Best of Luck with you lay out with out adoubt DCC is the way forward but like most thing you pay your money and hope you have got it right , so do you home work.

regards Noblenoel

 

[skoda12rar]

what im geting at is mainly about the power as i know that dc controllers revirses the current to change the direction of the train does dcc do the same or does the decoder chage the current from decoder to the moter

 

[Brian Considine]

The "polarity" of the track stays the same (as does the voltage) at all times when a DCC system is powered up.

All locomotive movements are controlled by the decoder itself.

 

[skoda12rar]

so if i wire all the different parts of me layout aka mainline1, mainline2, yard and depot as if i was using 1 dc controller that would work!!!

 

[Brian Considine]

Basically yes.

 

[skoda12rar]

kool and would i need a booster!

 

[Brian Considine]

It depends on how many locomotives you want to run at the same time - to start with probably not.

 

[skoda12rar]

it would only be about 4 at a time cause of how im doing the layout

 

[Brian Considine]

Provided your wiring is OK then you won't need the booster.

 

[noblenoel]

Hi I have one way or other manage 5 locos with said controller I think you sould have no proplem ,the only one is it a bit difficult to manage them all at once as I fine you can not toggle from one to the other that easy,I fine that the settin the the stop button to estop good but remeber it will only stop the last call up loco unless you keep it press the best of luck with it keep me informed.

rgards Noel

control of trains

 

[john woodall]

Then a booster is probably not required.

However this is where planning does play a big part. When people talk about a bus, most think that it is a single pair of wires. In your instance, I would run six wires for the bus, on pair for the inner main line, one for the outer main line and one for the yard. In the event that you ned a booster it is just a matter of disconecting one pair of the three pairs of wires to connect to the booster rather than having to disconnect the drommers from the existing buss and adding a new bus.

I don't know what others think, but I do not like using a single earth for the entire layout and prefer to have individual earths for each individual circuit.

John

 

[dwb]

QUOTE I don't know what others think, but I do not like using a single earth for the entire layout and prefer to have individual earths for each individual circuit.
I have created four buses - one for each main line and each main line is divided in half - each main line is 60 feet long and will increase to 72 feet later this year. Yards etc are allocated to the main line they are next to. Each bus is a pair of wires and heads away from the controller until it has reached half way round the layout where it stops. At present all the wires are joined at the controller as I don't have the ability to run more than two trains at once safely. Peak current is around 1.7Amps according to my ECoS.

David

 

[dwhite4dcc]

As others have ably pointed out, DCC allows as many trains as one can control on the track at the same time. The power requirement is based on capacity of the command station and power needed to run the layout. Locos take up as much current as they need so a loco, headlights blazing, running at full speed pulling a load of lit coaches round steepish curves will use more power than a loco running slowly, dark and light engine.

The problem starts when you start using the track power to change points or run other accessories or sound chips in every loco.

Four or five locos running full tilt with lights and sound and a quick points change from track power will overload the Dynamis standard version unless you use power districts and hook all the boosters to the main command station using a separate bus.

The strict answer to your original post is yes you can do what you want with DCC. You can even run two engines on the same track at the same time so wiring up both main lines and a yard to the same two wire feed is perfectly OK.

All you need to watch is how much power you need to run your layout and to ensure that the power available from the command station exceeds the demand.

You cannot have too much power available but you can have too little which will cripple your operations.