I have a feeling this has been covered before and I have gone through the archives, but I am still not sure. I have an existing 4’x8’ HO layout that has already been ballasted down. I have already create 10 separate blocks on the layout using the plastic joiners and wired joiners that I purchased form my LHS. Now I want to convert it over to DCC. After reading the current MR magazine with 9 tip for converting, they mention to use 18 guage wiring. The pre-soldered joiners that I purchased from my LHS are not as heavy as 18, is it ok to run the 18 guage to the terminal block for the common and then run the other 18 guage wire into by block switches? Or do I need to remove the ballast so that I can remove the plastic joiners and cut all of the existing wiring out? If I need to remove that ballast that would be a lot of it in order to give me enough wiggle room to change the plastic joiner for a metal one. Just trying to figure out the easiest aand SAFEST method to accomplish my goal.
I don’t know what is “Proper”, BUT, when I converted mine, I just hooked the DCC to the same terminal the DC went to, turned on all the blocks and it worked.
I still use some of the blocks to create dead places to store my DC engines so they don’t hum when I am running the rest. I can just turn that block on, set the address to 00 and use the DC engines.
My layout is 2 4x8s connected by a 20 foot shelf, and it all works just fine. Just hook it up, and only change anything that does not work. I bet it will all work. Let us know.
So there would not be an issue with running 18 wire to the terminal block for th common and to the block switches? Is was not sure if it would be too much power for the thinner wires to handle. It would save me a ton of time if I can just remove the DC power supply and replace it with the DCC power supply.
Try it. The worst that could happen is the trains would not run when you had too many going at a time… You can’t hurt anything. Unless you have a basement full of layout, it should be fine.
How much current is handled by the little wires is not determined by the feeder size, but by the draw from the things you are running.
Thank you for the information. Since this is only a 4x8, at most I “might” have two engines running at the same time. This will save me a great deal of time. When I do my next layout, I will plan accordingly, but by then who knows what new fangle gadits will be out there.
For a pre-wired 4x8 layout, don’t worry about rewiring. Just connect the DCC system’s output terminals to the wires that were connected to your DC power pack, turn on all of the block control toggle switches for the tracks you actually want to run on, and go.
A loco will not demand noticeably more current after installing a DCC chip in it, unless you add extra features like sound. If you only have a couple of locos and add DCC, the current wiring should handle it – you won’t have more than those two locos in a block.
Now, if you get a 5-unit diesel with all units powered, you may be over-taxing those little wires a bit. The other problem would be short circuits in derailments or other things. But yoour DCC supply should shut down quickly. Think about maybe a 2 amp fuse in the power supply, between the electronics and the block switches.