This DCC is new to me (and it’s tough to teach an old dog new tricks!) and in putting in a program track (which will hopefully also double as a stub siding at a Depot) I started wondering what is the best electrcal sw to wire it to the layout. Am thinking of a DP DT with power feeding center pins and Program on 1 side and layout on other! Any comments suggestions will be appreciated
JIm
Why not forget the switch. Run four wires to the siding. Two for prg. and two for main operation. Depending on if your in program or not only one pair of wires will be hot. Also you’ll need plastic joiners to seperate the siding from the main line.
simisal
This thread has lots of good DCC stuff:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36389
Wiring the programming track is address in the middle of the second page. Doing it the way that is suggested eliminates the possibility of shorting the programming track to the main layout, and yet lets the programming track be part of the layout. It is a little work, but looks foolproof. If I ever get that far, I’ll find out for myself! But the electrical theory is sound.
What I did was wire 2 sections of straight track from the programming connections( I use a Digitrax system) of the booster on a sliding shelf under the layout. I use a laptop to program everything, so I nailed the programing track right near the laptop. Since the shelf slides in and out, it doesn’t take up any layout room, and I never worry about shorting anything.
I have a track in my staging yard that is isolated electrically and is fed by a DPDT switch. I can select normal DCC to be sent to that section, or I can switch it to be a programming track…
Don’t do this or you will fry the command station. The programming track doesn’t want to ever see track voltage while connected to the command station via the programming leads…Check out Joe Fugates’ thread on DCC on the general forum for a thorough dicussion of wiring for programming tracks…
How exactly you wire it depends on just what sort of DCC system you have.
If your system has a dedicated program track output, you want a DPDT switch witht he center two terminals wired to your isolated track section. One side goes to regular DCC power, the other side goes to the programming track outputs. Throw the switch one way, the track gets regular DCC power. Throw it the other way, it gets the programming signal.
If your system does not have a dedicated program track, you still want a DPDT switch, although a DPST will work, but they are harder to find. The booster output splits int two lines. One goes to the isolated track section, the other goes to one side of the switch. The center terminals of the switch then connect to the rest of the layout wiring. Turn the switch away from the booster connection, and the only signal goes to the isolated program track. Throw it the other way to run trains.
–Randy
Absolutely right as usual, Randy! [:D] I have a Digitrax Super Empire Builder and my programing track is always on and used as a siding. I then use a simple DPST switch to turn off the power to everything else when I need to program. If I was using many other systems, it would be wired differently. Follow the manufacturers suggestions and directions.
Thanks everyone! This DCC is still new to me (even though I’ve been RRing off and on for 50+ yrs) so all this will be a BIG help1 Again thanks
Jim