I want to put a Balloon track in my yard in to turn my Loco’s. Is the Digitrax AR-1 a good choice for this application? It is on the clearance table for $25.00 Would something else be a better choice? I have a NCE system. Thanks for your help.
Brent
The two common complaints about the AR1 are that since they use a relay, they are slow and noisy.
However, I use two AR1’s on my layout, and they work just fine - no hesitation or sound dropouts whatsoever, and you really have to listen to hear the “tick”.
There was a recent thread on the AR1, where several other users also reported good results with them:
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/188701/2061427.aspx
My suggestion would be to go for it.
It should be fine. When you have a balloon track, you don’t have to worry about the problem of having the loco on one end of the loop while the caboose is on the other. That’s when a solid-state system has an advantage with the fast switching time.
The AR-1 lists for $30, and the $25 price is slightly more than the Tony’s Trains price, but you’ll save on shipping. I’d go for it.
Depending on just where you put the gaps on that balloon, and how long your train is, you sure can have the loco on one set of gaps and the caboose on the other set!
But along that line of thought, one of my AR-1 powered reversing sections has an even bigger “problem”: It consists of a section of the mainline and a passing siding, with the gaps just past the turnouts. In other words, the reversing section includes the turnouts and the passing siding.
So not only can I have a long train hit the gaps at both ends at the same time, I can have two shorter trains going in the same direction hit the gaps at the same time, or even trains moving in opposite directions hit both sets of gaps at the same time.
But I don’t know how many times I may have hit one of those situations, because if I have, the AR-1 has never flinched.
The AR-1 will work fine. We use them at the club and have no problems. Also any relay click will easily be drowned out by the trains running, even if it was audible.
I have four AR-1 units on my layout, and they all work fine.
They are quick and virtually silent.
Rich
I’ve been using an AR-1 for five years with MRC DCC system. No problems.
Mine are very quite, in fact your really have to listen to even hear them switch over,
They are very fast too, Never had a problem with them being slow.
I had to return my AR1 because my 2AMP (1.7a ?) Power Cab would trip before the AR1. Never could get to work. Thats just my experience.
Good luck.
Lee
The AR1 has an adjustment potentiometer that can go down to a quarter of an amp. It’s probably why it didn’t work. You have to adjust it for your layout.
The AR-1 is one that works on nearly any system BECAUSE you can adjust it down that low. Other autoreversers have their lowest trip current settign above that of many starter systems.
–Randy
Yes, There is the “adjustment” I spent a great deal of time adjusting, Maybe it was defective.
Just my experience.
Lee
I have used the AR-1 with great success as well. Simple, effective, adjustable, and reasonably priced. Like others have said, with trains running I can’t hear the relay at all. Even in silence you probably can’t really hear it from more than a few feet away.
Hi Randy: On the issue of adjusting the AR-1. The literature says you can adjust it up or down, but doesn’t explain why you might want to do that. It doesn’t explain how changing the setting affects the operation of the unit/loco. Why would I want a higher trip level and why would I want a lower one?
Thanks Joel
Well, actually it does explain why.
The instructions read as follows:
Place a locomotive on the mainline and operate it into the reversing section. It will trip 1 time at the beginning of the loop or at the end of the loop. It should not trip more than once while the train is in the loop. If the AR1 trips more than once, the trip current is set too low. Turn the TTC clockwise slightly to increase the current trip point. Repeat the test until the AR1 trips once while the train goes through the reversing section. If the AR1 does not trip and the booster shuts down, the trip current is set too high. Remove the train from the reversing section and allow the booster to reset. Turn the TTC counterclockwise slightly and repeat the test until the train trips the AR1 once without shutting down the booster.
Rich
Lee, if I recall correctly this was a major issue with the Power Cab when it first came out and in particular with the original smart booster. The short protection in these devices was so fast that they would not work with any brand of auto-reverser. In fact I had a friend that ended up getting rid of a PowerCab and replacing it with a different brand because he could never get an auto reverse section working.
To the OP, I installed 2 of AR-1 last night on a pair of wye’s and they worked flawlessly so far without any adjustment.
Hey Rich:
Right you are. The instructions are there. One nuance is that they say to set the TTC with a lashup of the most locos you will use. I didn’t catch that at first, and couldn’t get the AR1 set low enough not to trip the booster with only one loco.
Finally, with 3 (F3A, B, B) it worked fine, but with only 1 (NW3) - N Scale - it still trips the booster - momentarily - and it’s set all the way down.
Any thoughts?
That was my understanding, The Power Cab shuts down before the AR-1 will toggle .
Any one using the AR-1 with at Power Cab? And does it work?
I was hoping to see someone other than myself that had tried this AR-1 with the Power Cab.
All Power Cabs behave the same way. They are so quick, the AR-1 never has time to toggle. It is a time factor, not AMPS. So I am told.
I upgraded my Power Cab with the SB3a booster because I had one reverse loop that I could not ever make work. The Smart Booster fixed that.
NCE was working on a reverser that would work with the Power Cab, but it has never apeared?
I was told that almost a year ago.
You are saying that you have 2 of the AR-1 's and had no problem.
Are you using a Power Cab?
Are you using a Power Cab system?