Is there a way that I can add short circuit protection,{ i.e. unit shuts down and stays down until short is corrected}
to my DCS50 Command Station/Booster/Throttle , or do I have to move up to the next level Digitrax product?
Thanks for any help!
JaRRell
Tony’s Train Exchange sells a product called the Power Shield that does exactly what you want, and it comes in four different flavors. The PSOne controls one power district; PSTwo controls two power districts; PSFour controls four power districts; and PSRev is an automatic reversing module.
Check Tony’s web site at http://www.tonystrains.com for more information and pricing.
Our club fried the entire DCC system twice before we wised-up and bought circuit protectors for the main layout and each of our traveling layouts & have not had any problems. I think we bought them from Tony’s.
And since I’m 120V-challenged, I may have confused what we added to the system but either way, it’s good insurance against short circuits, lightning strikes, power company spikes and dummies like me who still stick the fork into the outlet to see if there’s any power.
MacGlough
Thanks guys for the Tony’s suggestion. I’ve been reading over their info and it looks like it’s the way to go. Doesn’t look too complicated even for a electronically challenged fella like me. I think you just run your wires from the Digitrax booster/controller to the circuit breaker and then a total of four wires from the circuit breaker to the terminal block (I have two power districts).
JaRRell
WOW, I just read the comparison info at Tony’s, and not to knock them, but it’s REALLY biased in favor of their own products!
I’m not faimiliar with the Lenz LK100 or the MRC AD520 so I can’t comment on them, but I do use a Digitrax PM42, which is my first bone of contention with that review.
They’re comparing their products to the old PM4, not the current production PM42. The PM4 is obsolete and hasn’t been available for years! Considering that this “comparison” was last updated in January 2005, and that the PM42 was available at least three years before that (the earliest reference I have handy is the Digitrax Winter 2002 Catalog/Planning guide, which lists the PM42 and NOT the PM4), there is no excuse for presenting such outdated information.
Secondly, because of the comparison to the obsolete version they’re saying that the Digitrax product has “slow” response time. While that may have been true for the PM4, the PM42 adds two selectable, faster response times.
Also, the notation that programming is “required” for the PM42 isn’t true. It can be used out of the box with the default settings if desired. This makes programming optional, the same as with their products And if you do want/need to reprogram the PM42, all the options are selectable via software programming with your command station/throttle (or JMRI if you use that). No need to solder jumpers on the board to set anything, a
Ditto to ALL of Steve’s comments!
The Digitrax PM-42 is well worth the money! If memory serves; I paid $65 or less and that was complete with a power supply (got mine from Loy at Loy’s Toys) and it works fantastically well, as I attribute it to saving my 80 ton Shay (well at least the decoder) from the fry pan.
Not to mention that it can be wired for more than just circuit protection with it’s reversing capability. The cool part is that any combination of protection or reversing can be used.
It is also pretty easy to wire in…It’s worth taking a look at.
I’m a big Digitrax supporter, but I still plan to use the Tony’s PowerShields - if only to be rid of relays. The all solid-state design IS better and switches faster, plus won’t ever wear out (sure the relays may be rated for a million operations or so, and may never fail in my lifetime, but it’s still a mechanical device).
The problem with any power protection device with the Zephyr is that most of them come default to trip at 4 amps or so - works with a 5 amp booster but not with the 2.5 amps of the Zephyr - with the default the Zephyr will still trip first. The power protection device must be configured to trip on a lower current, and usually set to a faster response time so that it can function without tripping the Zephyr.
–Randy
That concievably could be the case. However, until I see it independently verified somewhere other than in such an obviously biased “comparison”, I still consider it to be nothing more than speculation and marketing hype.
Agreed. But again, this highlights one of the advantages of the PM42: Those amp and speed settings can be changed with a throttle. No soldering of jumpers required…
Steve
Here’s an inexpensive option to Tony’s Power Shields – not as fancy but in practical terms, just as effective. And they’re a whole heck of a lot cheaper.
http://mymemoirs.net/preview.php
Watch the video clip to see how it all works.
Joe,
That’s quite interesting. Lots has been written about using 1156’s for turnout frogs, but that’s the first time I can recall seeing them used or recommended for track sections.
My only concern would be that an 1156 draws about 2 amps. Isn’t that still a bit much to have going through some 24 gauge track feeders, or a derailed truck?
Steve
I use the same system - and it works great. I only have 8 power districts (i.e., I make each yard a district, and have a few main line districts). I have a single operator, point-to-point layout.
The 2 amps consumed by the bulb is a “limit” on the current flow through the short; and is much better than allowing the full system power to flow. If you correct the short, when it happens, no bad side effects occur.
I decided to go with the Powershield from Tony’s. You let them know that it will be used with a Zephyr and they set the Powershield for that unit. My layout isn’t that big… about 75 feet of mainline, one yard, eight or nine spurs, a passenger siding and a passing siding. I don’t believe more than 3 locos have ever been run on it at one time. Sorry I didn’t see Joe’s suggestion before ordering, but that’s how it goes sometimes. I only have two power districts, the yard and the mainline so I order the Powershield that has two connections.
Thank you all for the tips and suggestions. As always I’ve learned a lot from the answers.
MAN… I didn’t know there was so much to this model railroading!!.. [:)]
JaRRell
As Alan said, 2 amps isn’t a problem as long as you don’t leave the short go for hours at a time. Under 5 minutes is no big deal. You get a spark and things stop. Notice in the video I’m leaving the quarter on the track for up to 30 seconds and it’s not a big deal.
Remember a short is full current flowing with no load. The light bulbs limit the current to 2 amps and it becomes the load, so technically, it’s not even a short – the lamp is acting as a load so it’s as if you yanked the loco off the track and replace it with this light bulb across the rails. This smooths out the “hitting the stops” stress of a short on the system as well.
Before we installed the bulbs on the Siskiyou Line in 2000 (been using DCC since 1993) we would get a scrambled decoder every once in a while when we got a short. Since installing the bulbs, that’s completely gone.
I just really like the way these bulbs turn shorts on a DCC layout into a non-issue and for a dollar each they’re a bargain. Things just keep running like you wished they would, even though someone shorts the track at least a couple of times each op session. The rest of the operators never notice. I sure don’t miss the cries of :“alright, who shorted the layout?” [swg]
I took Joe’s advice and wired my new layout with the taillight bulbs. So far, only one instance of bulb failure, and inspection revealed that one wire had come detached from the bulb. Once that was correced, every fault has activated the bulb associated with each district. I believe I spent Cdn $7.00 on two packages of bulbs, and maybe $0.35 on wire and solder.
What is one of them fany gizomos going for again?
I can see where you’re coming from, but I think there’s more to it.
This is the part I have trouble with. A short doesn’t have to be full current flowing, and it doesn’t have to be no load. Have you ever measured the voltage across the top of a cruddy lead-acid storage (automobile) battery? You’ll get various readings depending on where you put your probes. That leakage is a short, caused by the crud on the top of the battery allowing current to flow from one terminal to the other. But it certainly isn’t the battery’s full current, because that crud has resistance and therefore constitutes a load. So a short is just that, the current taking a short(er) route than intended from source to sink. It can certainly
[quote user=“Stevert”]
I can see where you’re coming from, but I think there’s more to it.
This is the part I have trouble with. A short doesn’t have to be full current flowing, and it doesn’t have to be no load. Have you ever measured the voltage across the top of a cruddy lead-acid storage (automobile) battery? You’ll get various readings depending on where you put your probes. That leakage is a short, caused by the crud on the top of the battery allowing current to flow from one terminal to the other. But it certainly isn’t the battery’s full current, because that crud has resistance and therefore constitutes a load. So a short is just that, the current taking a short(er) route than intended from source to sink