think I am finally going to do it… feel like I am almost afraid to hook it up…
I have the NCE PowerCab, have read enough ways on hooking up DCC think that I am all confused when the bell rings to go…
so hoping that you guys can give some tips on wiring, track etc…
thanks
Mike
Tom seems to be the “expert” on the NCE PowerCab in these parts. He wrote up a nice review of it a while back…
hope this helps [:)]
With my Digitrax, I just hooked to two leads from the panel to the two I used for DC. I did separate one of the tracks for a programing track and hooked those wires there. I ran the two leads through a DPDT switch so the programing track would also be a yard track. It took about 20 minutes and I was running trains in a hour.
I still have not got everything programmed and the buss wires need upgraded, but it works and I am happy. I can give each Gkid a throttle and a train, and watch the fun.
May your fun begin as well. I found DCC to be a hoot. It is what I drempt of in 1949 when I started my first layout with a silicon rectifier and an old Lional trasformer. That never did run, but this sure does, unless I push a wrong button. Then I can spend hours trying to remember which button I pushed.
Mike,
Take a deeeeep breath…exhale…breathe in slowly again…now exhale. There! Feel more relaxed now?
Okay, Mike, let’s make this as easy as possible. Premise: I’m going to write this as if you are sitting at a table and have everything in front of you. We’ll hook it up to the layout shortly.
Your Power Cab should have come with the following:
(Click picture to enlarge)
First, take the power supply (4) connector end and plug it into the back of the power panel (1). Next connect the 7’ flat cable (2) to the bottom of the Power Cab throttle (6) then to the LEFT (powered) connector socket of the power panel. (See pg. 12 of Power Cab manual. The right socket is ONLY for connecting extra throttles into.)
Now plug the power supply into the wall outlet. If everything is connected properly, your Power Cab should be booting up. Assuming that works, all you have left to do is to hook up the assembly to the bench work then to the track.
First, unplug the assembly from the wall outlet and disconnect everything for the power panel. You want to mount the power panel to the side railing of your layout bench with the screws supply. (My power panel/board assembly hangs down below the side railing, so I just use the top two screw holes to mount it.) Reconnect everything back onto the power panel first THEN plug the power supply back into the wall socket*. Does the Power Cab boot up?
*Hint: I actually plug my power supply into a power strip so that I can shut everything down with one push of the button.
Assuming
see?
Told you Tom was our resident expert in NCE PowerCab. He even labelled all the parts in the box in teh picture…
You’re going to love it. When I first hooked up DCC and started running trains instead of track, I was like an 8-year-old kid again. Yeah, it really is that much fun. Basically, if you’ve already wired your layout, installing DCC is a piece of cake.
can’t give you any tips but rest assured your’e going to enjoy the power cab.have had mine for several weeks.mine works as stated.alreay have three loco’s under dcc control.still haven’t tried to program a consist but i’ll learn that shortly.enjoy! terry…
I bought the same NCE system because of tstage’s review. I like it and will never go back to DC. Its that good.
Its kind of like you’re first dive. You gotta BELIEVE and just JUMP[(-D]
Once you do it, you’re hooked forever.
Tom,
I will be picking up an NCE powercab at our local annual train show at the NYS fairgrounds in about a week. I was wondering what the end of the wire that goes from the powercab panel to the track is like. Will I have to strip it ? Is it stranded or solid wire and what is the gauge of it. I have a track bus of 14 gauge wire with feeders every so often on my long main. I currently have the bus and DC transformer hooked up to a barrier terminal strip and am hoping that there are spade plugs already attached to the wires that go to the track on the powercab power panel wire. I am appreciative of your postings on the powercab. I will have a Kato F40PH a Kato f7A both with decoders (and eventually a Precision Craft M1B with sound when they finally are released next year) to run on the main. I have to admit I am a little intimidated by DCC. Everything runs well on DC and I am a little worried that DCC will be harder to learn.
Gene DCC challenged for now!
Gene,
The nice thing about the NCE Power Cab, to me, is that it is very intuitive and commands are usually only a 1, sometimes 2-button operation. (With programming it’s usually a bit more.) The Power Cab manual supplied is also very handy to read and refer to. I find I don’t have to refer to it all that often.
Gene, the track wire going from the back of the power panel to the track can be the size of (or larger) but shouldn’t be smaller than your track feeder wire, which is usually 22-24ga. I’ve been using the track feeder wires that have the rail joiner soldered at one end of each wire. (I think they cost me $2-3 at my LHS.)
You will need to strip the ends of the track wire that connect to the back of the power panel. There’s a handy connector at the back of the board (labeled TRACK on left side of picture below) - sorta like a telephone jack adapter - that you can unplug, that makes installing th
“Slide the deinsulated ends into each terminal, tighten down the screws with a jeweler’s screwdriver, then push the connector back onto the board. Gene, since you already have a terminal strip and your layout is already wired, you can just attach the track wire to the proper terminal and your ready to go. I would also suggest completely disconnecting the DC power pack from the terminal strip to avoid in mishaps.”
Tom,
Thanks for the speedy reply! The stranded wire or solid wire that I was referring to was the kind of wire that the “deinsulated ends” were at the end of the wire that goes from the power panel to the track. I will be attaching that wire to the terminal strip that is connected to the bus wires. I also have two Atlas remote turnout switches on the mainline that are connected to another DC transformer. I take it that I can still run these turnouts via the DC transformer?
I will be unhooking the DC transformer that is now connected to the mainline. I have several other tracks that are not connected to the mainline and I will keep those as DC at least for now. As it is now in DC, I can power each track down stop the loco’s and then turn off the transformers and also I then turn off the power strip to all the plugs. I have downloaded the NCE manual for the Powercab and it looks as though there is no actual off button for the Powercab. I know the strip will turn everything off but is that the only "off " button for the Powercab? If I want to run just one or two tracks now after I turn on the power strip I turn on the transformer to that specific track I want to run and the other tracks remain off. It looks as though the Powercab will come on automatically when I turn on the power strip.The mainline trains would remain powered down but will the track being on do any damage to the decoders or locos? The dealer at the train show will have a setup where I can try the Powercab so maybe I will have him at least show me how to pro
Gene,
Yes, you can use your DC power pack to do this. Actually, it’s better that way. Otherwise, you use up the amp reserve on your Power Cab.
As long as they are isolated, you should be fine.
Yes and no. Yes, the Power Cab does not have an OFF button. If you unplug the Power Cab from the power panel, this will also shut down power to the track because the Power Cab is a command station, booser, and throttle rolled up into one.
Some folks see this as a downside to the system because they can’t plug and unplug the Power Cab throttle in order to follow their train around the layout. It doesn’t bother me. I still have 7’ of “tethered” cable to walk around with and that’s plenty of ground coverage for my 4 x 8 layout. One can always purchase an extra throttle (like the CAB-04p or 04e) and one or more 2-connector UTP panel(s) and us
Tom,
Thanks for the answers to my questions. I plan on my long mainline with a passing siding (no isolation blocks as I am not a wiring guru as far as blocks go thus the beauty of DCC - parking a train on the passing siding while another train goes by on the main!) being strickly DCC. I have one z train for the mine and three other N Scale tracks that are not connected to the long mainline that will remain DC.
I’ll post after my experiences with the Powercab. I’ve already put together a separate programming track that I will only use for programming, then unhook the PC track wires and and rehook them to the mainline track bus. It’s too bad that there are no separate wires from the PowerCab to a programming track like the PowerHouse Pro but then for $139+ dollars you can’t have everything.
Again Thanks for your reply and thanks to eveyone else who has given advice in this thread. Maybe an old dog can learn some new tricks!!!
Gene,
Actually, one of the beauties and advantages of NOT having separate wires going to the programming track from the Power Cab is that you can immediately test your new CV settings right after you change them. With most systems there are separate terminals for programming. You have to either remove the locomotive from the programming track and place it on the mainline in order to test it out, or flip a toggle switch to electrically connect the programming track to the rest of the layout.
And, Gene, if you ever decide to upgrade, your Power Cab automatically becomes an extra throttle when it’s plugged into the PH Pro.
Tom
Gene,
I am very much a novice at this hobby and I got the PowerCab about 3 months ago, primarily on Tom’s review. I found it to be very robust and forgiving as I made a number of rookie mistakes. But when I went slowly and carefully followed the manual and read the lcd display things fell into place very quickly. I have just 2 locos, but being able to control them separately is “way cool”.
Good luck and enjoy it.
Glenn
excellent…
now just one more thing… or things what size wire should the feeder line be?
and also the other 2 wires ( i know 2 different colors)
now if I want to hook up a yard or siding, how do I do that… solder feeder wire to each track…
thanks again
Mike
The track feed should be no smaller than 22 ga. and no longer than 3’. (The shorter the feed, the better.)
Mike, I’m assuming that you are referring to the buss wires. It sorta depends how big your layout is. However, you can safely go with 14 ga. wire for the buss.
You can wire your yard or siding the same way you wire the rest of the layout. You don’t need to have those sections electrically isolated or wired special. (Remember: With DCC, you are talking to your locomotives and NOT to your track.)
Mike, as I said previously, I run my entire 4 x 8 layout - which includes a modest yard and fueling facility - with only 2 wires and have very little problems with it. Eventually, I do want to add buss wires and feeders.
As far as standards for feeder wire frequency are concerned. It’s recommended at least every 3’ of track. Some folks like to do it for each rail section, to ensure a good electrical contact between the locomotive and track. (Otherwise, you are reliant on the rail joiners to carry the electrical signals.) Short wheel-base locomotives (e.g. 0-6-0 & 0-8-0s) - notorious for having problems hesitating at turnouts and crossings - will be less likely to stall in those problem areas.
Mike, if you haven’t read this already, the following link may help answer some of your questions
Tony’s Train Exchange - 2. DCC For Beginners
It’s a very handy and thorough going-over of what DCC is and what it will