Thank you very much for
I’ll give moving the switch a try and post an update. All of my stuff is in a cellar. While it’s dry, it does tend to be more damp than the rest of the house, so corrosion is a distinct possibility.
SUCCESS!
I tried pressing down on the directional switch while moving it back and forth as suggested. Much to my surprise, it worked! Forward and reverse work fine. I let the locos run for a good 15 minutes. Even before this, I started building a storage box for my locos and rolling stock. Hopefully, it’ll give better protection against the damp.
Lessons learned:
- You guys are awesome! I’m amazed at the sheer volume of help I was offered. When I read thru the whole thread, there is a ton of invaluable stuff in the various replies. Thank you, all of you. I’m glad to be involved with MR Forum.
- Don’t leave hammers laying on the track
- Check the connections! even the ones you can’t see.
- It sure would help if I only knew more about electricity/electronics, subjects I’ve always avoided because of the math involved.
- Just because the first couple of things don’t work doesn’t mean give up.
- I don’t even know what I don’t know when it comes to model rr’ing.
Now it’s on to wiring the switches, which should be a real joy.
A final question on something touched on earlier. Is there anything I can do about the drop-off in power at the far-reaches of the layout? I can see problems ahead when pulling a load.
Again, thank you everyone for taking the time to help this novice learn a few troubleshooting skills and a little bit more about the challenges I’ll be facing.
Search the forums for the subject of ‘feeders’. When you have read the past wisdom you’ll have a very good idea of how to proceed and what questions to ask to get the best ‘bang for the buck’ out of the hivemind.
The basic principle is to run large conductors with very low resistance ‘under’ each line of track, and then connect each separate piece of rail separated by joints to them with a reasonably low-resistance wire connection. This avoids any problem with joint integrity other than mechanical and cures problems with voltage drop.
This is going to be a little tough to do without soldering. Good soldering is a learned art. I have been doing it since 1953.
Also, you will need a load on the far end to determoine if there is any “voltage drop” anywhere. No load, you will never see a voltage drop unless there is a complete open somewhere.
Knowing how to use a voltmeter will be a big help also. A cheap DC voltmeter on the 20 volt DC scale will be a big help. Set the pack to maybe 12 volts with an auto light connected to the track for a load and probe along the track with the meter if you doubt.
We have done this at our club a couple times in the past when we use to run DC.
I remember old timers using a device that looks like an ice pick with a light bulb in the clear plastic handle and an aligator clip on a wire troubleshooting car electrical quite well. That device is still sold in auto part stores
Rich
You can get one at Walmart:
Still have the one I used in the 50’s… when early cars still had 6volt systems
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
AJ, great! Maybe try that on your athearn.
And as Overmod and Rich mention, learn about bus wires and feeders to get power distributed around your lay out.
Old timers… [(-D] I have one in every tool box. I use them working on the electrical systems of the old garden tractors I work on, along with trailer light trouble shooting, etc.
Those, and the multimeter, great things to have.
By the way, way to go Frank! [tup]
Mike.
DCC is more demanding than DC. The rule of thumb, for the obsessive, is a feeder to a solder connection to every piece of track. One of our electrical gurus solders feeder to every joiner. Some people run bigger layouts than yours with one set of DC feeders.
The rail joiners are the weak point in transmitting electricity. Paint the track, and add some glue and water for the ballast and that interferes with the conductivity. You don’t need a feeder to every piece of track for DC.
If your condition prohibits you from soldering at all, maybe you could seek help from your church, neighbor, nephew or a local boy scout troop. Soldering or a modest style DC layout is not a huge job time-wise. A couple evenings should do it.
You don’t want to solder all the rail joiners or the track will buckle with expansion/contraction of the benchwork.
Just in case. I have four of the meters. Easy to misplace.
Some years ago I bought spare fuses from Radio Shack. Easy to replace. I think they protect the Amps scale.
Nice deal is they measure 13.6 VAC on my NCE Power Cab which has proved usefull in trouble shootiing at home and the club layout with NCE Power Pro.
http://www.trainelectronics.com/Meter_Workshop/index.htm
http://www.trainelectronics.com/Meter_HF/index.htm
Rich
I second Frank’s suggestion and solution. Make sure you disconnect the power pack from the outlet before spraying and give it a good 5 minutes or so to evaporate. I had the same issue with an MRC 260.
Maybe too late since you have all your track in place, but for easy construction I’d have suggested using something like Kato Unitrack - plug and play wiring, lot better conductivity in the “click track” than using sectional track.