I’m building my second layout but don’t have the cash available to go to DCC immediately (Christmas expenses, etc.) I plan to lay the track during the holidays and use my old power packs to test it. Knowing I’m going to DCC in less than 6 months, what, if anything should I do now to ensure a smooth conversion. Should I insulate sidings?
Thanks for the help!
I think this is a solid ‘it depends’. What’s the size of the layout? Scale? Wiring for DCC (http://www.wiringfordcc.com) will have all the info you need on doing the actual wiring for a DCC system. In theory, I see no reason you couldn’t do DCC bus wiring and run it off one DC power pack. You’d only be able to run one engine, since the whole layout would be one big block eletrically, and you’d have to disable any reverse loops since auto-reversers don’t work for DCC. If you have a big enough layout to need multiple power districts, you’ll need to isolate those, and reverse loops, clearly, but you don’t need to isolate sidings (although you could if you want to, it will only get you a benefit if they’re on a different power district. Depends on your layout size). The only reason I’ve heard to do so would be to park a DC engine there. You’re not supposed to leave DC engines idle on DCC too long or it could fry itself.
you would only need to insulate the sidings if:
1 you plan on putting lighted cars there for an extended period of time and dont want the lights on all the time
3 you have a siding that you want to double as a programing track.
Other than that you should be able to leave the sidings attached to the mainline. Also it will not hurt if you do insulate them that may allow for the flexability of keeping DC in the layout and or using one of hte above items mentioned.
Good luck
Personally I would just wait until you can afford your DCC equipment. Why go to all the added work of insulating track work when you don’t need to.
I keep contemplating installing function decoders along with the light kits to make each car individually controlable. Not like I can justify the cost, but it’s tempting. I’m just a sucker for lights, really.
Its a 12x14 around the room N Scale layout with 2 yards and a single mainline. I’m going to go with the DigiTrax Zepher because I doubt I’ll have more than 2 people operating it at one time and no more than 10 engines operating at once.
It sound like I should just insulate a few sidings so I can store a couple non DCC engines and have a programing track (I’m not sure what that is but it sounds important.)
By the way, I plan to use Peco Code 55 Electrofrog switches and Atlas Code 80 flextrack.
DCC is/can be basically one power district…Although I have four; upper level, lower level, peninsula and helix.
With that said, the questions asked by “distantennas” &“SMassey”, are important: Size of you pike and what you intend to run on it.
Even with DCC, separate districts can be very beneficial in trouble shooting and isolated sidings, stub tracks, tracks inside an engine shed and so on!! These should be thought out for the “already stated” reasons…lighted cars, DC locos and the sort.
Before I actually got my DCC “up & running” I used separate power packs to power up the “districts”, mostly for test purposes, but also, so I could at least run a train!! Wire it as you see fit, run the DC power packs and once you get the DCC system installed, you already have the layout properly wired and divided into the districts you see as needed.
Bottom line here…
Think things through regarding where you may want/need to have isolated power and put it in now.
Thom:
A programming track is a TOTALLY isolated track to “program” addresses and what ever CV’s deemed necessary to a loco. This is a MUST, as to not re-program every other loco that is on the same power district when doing the programming!!!
I have my program track on a DPDT switch…When that programming section of track is ON everything else is OFF!!
One additional thought…It seems to me that “electro-frog” turn outs can be troublesome with DCC. In use insolated-frog Peco’s…Anybody else have input here??
I’m using the insulated Altas switches and I now wish I weren’t. They cause trouble on some of my shorter engines. I haven’t worked out all the other kinks, so maybe something else is going on, but my FTs stall through some switches, particularly switches right near each other. From reading, It seems the best bet is to go with a power-routed frog that’s wired seperately. A relay will control both the switch motor and feed the right line into the frog. Like so:
Why insulate track? If it works on DC (assuming you’ve used heavy enough wire), it will work on DCC.