New to DCC. Circuit breaker question.

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

Hi all,

This has probably been covered before (100 times?) but I need your depth of expertise here.

Have a 25 foot long shelf switching layout ( no reverse loops/wyes). It has a good size yard in the back, doubletrack mainline center and then street running to the front. Those are my 3 power blocks. Got 3 busses underneath. It runs great as one connected block now on DC.

I bought the MRC Prodigy Advance squared. Two DCC locos are on the way. What size/kind of resetable circuit breakers (3), should I put between the power pack and the busses? Can I get them at Radio Shack? Not much in the way of hobby shops here in Hawaii.

Thanks

Paul

2

Does your system not have a circuit breaker built in? Your best bet is to head on over to Tony’s Train Exchange (electrically, not physically) and look over his selection of circuit protection devices. These are things designed for this purpose. The average mechanical circuit breaker will not react fast enough, meaning the damage will be done before it reacts. They really are not meant for this type of application. DCC circuit protection is designed to react quickly to a rapid change in current flow. They are designed this way so they don’t trip on a spike, but they will trip if current draw suddenly increases at a greater than defined rate. That is why good wiring is so important, poor wiring will actually negate the effectiveness of the protector.