What for is useful a POWER PAX? Thanks.
It’s a programming booster, primarily for QSI sound decoders. If you don’t have any sound equipped locomotives you don’t need a Power Pax. Also, only certain brands of DCC systems required a Power Pax for programming.
Cacole, in a new Paragon2 I can´t read the true CVs with a PowerCab: all shown “255”. Really I want just to insert my own values.
With a Digitrax PR3 I can read and write Paragon2 decoders. I am surprised you can’t do it with a Power Cab, as I can read and write QSI decoders with mine.
We have the NCE Power Pro at our club and I have the same system at home – I’ve had no problems at all reading or programming any brand of decoder.
The Power Cab does not have as much oomph as the Power Pro, so that may be a limitation. A SoundTraxx PTB-100 Programming Track Booster would probably be a better choice for the Power Cab than a Power Pax, and is significantly cheaper and easier to install and use.
If you inadvertently connect the Power Pax to the programming track at the wrong time it can be destroyed.
I purchased a PowerPax to use with my Digitrax MS100 when I started to use sound decoders. I have since purchased a Digitrax PR3 and don’t need the PowerPax. In fact with the PR3, I don’t need the Digitrax Command Station to program decoders.
If I hit a decoder that won’t program on my program track I just use Ops Mode and program it on the main. No booster needed. I reject the idea that to use a nice brand new design $100 sound decoder I need an additional piece of hardware because some engineer was lazy or some bean counter decided an extra 5 cents per decoder would break the company and didn’t design, or allow it to be designed, correctly. There’s no excuse for the heavy current draw of a sound decoder ont he program track or the inrush current when recovering from a loss of track power. None.
–Randy
Randy,
Is it the sound decoder engineer’s fault or the DCC manufacturer for not providing enough power to the programming track to “read” the sound decoder.
I have a 5 amp NCE PH-Pro system, but I had to add a Power Pax once I started buying engines with sound equipped decoders.
Sure, you can program on the main track, but I prefer the programming track for several reasons.
Rich
I don’t think it is the DCC system manufacturer’s fault because they are just complying with the NMRA DCC Electrical Standards.
I Have an MRC Prodigy Adv. 2 SQ. system. Hobbie shop recomended I buy Power Pax to help program & read Tsunami & other sound decoders. It did not read back cv,s on some decoders, all the decoders I tried had read back feature. So I took it back to the store and swaped it out for the Soundtrax PTB-100 and can read back cv,s in decoders I was not able to do so with the Power Pax. I do not want this to sound like a product review but I beleive Soudtrax makes the better program track booster.
This is the excuse THEY use - the fact is, there IS no standard for this, so they can do whatever they want. But if they did it right, it can program on the program track with no booster.
As for the DCC manufacturers not supplying enough power on the program track - if the program track was higher powered then it would be pretty near pointless, as it serves not only to keep program commands off the main track, it also serves as a safety valve of sorts where the low power is enough to produce the required program pulses for the decoder but not enough to fry a miswired one. If you’re going to put half an amp or an amp to the program track then you might as wel just program on the main.
–Randy
Strange…my NCE Power Pro would NOT read BLI units on the programming track, so I went ahead and purchased the Power Pax.
I have a friend that has a NCE Powerhouse Pro 5 amp system and he bought a Power-Pax unit…he still can not read half of the CV`s …bsically there was no difference with or without the Power-Pax box.
I also have the NCE PH-Pro 5 amp system. I bought and attached a Power Pax unit, and I have never had a problem with the unit. But who’s to say whether an individual unit may or may not be defective.
Initially, when I had problems programming sound-equipped decoders on BLI engines, I bought a Soundtraxx unit. I could not get it to operate at all. Called Customer Service. They tried to walk me through a workaround. Nothing worked, so I sent it back to Soundtraxx for repairs. When I got it back, it still didn’t work, so I returned it to the vendor that I bought it from and purchased a Power Pax unit instead.
Rich
cacole,
I have a Power Pax unit connected to my NCE PH-Pro 5 amp system, so what you say about inadvertently connecting the Power Pax to the programming track at the wrong time concerns me.
Under what circumstances will the Power Pax unit be destroyed? When you say inadvertently connecting the unit “at the wrong time”, what are you referring to?
Rich
I have a Power Pax unit that I keep on my programming track. I have had no problems reading Tsunami, regular Sountraxx, QSI, Paragon2, blueline sound, Loksound, TCS, NCE, Digitrax, or Lenz decoders. There is not an engine yet that I have not been able to read. I have a Digitrax Chief system (the original, bought in 1997), with a Locobuffer USB and use Decoder Pro. I did fry my Power Pax on my old layout but that was due to the setup I had. The PowerPax unit did however save me from frying my programming capabilities on my command station. It cost me $10 to get it repaired.
My previous layout had a programming track that connected directly with the layout and I dragged a locomotive across the gaps feeding DCC power into the output of the PowerPax unit and frying it. I now have a dedicated 8-foot programming track that can be switched between programming and DCC with not chance of of inadvertant crossover.
As Far as price goes, they both cost about $50. PTB-100 and PowerPax.
One of the clubs I belong has both the PTB-100 and the PowerPax unit on our two programming tracks. We use the Power Pax almost exclusively.
I also feel that the setup of the PowerPax is much simpler than the PTB-100. It’s four screws instead of having to hardwire it like the PTB-100.
Read the instructions that come with the Power Pax under “Installatiion and Programming.” All of the text in red lettering:
"Warning, do not connect to DCC track output or use for Operations Mode (Mainline) programming or the unit will be damaged.
"WARNING: If the Power Pax output is energized inadvertently by contact to an external power source the unit will be DAMAGED. This can occur if a PowerPax assisted program track, even though isolated, makes connection to the mainline by dragging or running a loco across the gap… the loco will transfer current from the mainline to the program track.
“DO not use a DPDT switch unless it has Center OFF.”
CACOLE, you said: "Warning, do not connect to DCC track output or use for Operations Mode (Mainline) programming or the unit will be damaged."WARNING: If the Power Pax output is energized inadvertently by contact to an external power source the unit will be DAMAGED. This can occur if a PowerPax assisted program track, even though isolated, makes connection to the mainline by dragging or running a loco across the gap… the loco will transfer current from the mainline to the program track. “DO not use a DPDT switch unless it has Center OFF.”
In my small layout, the mainline track and the programming track are the same, and I program just a loco in the layout, without others on the rails: So, can I conncet permanently the Power Pax to the rails?
NO – as soon as you switch from programming to operations, you are going to be feeding track power back through the output terminals of the Power Pax and it will be destroyed. The Power Pax must be totally disconnected from the track before switching back from programming to operations mode.
cacole,
Thanks for the heads up. I wasn’t challenging your cautionary statement, just wasn’t sure exactly what you were referring to.
In my situation, the Power Pax draws it power off the main bus wires and the programming track is isolated and doesn’t even connect to the DCC powered track system. So, I believe that my Power Pax unit is not in any jeopardy.
Rich