Not clear on the terminology TRACK BUS vs. THROTTLE BUS
I have a very small, very basic layout, that matches my knowledge of DCC - very basic. In this past December I just upgraded from DC to DCC with the NCE Power Cab. I only run 2-3 locos at one time, so this small 2 amp system works fine. Plus if I need to expand capacity, there is a 5 amp booster available that will be compatible with the cab controller. My knowledge of DCC is very basic. The NCE Power Cab is great, the instructions to get started and how to wire were very clear and it was easy to install and wire. Enough with the background, here is my question, in getting familiar with DCC and NCE Power Cab - I did understand the terminology of a bus that you run feeders off of to the tracks - but don’t understand the terminology throttle bus vs. track bus – is the track bus the bus supplying the main feed from the DCC power panel to the tracks? Since I have wired only one bus from the NCE DCC power panel and run feeders from this bus to the tracks I am thinking this is a TRACK BUS. If so, what is a THROTTLE BUS? And what purpose does it serve? With a basic system and only a single tethered cab controller, I am guessing that I do not need to consider a THROTTLE BUS. Pardon my basic and dumb questions, just trying to learn the ropes and terms, thanks
Yes, the pair of wires that goes around your layout and to which you attach the track feeders is the track (or power) bus.
Your PowerCab plugs into a PCP panel. The transformer plugs into the back of the PCP. The track bus wires also attach into the back of the PCP.
If you acquire another throttle, you can plug that into the right side socket of the PCP. The PowerCab has to stay connected to the PCP. But lets say that you would like to walk to the other side of your railroad and operate from there with the additional throttle. At that location, you would install a UTP panel. These look similar to the PCP, except that there is not connection to the track, nor any power input for the PowerCab. You would run a connection from the back of the UTP to the back of the PCP. You could add additional UTPs if you wanted to and they would daisy chain from one to the other. That would be the throttle bus.
thanks maxman, really appreciate your reply, clears up my confusion - and it is making me think of adding an additional throttle and having a second location with a UTP - with the tethered 6 foot cord, I have a section of the layout where I like to view and control from, but too far away from the PCP - thanks again, now I have a good idea on how to add this second UTP location
There are many different wiring situations and so it is easy to see where the confusion comes from.
With old computer networks it was necessary to put a device at each end of the coaxial cable to terminate it properly.
With old 300 ohm flat TV antenna wire a length that was not used but just left hanging (maybe the TV was moved) would paint ghosts on the other TV sets on the system. You had to remove such a cable at your junction for the other sets to work correctly.
The more wire you have the more gremlins you will have. I had some problems with the neutral wire on my layout, once it was grounded to a hard ground the stray signals went away.
We just installed a new gas boiler (a stand-by in case the coal boiler failed in the winter, of for use in the summer when we service the coal plant). In any event, it shut down on low water, and it took our engineer a while to find the issue. The pump room had a circuit breaker that went out, but the issue was a loose wire on the other boiler, a wire that the electrician thought was dead, and so he did not cap it. oops.
Know the RIGHT way to wire before you devise any shortcuts that you may want to use.