Time to show my complete ignorance on everything DCC. Getting ready to start a new layout and plan to go with the Digitrax Super Chief and everything I have read has mention using a program track to set loco’s up. What the heck is a program track? Is it a section of track on the layout itself or just a separate section of track?
Thanks,
Dave in Maine[D)]
It can either be an isolated piece of track located away from your railroad, perhaps at your workbench or worktable, with an appropriate wire connection to wherever your command station is. Or it can be a section of track on your railroad, such as a siding, which can be electrically disconnected from the railroad when required. This disconnection is typically done with a double pole/double throw switch.
A program track is a piece of track that can be totally isolated from the rest of the tracks on the layout that is used to program the DCC decoder of a locomotive.
It can be a track on the layout that is isolated electrically by a switch or a physically separate track that is only hooked up to the program track connections of the command station. For example on my layout I had an industry spur right above the command station that I could isolate with a DPDT toggle switch to connect it to the normal power bus or to the program track connections on the layout.
Dave H.
Dave, a program track is a location where decoder equipped locos can be programed in a safe environment. The currents and voltages applied to the program track are much lower than the operating layout track, and so even a miss-wired or shorted loco will not have its decoder destroyed on a program track.
For DCC systems that support a program track, a separate pair of wires come from the command station to the program track. This can be physically separate from the main layout. Some people, myself included, will integrate the program track into the layout as a spur. Using a switch I can run my loco into the spur under power and then switch over to program mode to perform any programming I want to do.
It is also possible to program your locomotives on the main, not using a program track. The risk being that if you put a new installation out there it can fry the decoder if not installed correctly. Personally I would always use a program track first.
Whether your program track is a separate piece of track, or a siding which can be electrically isolated from the rest of the layout, is up to you. The separate track is easier to begin with, as all you have to do is run a couple of wires to it. Having it on your workbench is a nice solution, if your layout and workbench are close by.
Having a section of your layout which can become your programming track is nice, too. This is more important when you’ve got a “mature” layout, and you are tweaking your engines and then running them around to see how well they work. You can also appreciate a track where you can run the engine on to the track as part of your normal layout configuration, and then just throw a switch to program it. This avoids handling the locomotives too much, and eliminates the hassle of getting all those wheels back on the track. (Think big steam engines.)
You don’t have to decide right away. I’d start with a separate piece of track if you’re early in layout construction, or even early in your exploration of DCC. You can always change later. Also, there’s no reason to limit yourself to one option or the other. You can wire both a separate track and a siding on your layout if you want.
I have a Digitrax Chief and have chosen to have a 6’ programing and test track at my workbench rather than the layout. The test/programing track is connected to the DCS100 via a DPDT (center off switch). A pair of wires from the DCS100 programing terminals go to one side of the DPDT and a pair of wires from the DCS100 track power termials go to the other side of the DPDT. I also have a LOCONET jack at the workbench so I can use either a DT400 to program/run locomotives on the test track; however my preference is to use Decoder Pro for programing via computer. Decoder Pro also has a computer throttle which I can use to run the locomotive on the test track. To use Decoder Pro (free download) you will need to get a Digitrax MS100 (serial port), Digitrax PR3 (usb port) or a USBLocobuffer (usb port) so that Decoder Pro can communicate with your Digitrax system. Your computer connects to your Digitrax Loconet via one of the above devices, then through your Digitrax Command Station to your layout or programing tack.
You can have a program track incorporated within a mainline if you need to do it. You need a 4PDT (not center off) to control 2 dead spots on each side of the program section while your doing programing operations. The switch positions are ;“Run/Program”.
Joe Fugate has a wireing diagram to do this, I got mine from his site or a post he made on this forum. I forget exactly which.
Jules