Do we scare people from DCC by over specing it ?

[Anonymous]

I wasn't quite sure how to title this but here goes. I'm wiring up my layout for DCC, because of the infered (sp?) cost from reading forums here and others. Last week I went to a train show. A kid had a modular layout there using Bachmann EZ DCC, Bachmann EZTrack, and the wiring that came with the Bachmann EZ-Track. He was running two locos, with no problems. He only had two wiring points to the layout. The layout was about Door sized in "N". Then you have people say you need 14 gauge feeders, and drops every 3 feet. Now that I'm looking at all the cost of wire, switches, Terminal strips, power packs, Going with a simple starter DCC setup would have made more sense. Just some thoughts no real life experience, other than I'm tired of running wires. Dave

[dano99a]

uhh, yes...

however those who said drop feeders every 3 feet (such as myself) probably are speaking from converting DC to DCC when I did this I found all kinds of dead spots in my layout. the solution: drop feeders every 3 feet.

[NZRMac]

I've got (had, pulled it to bits) 120 feet of track, two reverse loops and was running two loco's.
DCC is Lenz compact and just two feeder points, I not had a problem with the loco not responding or slowing down etc.
The layout when more complete (if ever) will have more feeders but not quite every three feet.

Ken.

[Anonymous]

I'm about to convert to DCC (equipment on order, should be here this week), and have spent a few hours adding power feeds to every spur, etc. I've basically added a feed either side of every switch track to remove all dead spots. Planning to add another two when I can get hold of more wire. I'm doing this as I know from my DC running that relying on switch rails to conduct power is not a good idea (dirt gets between the moving rail and the fixed one, resulting in poor conduction) and I also want all sections live for lighting, etc. I wouldn't say it's all that expensive with a small layout (I used another small reel of wire adding extra feeds, costing very little), and will probably be even easier to install if/when I extend the layout (planning to use copper tape as a power bus on future boards as it's easy to install, takes solder well, and keeps itself out of the way without needing any zip ties, clips, etc). I'll admit it takes a little longer to set up but is well worth the effort.

[SP4449]

[2c] I think the logic for "every three feet" for a feeder drop is tied to the length of a piece of flex track. Tieing a feeder to each length removed the reliance on the rail joiner for conducting the power from one section to the next. If the rail joiners are soldered to the ends of each section, the number of feeder drops could be reduced. Using the same logic: if the layout builder used sectional track and didn't solder the rail joiners, a feeder drop would be required each 9 inches.

The kid with a loop of track at the train show was probably there to demo the system for the show and not worried about long term reliability such as the person building a home layout would be.

[Anonymous]

So you are saying that i need to run power from my controllers power pact to enery 3 ft of my track - is it necessery

[Jetrock]

If you're running DCC, it helps--if you're running DC then generally once every six feet is a good number, assuming you solder your track together.

Generally, the more feeds you give your track, the less likely you will run into power problems later. You don't HAVE to--but it's nice to have.

[rrinker]

I will repeat my experience again here. Make of it what you will.
I started with a simple test oval on a 4x8 with my Zephyr system. Since I had some from a train set, I used EZ-Track. 22" radius curves ad a few straights on each long side. I had two feeder drops to this oval and had problems with power loss at the furthest points from the feeders.
Now I am building my actual layout, Atlas Code 83 flex track and turnouts on an 8x12 layout. I installed feeders as I put the track in place, every 3 feet or so. I do NOT solder all the track joints. To test it out, I connected ONE feeder set to my Zephyr - and everything works PERFECTLY! No slowdowns or anything. I will NOT rely on a single feeder for all this track though.
What I think people miss is that you do NOT run wires from every feeder back to the power source. You run a BUS of reasonably heavy wire along the path of the track and then atach the feeder drops to this. Feeder drops should be 18-20 wire for HO, as small as 22 for N, as the smaller sizes are easier to solder to the track, and short segments of smaller wire do not create a noticeable drop. The longer the wire run from the power source to the track connection, the more critical the size becomes - the smaller the wire, the greater the power loss over the same distance.
This is all much more critical in DCC than it is in DC, because with DC power you seldom have a full 12v in the wire. DCC has full voltage in the wire and rails at all time. And the higher the voltage, the greater the loss, all else being equal.
The other thing to remember is the smaller the wire 'gauge' number, the THICKER the wire is - ie #12 is a HEAVIER wire than #20.

--Randy

[SP4449]

[#ditto] Randy.

[RMax1]

Well YEAH! With all the resistor this and wiring that stuff and you need this led or that bulb but if it's this way.

RMax

[howmus]

I too am waiting for my DCC system to arrive. To answer your question.... I plan to do what the "experts" advise. This link has some great information: http://www.wiringfordcc.com/track.htm I plan on following his directions with the exception of the lightbulb thing as adding the lightbulb defeats the purpose of the circuit breakers built into DCC. Even with DC I always overwired. Never had any problems with it. My layout is in a 10' x 10' basement room and the cableing for DC was 100s of wires and all varieties of toggle switches. Radio shack loved to see me coming! I also solder all my track sections together. A well soldered connection is not going to come apart and take a few hours to track down and fix. I even solder spade lugs for the bus runs and sub-bus runs after they are crimped. It only takes a moment and it may save hours of frustration later.

I have also been told that a smaller layout can run just fine with just two wires to the track. Do you have to run feeders every 3 feet? No. if you are using flex track and solder the joints every 6 feet will work fine. What I have been told and have found with DC is that things may work great today but in a few years you are going to have problems. IMHO do as the people who have already learned from experience advise. Have fun with what ever you decide to do!

Ray