Two options (what decoder do you have that doesn't run on DC? All modern ones do, unless you turn off that feature):
1. The part of the Zephyr with the screw terminals actually unplugs fromt eh base unit. Pull it straight out the back. You can find the equivalent part at en electonics supply house like Mouser and also Digitrax will sell (or maybe give) you one. Thus the wires on the layout stay connected, and the wires at the bench stay connected, and you just plug an unplug the Zephyr. For ultimate ease you'd need another PS315 power supply which is the wall-wart that powers the Zephyr.
2. Maybe the ultimate bench setup - the SPROG DCC programmer, which works with DecoderPro. It also functions as a small (about 1 amp) command station, so you can both program and run locos with it. Dick Bronson at RR-CirKits was going to make a small booster option for the Locobuffer-USB but that has't been released yet.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
You can also get wire lengths with alligator clips on each end...small ones. Clip one pair of alligators onto the terminal posts of the controller base, or onto a bare patch in the nearby bus, even on the rails if they are close, and the other pair on the tires of the tender when the engine is nestled, inverted, on a folded towel or some form of cradle...egg carton slightly modified? Just don't clip the alligators on the same axle or the same side of the tender. Opposite sides of the tender for each gator clip.
Then, offer some juice to the rails or the setup, and your engine should begin to thrash its legs...in a manner of speaking. You can now use a paper towel corner or a Q-Tip with a bit of alcohol or something suitable for softening and wiping clean the crud.
Don't forget to acquire the loco's address so that it will want to thrash its legs.
Blind Bruce wrote: Do I need to bring leads from my Zephyr to the bench?
Do I need to bring leads from my Zephyr to the bench?
That would do it. You can clean the wheels at the layout by holding the loco lightly on the rails and letting the wheels spin. Have half on the rails and half turning on a cloth or paper towel with the solvent of your choice. Then switch.
Jeff But it's a dry heat!
I have read the threads on cleaning wheels on locos but have not understood how to power a DCC loco while it is on the bench. Do I need to bring leads from my Zephyr to the bench?
BTW, my loco is not able to be powered by DC as far as I know.
73
Bruce in the Peg