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Does anyone have experience with a track buss in excess of 30'? I have a large room (36'x20') in which I am building a walk around layout in. I expect to have over 300' of mainline track when completed. I have completed the first phase benchwork and track laying (yard and mainline only) that is approximately 100' (linear) of mainline track with a temporary loop (not a reversing loop, but end to end connected) for contiuous running for now (mainly for the kids to run while I build). I am using a Digitrax Zephyr 3.5amp system with one DC jump throttle for control. I ran my "A" and "B" rail buss wires last week (12 gauge stranded wire) and added feeders ((20 gauge) every 6'. I ran the track buss "east" and "west" from the throttle location around the layout approximately 45' run each way. The buss is not a complete loop. I ended the buss' approx 10' before the temporary loop section connecting the main's together. I constructed the loop to connect with the correct polarity on "A" and "B" rails so there are not problems with shorts. I believe I may have "toasted" a DH123P decoder after just a few days operation. This didn't seem normal so I started searching for answers. I was reading on a DCC website to limit each buss run to 30' or less to avoid voltage spikes. It also suggested terminating the ends of the buss with a resistor and capacitor connected between the "A" and "B" rail wires. I am curious if anyone else has experience with long track buss lengths. I was not aware of this limitation with DCC. I was under the impression if you ran a large enough buss, length was not a problem (Eventually, I expect to get another booster so I can spilt the layout into power districts). If is best to limit the buss length and terminate the buss ends as described, I will be truely dissappointed with the Digitrax marketing folks because this is not mentioned in any of their product info including the Zephyr manual. They claim you can just hook it up and go on a small layout and to run a buss on a large layout. The only limitation I saw was on the loconet length (2000' I think). Any help or advice is appreciated. Thank you, MR in Tulsa
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