I have a Digitrax DCC system. I have two DB150s. One is the command station and the other is working as a booster. I have a double track mainline. The command station powers the Westward track and the booster powers the Eastward track. The tracks are isolated from each other by insulated joints at all crossovers. My issue is this. When I turn the system on with the main power switch the "booster" sends power to the Eastward track before I turn on the track power with my DT400 or DT402D throttles. Any engine sitting on the Eastward track will immediately have its decoder fired up. When I turn on the track power using the DT400 or DT402D the decoders of engines on the Eastward track are shut down and immediately restarted while decoders of engines on the Westward track start up for the first time. The DB150 booster unit has a jumper applied as per Digitrax instructions to make it a "booster" rather thaan a command station.
I have two questions. First, why would the DB150 booster act this way? Second, is this start up, shut down, and immediate restarting of decoders harmful to the decoders? I have not contacted Digitrax support with this issue. Any ideas?
Split Reduction
One reason for the booster to send power to the rails first is that it waiting for a command from the command station. The Command station has a slight delay in start up due to powering the memory and switching apparatus that encodes and decodes the signals from decoders and throttles.Sort of like booting up a computer. The booster is waiting patiently for a digital signal from the command station while it is booting.
Decoders can be started and restarted many times. There is nothing that can wear out inside the decoders. One thing to do would be to make sure that DC is disabled in all your decoders. Another is to put a switch going to the second booster and turn it on after the command station has started and warmed up a few seconds. Most sound decoders can be programed to not start until addressed or some function button is pressed to wake it up.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
Thanks. Guess I'll just tie up my locomotives on sidings or staging tracks and turn the power off to those tracks at the end of a session. Then I can turn those tracks on at the next session- after the command station gets done with its original thinking.
I was under the impression that power should not go to the rails until after I had pushed the "power" button and then the "Y" (yes) button on my DT400 or DT402D throttles. If that is not the case then why have a "power" button? When I push the "power" button and then the "N" (no) button, power is completely shut off to all rails.
All DB150's and DB200's will come up with track power on when jumpered to be slave boosters. That's the way they are designed and yes it should be the other way around. Because of this design, all Digitrax command stations will power up with an active railsync even though their track power is off. Railsync is what the boosters boost so the slave booster will put DCC packets out instead of something that looks like full power DC. Without this "feature" there would be a lot more runaways then there are already. It's still best to turn analog conversion Off in CV29 of all decoders.
Best that can be done is to make the command station come up with its track power on so it matches the booster(s). To do this close Option Switches 33 and 34. Don't turn track power off with the throttle and the command station will come up with track power on. Not exactly what you want but that's the only work around. Me? I just cycle power with my throttle as you are doing now.
Martin Myers
Couldn't you use a function only decoder that switches an icecube relay to turn on/cut off power to your booster?
If you have JMRI and a PR3 or equivalent you could possibly write a script to turn on the decoder automatically, couldn't you?
Thanks everyone. Looks like I have some answers. At least I believe now that the booster is not defective. I'll just work around the powering up issue like I've been doing and not worry about it.
Use 2 power strips, one that turns on the command station and one that turns on the booster. Turn on command station first, then turn on the booster. Simple.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
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