Hello,
I have a Digitrax Zephyr dcc system and my layout has expanded to about 80 Sq ft. with a stub end 2x8 yard. I also have up3 panels hooked up (6) I recently added sound to a few engines and I notice a draw on the engines when you hit the air horns or bell. Do I need a booster to solve this problem? I have feeder wires installed and my rail is soldered. Any help would be great
Thanks
What decoders are int he sound locos? How many are you runnign at once? The Zephyr can easily handle as many locos as you can select (10) - I've run 8 on mine, with 4 having sound decoders, and had no problems. That's as many as I could run on my 8x12 layout withou crashing them into one another. If you're only running 3 or 4 at once and the rest are parked, you should have penty of power.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
At first pass I would say the command station (booster, power supply, whatever) is not the the problem. I base this diagnosis on the fact that you did not report the command station shutting down due to excess load or too many locos.
I would advise to watch for changes in other loco's performance when more overall electrical load (other locos moving, sounds, etc.) is added to the system. If increases in load do not overload your command station, but do cause a degradation in performance in other areas of your layout, your power distribution system is inadequate. By power distribution I mean feeders, bus wires, circuit breakers, etc.
Dwayne A
What brand sound decoders did you install? Certain Digitrax sound decoders have a known issue with slowing or stopping when the horn (and maybe bell - i forget) is activated. Sometimes it is due to a wrong impedance speaker being used and sometimes it is a known bug that is caused when BEMF is turned on for these decoders. I'm not sure if other brands have this problem, I've just read about the Digitrax ones.
{edit}
I just looked up on the DigitraxSound Yahoo group. For HO, the DH164 sound decoder and in N the SDN144 series are known to be affected by some or all of these problems.
Cv57 was the culprit I reprogrammed it to 0 and no more pause when the horns and bell are on
Thanks for the help
Jeff