I've never needed to do this, but I was wondering if anyone had daisy chained throttle extenders for additional distance for the tethered throttles?
I use a Digitrax system. I do not extend the throtle tether but rather add another UP-5 on the facia of the layout. the UP-5s in effect are just daisy chained together.
Modeling a railroad hypothetically set in time.
I guess I need to ask CVP if this can be done. It would be desirable to interface EasyDCC with Loconet for visiting Digitrax users. I have operated on a large Digitrax layout locally and was not impressed with the operation, however.
I have had a request to interface with NCE. Is there a way to do this?
These are questions that probably can be answered only by CVP, since few of us try to mix components from different manufacturers, particularly throttles and throttle buses.
I use a throttle extension cable on all my Digitrax throttles. Even with adding UP5's it is still more comfortable to use the extension when having to be tethered. If you are making your own cables to extend the throttle, the cables are not made like the ordinary loconet cables that Digitrax recommends with the # 1 wire always being in the same position at both ends of the cable. The #1 wire is reversed at one end.
retsignalmtr I use a throttle extension cable on all my Digitrax throttles. Even with adding UP5's it is still more comfortable to use the extension when having to be tethered. If you are making your own cables to extend the throttle, the cables are not made like the ordinary loconet cables that Digitrax recommends with the # 1 wire always being in the same position at both ends of the cable. The #1 wire is reversed at one end.
CVP has a quick, easy way to make sure their cable is assembled correctly. The RJ-12 ends have locking tabs on them. The 6 conductor cable has a seam. Their memory aid and quick check is to put tabs and seams up for all their cables. It eliminates the need to peer into the end connectors to verify wire colors.
I did do one thing extra to verify continuity. When I find 6 conductor extension cables, I buy all I can. I recently purchased several boxes of extension cables. They all included female ends. I cut the female ends off, leaving 6 inches of cable attached. I stripped these wires, then twisted and soldered them. Now I can clip an alligator clip lead from an ohmmeter to the bundle and use a probe into each contact on the end connector. It doesn't check for correct termination (tabs and seam up does this) , but it makes for a quick method to make sure you have a good connection on both ends.
This will work for any cable.
What I am getting from this is that Loconet uses a crossover cable while CVP uses a straight through.
Using one crossover cable and several straight through cables would successfully extend the Loconet bus between devices. CVPs memory aid would make verifying this a snap. Just look at each cable. Only one should have the RJ-12 reversed. The rest should have the tabs on the same side of the cable.
I make a habit of keeping the seam and tabs on the same side. Extension cables come built this way.
No, Loconet uses a straight through data cable. If you wire EasyDCC cables the way you mention, those are phone type wiring which is the flip. If you wire the plugs so that the tab is on the rib side on both ends, the pin on the right at one end is the pin on the left on the other end - a crossover.
1 -------------- 4
2 -------------- 3
3--------------- 2
4-------------- 1
If that comes out, the pin on the right is always pin 1. So a cable wired with the tab on the rib side will result in the cross connection. That's the standard phone wiring, since phones don't care. Data cables are designed to keep the same pin on each side connected, that requires one connector to go on with the tab on the rib side, and the other end to be away from the rib.
Crossover phone type connections WILL work for Digitrax is the only downstream devices are throttles, which don't care about the polarity. Since there is no seperate 'booster bus' with Digitrax like all the others need, 2 of the wires carry the low level DCC signal to downstream boosters. If the polarity is reversed here, it causes the downstream booster to put out a DCC signal out of phase with the upstream one, so polarity matters.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
N6VCWhat I am getting from this is that Loconet uses a crossover cable while CVP uses a straight through.
Actually, you got that backwards. Digitrax uses straight through cables(also known as data cables) and CVP uses crossover cables(voice or telephone cables). You are correct on how you make a CVP cable, but that method makes it a crossover cable, not a straight-thru cable.
I see now that Randy beat me to it.
Thanks for the correction. The CVP manual goes into great detail about this and I should have refreshed my memory on the details.
The bottom line here is that I don't have to check the manual to verify or makeup the cable. Just use the memory aid and get on with construction or verification of correct cable assembly.
Yes, works equally well for others that need the cables the opposite way - for them, put the tab on the stripe side at one end, and the tab away from the stripe at the other end.
And if you don't feel like making your own, Monoprice has both types, in various lengths, for cheap.