Does it matter if you use a hex frog juicer to power frogs in multiple districts?
My hang up is using the juicer that is closer to the frogs or run longer wires (from the juicer to the frog) and have each juicer only powering frogs on the same district.
Thoughts, suggestions, experiences?
Thanks in advance.
Why not ask Tam Valley. I had a similar tech question and had the answer in minutes after e-mailing them.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
BATMANWhy not ask Tam Valley.
I think that's the best idea.
I don't have any of these. I considered them at one point, and that issue came up here. We never really got a definitive answer, but we sort of decided that it would not be a problem. The two districts would be "connected" for a while when the frog was being traversed, but the same situation occurs when you're going from one district to another.
Still, if you have the opportunity to keep the juicers in the same district as the tracks they serve, I would do that.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Yet another reason to use a contact on the turnout throw to power the frog instead of a juicer. All the wiring can be local, wiring the stock rails (or track bus) to either side of the contact. No crossing of power districts possible.
The contact also has the advantage of shorting at the frog when trying to run the turnout that is thrown against the train from the frog end. The juicer will happily let you run the wrongly aligned turnout, derailing in the process.
My modular group has circuit breakers at the module level as well as at the DCC system level so that a short on a module (or module set) shuts down the module, and not the layout. However, the fallout is that the juicer must operate faster than any auto-reverser which must operate faster than the module breaker which must operate faster than the system breaker. Getting those adjustments made has given gray hairs during setups (not that anybody could tell whether we have new gray hairs ).
You can say I'm prejudiced against letting short circuits being the driver to switch "polarities" when needed - but the old ways do work fine, too.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
Here is the response I got from Tam Valley.
By power districts I assume you mean separated by DCC breakers but all powered off of the same command station/booster.