I'm looking for experiences from people who have wired up their Shinohara C100 double crossovers (either the old two metal crossbar version or the "new" single metal crossbar version) using the wiring scheme outlined by Steve Daggott in Alan Gartners DCC wiring web site. Specifically, have any of your engines had any problems traversing the double crossovers after they were "wired up". We are planning to replace two of our "old" version C100 double x-overs with two of the "new" version doubles using the wiring sheme from Steve Daggott.
Thanks ...
George T. Galyon
Olde Newburgh Model RR Club
redvdub1@aol.com
Funny, I have the very same problems with those switches. I will let you know what I come up with.
retsignalmtr Funny, I have the very same problems with those switches. I will let you know what I come up with.
Rich
Alton Junction
I think the OP has a pair of older Shinohara doubles on the layout at his club. Six axle loco's and rigid frame steam loco's short out the track power using the diverging routes on both of them. With the newer HO CD 100 Shinohara doubles there is more space with insulation at the frogs where the locos and cars with metal wheels can bridge different polarities and cause a short circuit than on the older doubles with the short points. This never happened running with DC. Nail polish works for a short while but must be reapplied often. Probably going to set up a test track before removing the older doubles to install the newer doubles.
I am also working on another problem where a Doctor I know has a folded dogbone layout with a CD 83 Shinohara double, supposedly DCC friendly, in the middle creating a double return loop situation. Twp PXS-AR's are used to reverse polarity but they aren't working. Someone had a hand in there before me and I believe that it is not wired correctly. There are no wires connected to the switch at all. Loco's stop in the middle and have to be pushed off a little until they restart.
retsignalmtr I think the OP has a pair of older Shinohara doubles on the layout at his club. Six axle loco's and rigid frame steam loco's short out the track power using the divdrging routes on both of them. With the newer HO CD 100 Shinohara doubles there is more space with insulation at the frogs where the locos and cars with metal wheels can bridge different polarities and cause a short circuit than on the older doubles with the short points. This never happened running with DC. Nail polish works for a short while but must be reapplied often. Probably going to set up a test track before removing the older doubles to install the newer doubles. I am also working on another problem where a Doctor I know has a folded dogbone layout with a CD 83 Shinohara double, supposedly DCC friendly, in the middle creating a double return loop situation. Twp PXS-AR's are used to reverse polarity but they aren't working. Someone had a hand in there before me and I believe that it is not wired correctly. There are no wires connected to the switch at all. Loco's stop in the middle and have to be pushed off a little until they restart.
I think the OP has a pair of older Shinohara doubles on the layout at his club. Six axle loco's and rigid frame steam loco's short out the track power using the divdrging routes on both of them. With the newer HO CD 100 Shinohara doubles there is more space with insulation at the frogs where the locos and cars with metal wheels can bridge different polarities and cause a short circuit than on the older doubles with the short points. This never happened running with DC. Nail polish works for a short while but must be reapplied often. Probably going to set up a test track before removing the older doubles to install the newer doubles.
Thanks for that explanation on the Shinohara Code 100 double crossover. I don't have that problem on the Walthers Shinohara Code 83 double crossover, but I do have that problem on the Walthers Shinohara Code 83 3-way turnouts.
That is an interesting situation with the Walthers Shinohara Code 83 double crossover in the middle of a folded dogbone layout. As a DCC Friendly appliance, the two PSX-AR's should do their job. I agree with you that someone messed with those jumper strips on the underside of the double crossover. Sounds like the plastic gaps have been compromised.
I cannot tell if the metal jumpers on the underside of the double have been left intact by the previous work. I don't know if the Doctor will allow me to remove it because it is ballasted. The input to the AR's come from the DCC buss and the outputs of the AR's are connected several feet from the switches. The DCC buss is just 20-22 AWG wire and the connections are just made with wirenuts. He has an MRC DCC unit and is looking to upgrade to a Zephyr with a Radio UR91 and DT 400r throttle, so I may have to install a more substantial buss for him.
I wonder if a simple continuity test with an ohmmeter could reveal any jumper problems.
I recently repaired a Walthers Shinohara Code 83 double crossover. I had never messed with the jumpers, but I was doing continuity tests out of curiosity to see which rails were live and connected by jumpers. I discovered a dead section of rail and realized that the jumper was in place but loose.
In the Doctor's case, this isn't a continuity issue, per se, but a continuity test would show if jumpers had been re-arranged.
I agree on the continuity test of the metal jumpers. I believe I read that there were problems with them from the factory. I will have to disconnect the AR's and the command station before I do it to avoid a back feeding situation.
richhotrain Thanks for that explanation on the Shinohara Code 100 double crossover. I don't have that problem on the Walthers Shinohara Code 83 double crossover, but I do have that problem on the Walthers Shinohara Code 83 3-way turnouts. Rich
Rich,
I have the Walthers/Shinohara DCC-friendly 3-way and some of the time some of the locos would experience brief hesitations passing through on the main. After much trial and error, the problem was solved by applying good old nail polish to the longest guardrail on the main. Make sure you coat both the top and the side of the railhead adjacent to the powered rail of the main.
Dante
dante richhotrain Thanks for that explanation on the Shinohara Code 100 double crossover. I don't have that problem on the Walthers Shinohara Code 83 double crossover, but I do have that problem on the Walthers Shinohara Code 83 3-way turnouts. Rich Rich, I have the Walthers/Shinohara DCC-friendly 3-way and some of the time some of the locos would experience brief hesitations passing through on the main. After much trial and error, the problem was solved by applying good old nail polish to the longest guardrail on the main. Make sure you coat both the top and the side of the railhead adjacent to the powered rail of the main. Dante
Thanks, dante. I have read about the nail polish solution before, and it is now time to try it.
Part of my track configuration is a set of three 3-way turnouts that send trains out of my passenger station east, west and straight through to my coach yard. The 3-way turnouts are situated within a reversing section controlled by an AR-1. Last night, I was pulling an AB consist out of the coach yard, and it shorted the system as it crossed the 3-way turnout. I pulled it back into the coach yard and ran a switcher through the 3-way turnout with shorting. Time for the nail polish.
I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd and my 2 cents worth and maybe save someones aggravation and work.
I have a code 100 Shinohara double cross over on my layout for a long time. When I swithed to DCC I started to get shorts when I used it to chage tracks. I fixed it by switching all 4 switches at the same time. To do this via remote control using DCC, just program all the decoders for the switches with the same address.
SouthPenn
I have been in touch with the original poster on this topic. He found that throwing all four switches reverse at the same time minimizes the shorting problem along with the nailpolish application, but it does not eliminate it. He has the DCC friendly CD83's that he wants to replace the CD100's with. He also has a pair of the DCC friendly CD 100's, but is concerned with the wheel flanges with the CD 83's. How will the wheel flanges on locos and cars make it through the switches?
In my original reply I said I was working on a misswired double loop layout with a CD83 double crossover in the middle. I found that the PSX-AR's were wired in wrong and the double crossover polarity was AB-BA front to back. By wiring the double to the track buss with an AB-AB polarity and connecting the PSX-AR's from the buss to their respective loops corrected to problem and the layout runa very well.
richhotrainThanks for that explanation on the Shinohara Code 100 double crossover. I don't have that problem on the Walthers Shinohara Code 83 double crossover, but I do have that problem on the Walthers Shinohara Code 83 3-way turnouts.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!