Hi
I could use some advice on how you's would setup the wiring for DS64's which will control Tortoise switch machines. In the past I had a bank of DS64's and all the tortoise wires running back to the bank. The DS64's were daisy chained to each other then back to the command station via loconet cable and the DS64's were powered off an old layout power cab, one set of power wires to two seperate power legs, like in the photo
So this time around I'm wondering if it would be better to locoate each DS64 central of 4 tortoise switch machines and run power wires to each DS64 and daisy chain Loconet cable back through each DS64 and then eventually back to command station, but which way is more practical? I will be using 4 or 5 DS64's. Advice and solutions would be appreciated. Thanks Lynn
So this time around I'm wondering if it would be better to locoate each DS64 central of 4 tortoise switch machines and run power wires to each DS64 and daisy chain Loconet cable back through each DS64 and then eventually back to command station, but which way is more practical? I will be using 4 or 5 DS64's.
Advice and solutions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Lynn
Present Layout progress
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/p/290127/3372174.aspx#3372174
Do you already have a Loconet run around the layout for other things, such as UP panels? If it's already there, I'm a fan of distributing these sort of things near where they are used. One Loconet cable vs 4 pairs of wires running to the Tortoises (more if you have buttons hooked up for local control), less wire under the layout.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker Do you already have a Loconet run around the layout for other things, such as UP panels? If it's already there, I'm a fan of distributing these sort of things near where they are used. One Loconet cable vs 4 pairs of wires running to the Tortoises (more if you have buttons hooked up for local control), less wire under the layout. --Randy
i don't have the loconet with up plugins hooked up yet but I was intending to seeing as I don't have wireless controls for my digitrax command station. I do have plenty of flat 6 wire and ends along with the tool for making the loconet cables. I just wasn't sure what was the better/neater way of doing it, and so certainly open for suggestions. One of my upcoming questions was going to be is it possible to setup push button control in the benchwork fascia board rather than punching in a turnout/ds64 assigned address into the dt400?
Yes, there are several ways to hook up control buttons to the DS64. You can have a single button on each section that toggles the switch machine, or you cna hook 2 buttons up, one for each direction. It's in the DS64 manual. There is a different OpSw setting for each mode.
The cool part is that if you have say switch 10 set to thrown, and use the pushbutton connected to the DS64 to change it to closed, then access switch 10 on a throttle - it will show closed! The loco buttons cause the DS64 to send the switch commands so other devices connected to the Loconet see the status change.
Thanks Randy , I do recall seeing something about the button controls years ago, been a good 10 yrs since I started using them, at the time and since I had always thought it way cooler to punch in the number of the switch but since then I've been looking for non complicated ways of completing the task.
I tend to go for a more distributed setup for my DS-64's. For ease of use I added a "daughter" board to each. This allows me to run the wires for the control panel (route LED's) and the wires for the actual switch machine seperately. I use CAT 5 Ethernet cable to wire my switches and panels. This makes the wiring a little cleaner. This is an older photo but concept is the same. I this case i had 8 switches in one section of the layout. Since I use network cable they have 4 distinct color pairs, orange, green brown and blue. Each switch machine gets a different color for each DS-64, I do the same thing with the control panel wiring. Two Ethernet cables go to the panel. One is the LED's the other is for the push button controls. And again the color pairs match those going to each machine.
The other nice part is that while I am working on building the control panel I can still operate the machine by installing a temporary jumper.
Above you can see the blue and brown "jumpers". The panel for this area wasn't built yet but the switch is still functional. The white cable is for the other two machines.
Lastly here is one of my control panels from my previous layout. As you can see it has push buttons for control and LED' indicator for turnout direction. The nice part about the "daughter" board is that if i get the LED's backwords or the switch machine wires backwards (such that LED's don't match turnout direction, or close direction on throttle) it is all screw terminals so I can unscrew it and flip the wires to make everything match.
Everything is powered by a 12 VDC power supply and a accesory bus wire that i run around the layout. I run all my DS-64's on this power supply because running the off the DCC bus is a complete waste. Also if there is a short I can correct it whereas if it were on the DCC bus the power would shutdown and I wouldn't be able to throw the turnout to clear the short.
Colorado Front Range Railroad: http://www.coloradofrontrangerr.com/
And the DS64's are much less likely to lose their minds if the DCC track power goes nowhere near them. When using them with Digitrax DCC there's no need for track power, they get their commands through Loconet if you operate them from the throttle. My bet is that once you have pushbuttons on panels to operate the turnouts, you'll almost never go into Switch mode and use the throttle.
I used Tam Valley Singlets on my last layout, which have pushbuttons and LEDs and are also DCC decoders, and I did hook them to track power - actually, the track output of my Zephyr which was acting as command station, the power to the rails came from a DB150 via a PM42. The only reason I bothered with a DCC track signal instead of just using a fixed power supply was so I could build a control panel in JMRI. I didn't use the throttle, I just hit the buttons as I walked along with the train. Never did get to the point of actually operating with someone sitting back in the corner at the computer playing dispatcher with the JMRI panel.
Thanks guys, you've given me some really good ideas. I was thinking something else that may work is running a power buss around the layout for not only the DS64's but also down the road if I need assessories power. I hate to say it but I may have to simply mount them on the cross members in the 4 turnout locations and come back to them with some cleanup wiring.
I set up a small cluster of turnouts for DCC control, using Tortoise machines wired with panel-indicator LEDs. I've got one of the stationary decoder modules that does not allow panel controls.
After using it for a while, I discovered that I greatly prefer simple panel toggles over DCC turnout control.
Call me a relic, call me what you will Say I'm old-fashioned, say I'm over the hill That DCC, it ain't got the same soul I like that old-time panel control.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I agree MisterBeasley, I mounted the ds64's in each location of a group of 4 turnouts and ran an accesary buss wire around the layout this way the stationary decoders get their power as well down the road if I want to lite or power anything the power is available. I also daisy chained the stationary decoders back to the power pack. One day I will wire in toggles.