Can DCC switch power on/off?

[MacTrom]

My thoughts: I'm planning a large roundhouse around my walthers 130' turntable. Potential of 15 stalls plus 5-6 stub tracks. Can I use DCC to program a toggle to turn power to each track as needed? Is there a decoder that would do this?  Currently I was planning a 12 position rotary switch to manually power 12 tracks, but then have to use more switches for the rest of the tracks. 

[gregc]

MacTrom

I was planning a 12 position rotary switch to manually power 12 tracks,

isn't a rotary switch a more than acceptable solution to power just one roundhouse stall track?

wouldn't a dcc decoder need to control an AC switch to at least one rail of each stall

[RR_Mel]

Using DCC switching would be quite costly, I would just use a rotary switch.  I went with a 2pole 23 position rotary switch for my layout.  I only have 5 stalls but the 23 position switch has 15° positioning and looks much better close spaced on my control panel.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OAK-GLASS-EPOXY-ROTARY-SWITCH-2-POLE-24-POSITIONS-NON-SHORTING-NOS/233576825641?epid=20028386701&hash=item3662438329:g:qdwAAOSwi1lb8ba9

 

I use the 23 position switch to select the turntable position and individual DPDT center off toggles for stall track power.  I operate dual mode on my layout, DC or DCC, and the reversing toggles work very nice in DC mode.







Mel

 
My Model Railroad  
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 

[wjstix]

FWIW I think being able to power each track separately when running DCC is a bit of overkill. In DC it makes sense, because all engines would respond to track power, but in DCC only the engine that has been called up on the DCC system would respond. Even with sound-equipped engines, you can set them so the sound doesn't come on until the engine's ID is called up, or until a function button is activated. I'd say having a separate on/off connection for say groups of 3-5 tracks would be more than enough.

[York1]

I was about to say what wjstix just wrote.

Is there a particular reason you want the tracks to be turned off or on?

With DCC, all the tracks could be powered, but the locomotive selected would be the only one needing to be controlled.  

[rrinker]

 It can be done. There's not much off the shelf, even the advanced coontroller board Wlathers has for their turntable requires a bit of DIY engineering to add the track power control to it.

 Otherwise it seems a whole lot of effort for little gain, having to switch your DCC throttle to turnout mode, select the address of the stall track you want to turn on, then switch back to loco mode, select the loco on that track, and drive it out. Then back to turnout mode to turn the power off to that track. Eventually, you'll just leave the power on all the time anyway, loco present or not.

 If it's the noise of a roundhouse full of sound decoders, try decoders that actually shut down with a function key, and stay off until turned back on, like Loksound.

 If you just want to turn the power off to keep the wrong loco from driving into the pit, a rotary switch is much simpler to wire and easier to use.

                                       --Randy

 

[MacTrom]

Ok. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something. I did find a 24 position rotary that will work. My concern with DCC is having multiple engines starting up simultaneously. I might also do dual mode since I still have several non converted engines.

[Overmod]

MacTrom

Can I use DCC to program a toggle to turn power to each track as needed? Is there a decoder that would do this?

This forum never ceases to surprise with joy: Mel's switch immediately leads to the idea that a switch of this kind could use isolated-DC circuits both to command the table to move to a particular track and to apply DCC power to that particular track or route reversible-polarity variable  DC connection to the 'selected' track (rather than activating the stall power only when the turntable was aligned and locked, e.g. with microswitches, for safety.

But I'd have to wonder if a roundhouse full of DCC sound and fancy lighting effects shouldn't allow multiple tracks to be powered or shut down 'synchronously'.  Two hardwire ways to do this: have individual cheap switches (DPST for direct) or more interesting, use Mel's rotary switch to select from a set of latching relays (with visible pilot indication somewhere) so you could quickly select any individual track with the knob and then push a common button to toggle just the selected relay.  That way you could get any number of stalls powered that you want ... including any that you'd want to charge keepalives or 'dead rail' traction batteries on.

[RR_Mel]

Overmod

While I don’t use Dead Rail I do use battery powered lighting.  I wired one yard track and two sidings for system over ride to have the ability to charge onboard batteries with the my layout shut down keeping those tracks powered from an independent 12 power supply, 2 amp wall wart.  I store both passenger consists on sidings as is without having to remove them and having to reconnect all the jumpers between cars.  I have a half dozen cabooses and old time shorty coaches with onboard batteries (rechargeable coin cells) and store them on the yard track to keep them topped off.  The LIR2032 rechargable batteries (coin cell) works great for a single car or caboose, 40ma capacity.

The onboard chargers switch to trickle (very low current) when the batteries are fully charged.

I don’t use keepalives but your idea is very good for that.

I actually run more in DC mode than DCC, I rotate DC locomotives often.  I only have a few decoders and I swap them around to run in DCC mode.  70 locomotives and 13 decoders.

By the way, I use magnetic latching reed switches glued to the roof of my cabooses and baggage cars to turn off the LEDs.

Mel



 
My Model Railroad  
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.