What "extra" should be done when wiring a DC layout for future DCC use?

[mobilman44]

Hi!

My existing 15 year old, two level, 11x15 HO DC layout will be taken down and rebuilt - probably after the upcoming Holidays.  And, at age 64, I suspect this next layout will probably be my last, and I want to insure it encorporates all my learnings and as many of my "wants and needs" that my current layout lacks.

The existing layout has two cab (2 - Controlmaster 20s) DC control and "works like a charm".  The next layout will be wired for the same 2 cab DC control, but stands a very good chance of being converted to DCC sometime in the future.  So my question is, "What should I do (or not do) in wiring the new layout so that it will more easily adapt to DCC at a later date?"

I am sure some folks would say, "Convert to DCC when you build the new layout", but my answer is simply that I am not ready to tackle that now.  Ha, I'm a good "electrician", but not very good with electronics!  

Anyway, whatever advice you all pass along will be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Mobilman44   

[rrinker]

 Main things - lots of feeder and direct home wiring. No common rail. If you bring BOTH rails back to the control panel with decent size wire, you cna do the 'simple' conversion and hook the DCC booster up in place of one of the CM20's and switch all the block toggles to that cab and away you go. The 'straight DCC' way is to insatll a bus of heavy wire mostly following under the track with short, frequent feeder drops. That doesn't lend itself to 2-cab DC wiring unless you put the block toggles along the fascia. In which case you can run a pair of bus wires around the layout from the two CM20 base units, pull a run off each one to the block toggle, and there to the track.Again, swap one CM20 for a DCC booster and throw all block toggles for that unit and you're running DCC. Mixing the two is not a good idea, Bad Things can happen when a loco crosses a block boundry from a DCC block into a DC block and vice-versa. Once you've discovered how much better DCC is you can go around and connect all the feeders directly to the bus and bypass the toggles.

                                  --Randy

 

[WSOR 3801]

 It may be easier to make it DCC right away.  You shouldn't need the toggles to switch from one cab to the other. 

Run heavy enough buss wires, and lots of feeders.  Do not rely on rail joiners to conduct power.

Depending on what kind of switches are used, you might want to put in insulated joiners on the frog end.  Atlas switches usually don't need this, but most every other switch does.

Don't use a power-routing switch to control the power for a track.  Add feeders after the insulated joiners, as contacts on switches do wear out.

Try to keep the buss wires less than 30 feet or so.  Voltage and signal drop takes away from the fun.  

Other considerations will pop up during use.  

[wjstix]

If your layout is working flawlessly in DC you probably won't need to do much of anything to convert to DCC. When I switched I just added a DPDT switch so that one DC cab could be replaced with the DCC output instead. That way you can still run DC stuff - I like to try out new stuff in DC first before opening it up to convert it to DCC - but can run DCC when you want to.

You'll also want to add a programming track, that can be a stand-alone section of track at the workbench, but I prefer to use an isolated part of the mainline. Basically just set up one block of track with a DPDT switch so it can get power from the programming track outputs of your DCC system, or from the regular power source (DC or DCC). The advantage of having it on the layout is you don't have to keep picking the engine up to move it back and forth from the layout to the workbench for programming.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 A well wired DC layout will need little or no work to be converted to DCC. Just connect the DCC unit in place of one of the existing DC packs.