Hello all. I am new and a former model railroader whose finally gotten back to his roots. I had a basic Bachmann train set growing up, and now I have a Bachmann EZ-Track set, with a Bachmann EMD GP40 and a Bachmann B23-B30-7. Nothing is setup for DCC. I have not set anything up on a board yet. I do plan on setting up a board, but I want something non-permanent, easy to break down and apart because my housing situation is not permanent right now. I do plan on moving up to DCC, and I already have an idea of what system I want. I know nothing about blocks or wiring, my layout I have right now is just the simple layout I have made up with EZ-track and the basic transformer, no extra wiring. I searched the forums and read the posts and all, and I've even gone to wiringfordcc.com and I guess I am just not getting it cause it all seems like a bunch of Greek to me when it comes to all this about wiring. Can someone just please put all of this into simpler terms for me please? Thanks in advance.
Todd
If you are just making a simple layout, no reverse loops or anything like that, it's as simple as can be. On the power pack there are two terminals that shoudl be marked DC or Trains. Connect those to the EZ Track terminal section, and you're done. That should serve to get you started. Later you can worry about adding insulated joiners and toggles to isolate sidings and more complex stuff.
Just remember that there must always be a complete circuit, from the power source to the locomotive's motor and back to the power source. That's about as simple as it can be made.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Todd,
I am not any kind of expert on DCC theory nor do I have any formal training in electronics. So I think that qualifies me to make a stab at an explanation understandable by what a friend of mine refers to as a “techno-peasant.”.First, one must understand that the electric motors in our locomotives operate on variable voltage direct current (DC). The power pack provides DC current to the tracks, one rail positive, the other negative. To go faster one increases the throttle, which increases the voltage, which causes the motor to go faster. To change direction, the forward/reverse switch on the power pack causes the polarity to the rails to be switched, with the rail that formerly got the + side now getting the – side. If one wanted to run two or more trains independently one had to segment the track electrically (with insulated rail joiners or by cutting gaps in the rails) into what are commonly called blocks. Each of these blocks must get its power through its own throttle that adjusts the voltage and polarity to operate the trains as one desires. Physically these gaps are very small so a train runs over them easily (think of an expansion joint in a road) but electrically they are separate from each other.OK, now on to DCC. The power pack (generally referred to as a command station) in DCC systems differs from its DC counterpart in two very important ways. First, it delivers a modified form of alternating current (AC) at a constant voltage (generally from 12-15 volts). Second, it also sends out signals through the rails. But the locomotive electric motors still operate on DC with voltage varied for speed control. In order for this to be possible each locomotive has what is referred to as a decoder, a miniature electronic device is assigned a discrete address to differentiate it from any other decoder equipped locomotives. The decoder receives the AC power and the signals from the rails, interprets the signals, rectifies the power (converts AC to DC) and varies the voltage so that the locomotive goes in the direction and at the speed the operator desires. The throttle may be on the command station (similar to the traditional DC power pack) or in a hand held throttle. The operator tells the command station what he/she wants the locomotives to do via the throttle. The command station, in turn, sends that information through the rails. When a decoder recognizes a signal being sent to its address, it executes the instructions.Since a locomotive only responds to its commands, no electrically segmented blocks are required to operate multiple locomotives independently. However, on larger layouts it is advisable to divide up the track into blocks, each protected by a circuit breaker so that if there is a short somewhere on the layout, the circuit breaker will only shut down a portion of the layout, not the whole thing. It also makes electrical troubleshooting a bit easier—one would know what section of the layout had the glitch eliminating the rest from suspicion.That is my understanding of DCC. I am sure brighter minds than mine will have many comments and corrections (hopefully not significant) but that is my layman’s understanding of DCC. And I hope I have not been guilty of explaining how a watch factory is built in response to a “what time is it?” question.Good luck!Roger Johnson, Sedro Woolley WA