I am amassing a small layout in my closet, N scale, using a Zephyr DCC system. I am currently NOT using power districts, no blocks established, power routing peco turnouts (*may* switch to all-lives), and am simply dropping feeders every 5-8 feet of track (about 30 ft in entire layout). I only have 1/2 the track laid but thus far this wiring has triggered no shorts or running difficulties.
I will be adding a small 6 leg yard soon. The most locos I will have on the layout is 4, max of 2 in concentrated areas.
Am I asking for it here? Or am I safe?
Thanks from an amateur electician:)
Lee
I am fairly new to DCC, but think I have the basics down fairly well.
The first question is: What is the size of your layout? And I would also ask how many feet of track and the number of turnouts you have too.
If the layout is a 4x8 or smaller, with only one or two locos running, you might be ok with one big power district. But you really might want to think of the future, and in this regard it is easier to set up the wiring now rather than later. An N scale 4x8 layout could be pretty busy, and installing a 4 circuit breaker setup to give you 4 districts might be the way to go.
There is also a possible issue of the susceptability of the turnouts to shorts, and I am not qualified to talk to that - and am sure others will address it.
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Lee,
I assume you are using Peco 'insulfrog' turnouts - there should be no problems. If you are using 'electofrog' turnouts, you will need to gap/insulate them if power can feed from the frog side, Feeders should be dropped for every piece of rail - do not trust rail joiners for electrical contact. If your 6 track yard is all 'stub' tracks, there will be miminal need for insulating(only the turnout on the main track).
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
How many people will be operating your layout? I wired my 8x12 HO layout for 2 or 4 power districts but just jumpered them together and never had a problem, so I kept putting off buying the circuit breakers.
This will go against the grain, but I see only 2 reasons to have power districts (toggles to cut power are a different animal). One, you need to be able to run more trains than your basic system can handle, so you need to add extra boosters. Two, you will have multiple operators, and you don't want someone running a switch over in the left corner from causing everyone else's train to also stop.
Insulating sidings and controlling power to them can come in handy expecially in an engine terminal or staging yard - a simple way to keep a mistaken selection of loco ID from sending expensive bits to the floor or crashing in to one another.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I have a 25' x 50' HO layout with a single Zephyr powering the whole thing. I have no circuit breakers or other boosters, everything is one block wired to a 14 AWG bus with feeders every 9 feet. I run with up to four Operators with up to 7 locos at a time.
For the past 6 years, I have had no serious electrical problems on my layout.
The only "issue" is that when you have more than one operator. Since any short shuts down the whole layout, if there's a derailment that's not your fault, you still stop. While this can be annoying, it also allows one to know when someone else screws up.
I would recommend continuous testing of your wiring as your install it. If you wire in 20 or more feeders all at once before testing it, if any of them are shorting you're going to have a real problem trying to find it. Do a little at a time (and with the power on, if you can...but not if you're soldering as soldering shorts out the track because it's grounded).
Paul A. Cutler III*******************Weather Or No Go New Haven*******************
I've got a 5x12 foot HO layout, with a lot of track. I don't use power districts, and I don't think it's a problem.
I do, however, have a reversing section, and my yard leads come off of that. So, I do effectively have a significant breaker-protected sub-section of my layout. If you use a Tony's auto-reverser, and probably some of the others, you get the circuit-breaker protection for that section for free.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
My 4 x 10-foot, HO, BRVRR layout is powered with a Digitrax Zephyr. I have a double-tracked main line, one reverse loop, a three-track engine facility, two long yard sidings, and 5 industrial sidings. I have a little over 90-feet of track and no power districts.
All of my yard tracks, the engine facility, and industrial sidings are isolated and controlled with Atlas Connectors. The reverse loop is controlled with a Digitrax AR-1. I haven't had any problems with the electrical system to speak of.
My track plan is rather "crowded" or "busy" by most standards but it is quite versatile. It is posted on my website in the Layout section. Link is in my signature.
Keep checking as you build and I don't think you will have any problems.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
southenman:
I don't see any problem with a single power district. Your whole layout sounds like it's smaller than individual power districts at my club layout.
As for the power routing switches, you don't really want those for DCC; they're handy for DC because they turn dead-end spurs into dead zones where engines can be isolated, but that's not needed for DCC.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
Thanks everybody! Good food for thought here:)
In addition to all above info , I would also make a detailed schematic of all wiring on (under) the layout as You go. This was a life-saver on My old defunct N scale layout DC . There's a lot less wiring on the DCC layouts of today, but it is still something I do . Best of luck........
I would put an auto resetting breaker in there. You'll protect the command unit from shorts. And if you approach the backside of a switch with the points thrown against you, you'll throw a short with power routing turnouts. (I personally 'dislike' them for DCC myself.)
If you are building a double sided yard (one ladder each side of yard, remember to isolate both rails after the turnout for each ladder step. Otherwise, if both sides aren't in perfect alignment, you'll create a short condition.
DCC friendly turnouts solve a lot of these problems. But I guess you have to work with what you have.
Good luck,
Don
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
DigitalGriffin[snip]If you are building a double sided yard (one ladder each side of yard, remember to isolate both rails after the turnout for each ladder step. Otherwise, if both sides aren't in perfect alignment, you'll create a short condition.[snip]Don, you definitely got my attention with this response. I'm exploring DCC for my first layout and have a double-ended yard fed by a 3-way turnout at each end. I've dropped feeders to every section of track and all turnouts. Based on your comment, I'm now planning gaps where noted below in red. Am I overkilling by gapping each end of the straights? Have I missed anything?Thanks.Rick Krall
[snip]
Don, you definitely got my attention with this response. I'm exploring DCC for my first layout and have a double-ended yard fed by a 3-way turnout at each end. I've dropped feeders to every section of track and all turnouts. Based on your comment, I'm now planning gaps where noted below in red. Am I overkilling by gapping each end of the straights? Have I missed anything?
Thanks.
Rick Krall
fkrallAm I overkilling by gapping each end of the straights? Have I missed anything?
Nope you got it perfect!