Group,
Do you know if this TT can be converted to DCC? I was thinking that if I used a overhead wire like on the prototype that I could power 1 rail with that wire and use the ring for the other rail all the time. How about the tracks going into the stalls? I want to get info before I just jump right in and get upset.
If it's using a split ring rail or a split wiper to power the bridge track, it will work as-is for DCC. If it has two wipers for continuous power, or you do what you talked about, a solid ring rail plus an overhead wire, then you will want to hook an autoreverser to it. Just for the bridge track. There are no issues with the approach track or stall tracks, although some peopel liek to feed their stall tracks with toggle switches to truly cut the power to a parked loco, so no one accidently selects it and drives it into the turntable pit, or tries to bash out the roundhouse wall. There's nothign special to doing that, it gets wired just like a roundhouse for DC. The only convern is the polarity on the bridge track - but that too is the same in DC. You can even just use a DPDT toggle switch like you would for DC, but the autoreverse means you just have to worry about lining up the proper track and runnign the loco on and off the table.
--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 Bowser turntable wired for DCC. I have the ring rail wired together as one pole to feed one of the bridge rails, and the other bridge rail is fed through a center wiper below the bridge.. If your pivot post is metal, you can use that as a power feed by using wipers. I have a brass ring around the center post with a sliding wiper attached to the bridge. The feeds to the bridge are wired through an auto-reverser. If you use a split ring you will need dead sections so that the wipers don't bridge the feeds and cause a short.
See the wiring for DCC web site for information on wiring a turntable: http://www.wiringfordcc.com/track_2.htm#a44