I have the Digitrax system. I am going to up grade to two DB 150's (using one for power booster only). I am going to divide the layout into power districts with the PM 42. I have a problem with one of the boosters (used at the moment only by itself and not with the PM 42) giving me 9 beeps. This means, according to the manual that there is a "device blocking the proper message action on LocoNet". The other DB 150 works fine if wired by itself. I am not certain what is going on. I have moved the location of the "electronics", power supple, boosters, power managers, etc to a more central location. Help with the "9 beep" message.
Craig North Carolina
5Craig,
To check your errant DB150; disconnect all wires except the two from your power supply. Unplug all loconet cables from it as well. Power up the DB150 and see if you get the beeps. If it powers up normally, connect the track wires and try it again. Keep adding devices back on one at a time. Powering up one at a time until you get the beeps. The last item or cable attached will be the cause.
If the DB150 powers up with the same 9 beeps with nothing connected, contact Digitrax service. It may need factory repairs.
Martin Myers
Martin,
Thank you. I will try that tomorrow. The pressure is on! I have my 7 years old nephew and my brother-in-law coming to visit the layout tomorrow! The good news is that I have tomorrow afternoon off. I appreciate the help. I will let you know how it goes.
This happens all the time if I turn on my DB150 configured as booster before I turn on the Zephyr that is my command station. You should power them up at the sae time, or power up the command station first. I haven't had a beep problem since I hooked up a coupel of X10 modules ont he same channel so that the outlet powering the Zephyr and the outlet powering the DB150 both come on at the same time. So if everythign is working - it might not be a problem after all.
Don;t forget the ground wire between the two DB150's. ANd it should also run to the two PM42's.
--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 am not quite sure I am following your suggested wiring plan. The 2 DB150s I get, one as the command station and one as and additional booster. What are you doing with the PM42? You can wire the PM 42 to accept 4 separate inputs from 4 boosters, but the DB150 has a single chanel breaker inside that is almost an exact copy of the PM42. One DB150 can easily power a 4 district PM42 set up for most layouts. I have had mine running 3 districts and one reversing section with a total of 9 locos going at the same time. (3 sets of 3 in a MU lashup) no sound but still the booster and PM42 handled it all with no glitches. If you are going to add a second DB150 for extra power then I would, personally, use another PM42. Or consider the layout size and number of engines running at any given time you may not need the extra power any way.
Massey
A Veteran, whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve, is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."
You say you have a Digitrax system, but are going to buy two DB150's.
Why?
What do you have now. I use one DB150 and run 2 PM42's off of it.
You must have a very large layout indeed to need an other as a booster.
You may be going into the overkill zone.
Ken G Price My N-Scale Layout
Digitrax Super Empire Builder Radio System. South Valley Texas Railroad. SVTRR
N-Scale out west. 1996-1998 or so! UP, SP, Missouri Pacific, C&NW.
Also you may want to consider getting a DCS100. The DB150 is only a half command station. The DCS100 is a full command station and you will be able to do much more with your layout.
Randy,
I know about the ground wire between the two DB 150's but I am uncertain about what you meet with respect to the two PM42's. Is there another ground wire to go from the DB 150's to the PM42's?
I am using a power strip to power all of the electrical components. So, it is just one switch to turn on the layout. The track power is always turned OFF after each session. Each control panel for turnout controls are on separate power switches.
I am going to work on the DB 150 today to see if I can get it to stop beeping. I am then going to power up the layout to run for my nephew tonight (hopefully).
I plan to try and connect the two DB 150's to the two PM42,s and place rail gaps on the layout. The final step will be to cut the two power bus wires for each district.
Massey,
You are correct with the idea that one of the DB 150's will be the command station and the other will be a booster. The PM42's are to divide the layout into 8 separate power districts. So, if there is a short circuit, the entire layout does not go down. Also, I will know which part of the layout (district) has the short circuit, making it easier for me to trouble shoot. Also, the PM42's will be used for the turntable as a reserving unit.
My layout will eventually fill a 20 foot by 30 foot room in my basement. I plan to have operating sessions with other people. There will be a staging yard at each end of the layout and a "complete" yard with roundhouse, turntable, engine servicing facilities, 2 arrival/departure tracks, 5 classification tracks and several industrial tracks. I wanted to plan ahead for power usage. I am anything but an electrical engineer, as a matter of fact, I am a "4 F" electrical knowledge person.
So, it may be overkill to have the second DB 150, I am not certain. But, on the surface, it seems like a good idea to me.
Things are progressing fine. I have both DB 150's working like they should. I corrected another problem, too. I found that one of the cables that connect the UP5's was wired "backwards". I have five UP5's on the layout so far.
I am not getting a signal to any of the locomotives. I am going to check and see if there is power to that portion of the layout. Both locomotives are in the yard portion (classification tracks 2 and 3). So, it am going to add feeding wires to these sections (to the power bus) and see if they start picking up the signal.
The yard is the most recent portion of the layout to be constructed and it is not complete, yet. So, that may be the problem. I still need to install the turntable, ash pit, roundhouse, and some industrial spurs.
Yes, there is a ground connection on the PM42, and it should be tied in with the ground between the DB150's. Terminal strip time, because on the booster DB150, you will have a wire from config A to ground, a wire from ground to the ground of the other DB150, and a wire from ground to the ground on the PM42. Or just make a 'ground' bus and tap off for each PM42.
The beeping could also be a bad lithium battery. If the unit is more than a couple of years old, changing the battery may be in order.
Springfield PA
DB150's don't have batteries. Nor does the Zephyr/Zephyr Xtra. DCS100, those have batteries.