Hi!
I also have a Digitrax Super Chief with a second controller, 8 power districts with circuit breakers, etc.
However, that has nothing to do with my answer to the OP's original question.
When you leave your layout for any extended period of time, shut the thing down. There is no reason good enough to warrant leaving the thing "on", and risking the possibility of a disaster. Sure, the chances of that happening are quite low, but why take that risk?
It just isn't worth it.......................
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I change the cmos battery in our 2 club DCS commands stations at least once per year. They would probably last years but for the $4 /year total cost it's really not worth the chance.
At home, I pull the plug on the power strip and leave nothing powered. Fire scares the heck out of me ven though my clocks, televisions, computers, etc are still plugged in. Plus it keeps my wife happy.
Martin Myers
David, Yeah, I realized that, not to long after I posted. But I was no were near a computer, to make a change until now.
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.
I also do the same as Crandell. One switch pushed in the off position, and the DB150 plus its power supply and power supplies for a UR91, and two PM42's go off.
It has been 5 years since I have had started to use the system, so I will change the battery out and not have to worry for another 5 years. See Davids post below.
I leave my DB150 plugged into a surge protector with a rocker switch. When I leave the trains, the rocker switch goes to the off position. The toggle on the DB150 stays in the on position perpetually.
The DB150 is now over six years old. It has perhaps 120 hours of running on it total. It is shut off and powerless for weeks at a time.
Crandell
Joe Staten Island West
Interesting Question!
The DCS100 Super Chief system unit has two battery holders under the covers. One should have a battery in it. If you get the '7 Beeps' at power on - You have a low battery.
The battery can be replaced without losing configuration/consist data. Just unplug the unit and remove the screws so you can get to the battery. A CR2032 is the replacement battery, and it can be inserted in the empty battery holder - then remove the old battery. Replace the grey case and power back on - the '7 Beeps' should not be there this time. Our club replaced the batteries last year(no problem reported, but someone thought it might be a good idea). My home system is a rather old DCS100 with the old style connectors. I have never replaced the batteries. My system is plugged into a computer UPS power supply, and is left powered on - Only the track power is killed. It has been that way for over 5 years.
If you do completely lose the battery, only configuration switches you have changed, and things like consist configuration data will be lost. The system will restart an the factory defaults.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
You might also want to check with your home owners insurance, If and I say if something shorts and a fire happens are you insured for such a fire? I always shut mine down with a single switch and have never had a problem. My wife is handicapped and that is something I always worried about trying to get her out of the house just in case, but that is my feelings toward that question. I also have Digitrax and have had mine since 1998 and last year I replaced the battery. Jim.
I have my system connected via a surge protector - I still shut it down as well as everythign else in the train room when I am not there. I do it via X10 appliance modules all set tot he same code so I don;t have to reach down and unplug cords or flip switches on the surge protectors, because being in an apartment I cannot reqire the room. Were I to be finishing my own basement I would most definitely wire a wall switch to shuit off everything right by the main doorway. I'm not worried about the relatively minute amount of power consumed by leaving things turned on - the DVR on my TV probably draws more power - but rather the risk of unattended equipment powered up for days or more between times I go in there.
I once got my oldest son a Lione large scale Thomas set. I made the mistake of leaving the power pack plugged in for a few hours after he was done playing. It literally melted - luckily did not burn the carpet, but it did leave a nasty stain. Never again. Not in the room? All power OFF. That way even if I forget to flip the switch and turn off the soldering iron, it's still off because the power it shut off at the wall outlet. There is no reason to leave DCC systems powered up. Command station settings in the DCS100/200 are backed up via a CR2032 coin battery when the power is off. The DB150 has no settings to maintain, and the DCS50/51 Zephyr/Xtra have non-volatile memory to store the config. For radio throttles, just remove or roll the batteries, other throttle do not need batteries. The 'battery saver' option of supplying power to the UP panels does NOT charge the battery, it merely keeps a higher voltage source to the throttle preventing the battery from being used. So does just taking it out when done.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
maxmanI don't need to have any electrical spikes coming through the wires trashing my investment.
This is exactly why I have my system plugged into a surge protector that has an on/off switch. I even added a light plugged into it so I can tell at a glance if I left the power on to the surge protector.
Modeling a railroad hypothetically set in time.
If you're really worried about the possibility of the on-board battery going dead, you could plug the unit into one of those, "Keep the computer operating during power outages," devices (sorry, I mis-remember the proper term.)
There's one behind my computer, but it's never been needed. Since our power lines are underground we haven't had an outage since I moved here almost ten years ago.
As for leaving power on while I'm not in the layout room, I consider that a safety hazard. One switch kills it all.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Tophias And I assume you do a complete power off after each session?
And I assume you do a complete power off after each session?
My Digitrax Zephyr is 10+ years old and sat Idle from 2005 to the end of 2011. It started up and has been operating flawlessly since and it did not forget any loco addresses during that time.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
Treat it like a couple of light bulbs. If you leave your house lights on all the time and are not worried about your electric bill, then leave it on. But if you like to keep your electric bill low and conserve energy by turning your lights off when not in use, then turn your layout and DCC system off.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
cacole How often is the internal battery likely to go dead? I use NCE at home and we use NCE at our club, and power is always turned off when the layout(s) are not in operation. We haven't needed to replace a battery yet, and our club system is almost 10 years old.
How often is the internal battery likely to go dead? I use NCE at home and we use NCE at our club, and power is always turned off when the layout(s) are not in operation.
We haven't needed to replace a battery yet, and our club system is almost 10 years old.
At the club the Super Chief was installed in 1999, it was powered on upon installation and remained on since. We only shut track power at the end of a session. We never had a failure to the system and the original battery is still in the unit. On the other hand I know of a Club nearby that is also Chief powered, whose system is off after each session and they did not have any battery failure as of this writing. Nonetheless loosing battery failure and loosing the command station setting is not that dramatic. This involve the resetting of only a few features.
My neighbor also since 1999 operates his layout with a NCE PHpro system, he always power off his system after each session and never had any battery failure. In fact I don't even know if there is a battery in his system.
I guess the choice is yours and suspect the majority of Chief user will power off their system after each session.
Jack W.
My new DCS200 system is about 3 years old and I shut it down after every session as well as it's power supply. No battery loss yet, I believe they're 5 year batteries. It's always good practice to shut down power sources from a safety perspective--unless of course they're supplying life support eqpt, etc. Note that electrical eqpt has a life span too. Power supplies do burn out.
Richard
I have read in the Digitrax manual (don't have it in front of me now) that the battery does need to be replaced at some intervals. Maybe ther is a difference between Digitrax and NCE?
Just installed my new Digitrax Super Chief Duplex on my layout. Fortunately so far no new wiring needed, just a real good track cleaning (it hasn't run in a year due to a helix installation project). Anyway, my question-I have been reading here and elsewhere about whether or not it is necessary to completely shutdown the system after a session. The owner of my LHS suggests leaving it powered (DCS100, not the rails) continuously so as to not jeopardize any programming should the battery fail. That seems a bit extreme to me, though in his case he is accessing his in his shop daily and probably has extensive programming involved. I was just wondering what you all do as your best practice. I have powered my layout such that one wall switch kills everything and would like to continue that practice, but want your thoughts, especially what are the consequences of loosing the battery in the DCS100. Much thanks to all for all the great info here.