How do I wire a roundhouse and turntable track for dcc?
Model Railroader (Feb 2023) has an excellent article about that. Page 54 and 55.
Mark B.
Hi there. I guess there are three possibilities: direct wiring, on/off switch for each stall or a dial that provides power one stall at a time. I went for on/off switches, based on the unscientific idea that it's better to turn something off when not in use. And I do have a few engines with older sound decoders that make noise each time I power up the system, which is annoying. I considered installing a dial, but turning something seems more tedious than a flick of the switch.
Simon
I put a DCC specialties PSX-AR on the turntable track and then wire the other tracks accordingly as you would wire them on your railroad. Works just fine...
I wire the approach lead and the bay tracks the same orientation, same method, as the rest of the yard. Keeps things simple.
Since the bridge rail connectivity will necessarily reverse the phase/polarity as it moves past the 95 deg point (either direction), you would want a reverser of some kind. Fortunately, in the Walthers 'built-up' versions dating back to 2006, you don't need a reverser. It's a split rail design that automatically reverses for you. All you have to do is to drive the locomotive onto the bridge, from either a bay or from your lead, and then let the turning bridge reverse itself as it turns past the 95 deg point.
At least, that's how mine has worked for 16 years.
banjobenne1 How do I wire a roundhouse and turntable track for dcc?
Basically the same way you would for DC with some exceptions – you can use an auto reverser in DCC to switch the polarity of the bridge (if needed) and you don’t have to turn the power off on the storage tracks.
Even though you don’t have to have it, I would put a kill switch on the storage tracks as others have mentioned to prevent the decoder equipped locos from being exposed to any short/reset cycles from shorts occurring elsewhere on the same power district.
Have fun,
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
What is the make and model of the turntable? Different ones have different requirements. I have a small Atlas which I pit-basehed into a pit turntable. It does not require an auto-reverser but the stall tracks must be wired with the correct polarity.
You actually don't need kill switches for each stall track with DCC, but most of us find it desirable to shut them off when not in use.
I use DCC and love it, but I use a plain DPDT center off toggle switch to drive my turntable from a fixed DC source.
How does everyone else program a decoder like this that you can't just put on your programming track? I guess I would run clip leads and long wires to the programming track and do it that way.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.