I have Peco ElectroFrog on my DCC layout. All I do is isolate the diverging rails from the track that they are going to. No wire cutting, no frog wiring, no juicers, The switches are used as they came out of the box. My Shinohara code 100 switches from 20+ years ago are installed the same way. I didn't change a thing when I went from DC to DCC.
I have 4 Shinohara code 100 double crossovers on my layout too. To use them with DCC, all I had to do is throw all 4 switches at the same time. Simple.
Why make it more complicated than it has to be.
Dave, yes, I am sure the insulfrog vs the electrofrog, the "point" of the frog does appear to be plastic. Others have replied confirming. Compare them and you will see.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
The two little pieces that form the wing rails of the frog are metal, they are just embedded in plastic with no power going to them. ANd the very pint of the frog in an Insulfrog is a plastic piece. Compared to other plastic frog turnouts, they've kept the plastic bits to a minimum size, but therein lies the issue, if you have a slightly wider than standard wheel it can easily bridge that narrow gap which will cause a short. Paint or nail polish solves the problem - temporarily. It has to be renewed periodically as it wears off.
A properly wired Electrofrog is absolutely bulletproof, there are zero dead spots and zero places for a slightly oversize wheel to cause a short. They end up wired as shown in the instructions for building your own all-rail turnout like Fast Tracks. Nothing dead, no adjacent pieces at opposite polarity.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
hon30critter selector and riogrande5761: Are you sure the Peco Insulfrog turnouts have plastic frogs? Based on what the Peco website shows, the frog rails appear to be metal on the Insulfrog turnouts.
selector and riogrande5761:
Are you sure the Peco Insulfrog turnouts have plastic frogs? Based on what the Peco website shows, the frog rails appear to be metal on the Insulfrog turnouts.
Rich
Alton Junction
Are you sure the Peco Insulfrog turnouts have plastic frogs? Based on what the Peco website shows, the frog rails appear to be metal on the Insulfrog turnouts. In some cases they are showing an Electrofrog turnout when describing an Insulfrog, but they mention that in the picture.
https://www.peco-uk.com/prodtype.asp?strParents=3309,3322&CAT_ID=3327&numRecordPosition=1
To the OP:
My club was all set to go with Peco Code 83 Electrofrog turnouts on the new layout we are building but we ultimately decided to use Atlas Code 83 Customline switches instead. The reason was that the Peco switches (both Electrofrog and Insulfrog) use frogs that have sharper angles than the Atlas turnouts. The Pecos all use frogs with a 12 degree angle regardless of the frog number. An Atlas #8 uses a frog angle of 7.5 degrees, and IIRC a #6 Atlas has a frog angle of about 9.5 degrees. The larger the angle, the quicker the train changes direction and the less realistic it looks.
Note that the Atlas turnouts are longer than the Pecos so they take up more space (although the Atlas turnouts can be trimmed). The Atlas frogs can be powered if desired.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
SeeYou190 The modelers I know that use DCC swear by Peco Insulated Frog turnouts and set them up for non-power-routing, so all rails (except the from) are live all the time. . As mentioned before, if you use modern locomotive models, the dead frog should not cause problems.. -Kevin.
The modelers I know that use DCC swear by Peco Insulated Frog turnouts and set them up for non-power-routing, so all rails (except the from) are live all the time.
.
As mentioned before, if you use modern locomotive models, the dead frog should not cause problems..
-Kevin.
Electrofrog PECO have a metal frog and can be set up for DCC friendly use.
I am planning on switching from the old Atlas code 100 #6 I used in my last staging yard pictured below, to a new larger staging yard using PECO electrofrog turnouts - in planning stages presently.
As mentioned before, if you use modern locomotive models, the dead frog should not cause problems.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
If you use Electrofrogs and make the suggested mods shown on the package, or at Wiring for DCC, you will have a turnout that has no dead spots, or potential dead spots. You will need to provide power to the frog though, either through switch machine contacts, or with something like the Frog Juicers from Tam Valley. You can sort of cheat and use just the Frog Juicer without modifying the turnout but if you are using switch machines that have contacts like the Tortoise, modifying the turnouts will be far less expensive than adding a lot of frog juicers.
The current Code 83 Peco turnouts have gaps cut in the plastic ties underneath where you need to cut the factory jumpers and install new ones, so it's not terribly difficult.
If you have smaller, or older, locomotives with trucks specializing in one rail pickup, you might have stalling on insulfrog turnouts because their frogs are inert and made of black plastic...at least I think it's plastic. With really tiny locomotives, the frogs on a #6 and higher could be problematic if they are not energized.
If you are running locomotives made since about 2000 or so (?), they tend to have better pickup design so that, if one truck or item is on the dead frog, the other truck will get power to the motor/decoder. For steamers, the tender gets all rail pickup between the various axles even if the locomotive's pickups are stranded in dead territory on the frog.
That said, I have a small SW-8 diesel switcher and a Life-Like Proto 2000 0-6-0 switcheer that do well on my dead frog hand-made #8 turnouts, and have no trouble with my Peco Insulfrog #6's.
If you have older stuff, or smaller stuff with a short pickup base, you might prefer the electrofrog, but you'll have to provide switchable power to the frog in some cases.
Hey Guys, likely this has been addressed elsewhere, but... i'm building a new layout because I'm switching over to DCC and am too "electrically challenged" to make the old one work RELIABLY without the fits, stops and hesitations. I prefer using Peco turnouts. So my question is...do I want Electrofrog or Insulfrog for my DCC locomotives? Thanks in advance for your shared wisdom....