Hello everyone,
I own a fair number of locomotives which would create quite a cost to convert to DCC. My turn outs are not DCC friendly, and being a lone wolf operator there really is no need for more then 2 trains on the move at once. So my question is has anyone installed the biggest O scale decoder available to power the tracks and controlled it (decoder) with a DCC throttle? I like the idea of radio control but there seems to be a lack of radio throttles for DC, but plenty in DCC.
Thank you for your input in advance.
Frank
"If you need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm."
How many DCC throttles are you going to use?
What turnouts do you have? The whole "DCC Friendly" thing is often blown out of proportion - if your wheels have proper RP25 contours and are in gauge, it usually doesn't even matter.
Using a decoder to drive the rails is not a good idea - decoders can't handle shorts on the motor terminals the way a DC power pack or a DCC booster can.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
And how big is your layout? Are your switches manually or electrically operated?
da_kraut Hello everyone, I own a fair number of locomotives which would create quite a cost to convert to DCC. My turn outs are not DCC friendly, and being a lone wolf operator there really is no need for more then 2 trains on the move at once. So my question is has anyone installed the biggest O scale decoder available to power the tracks and controlled it (decoder) with a DCC throttle? I like the idea of radio control but there seems to be a lack of radio throttles for DC, but plenty in DCC. Thank you for your input in advance. Frank
Not advisable like Randy said. Too easy to smoke a decoder. Everyone eventually shorts a layout somehow.
A club I belonged to tried using DCC and DC in diffferent blocks. We had fourteen blocks and used a NCE Power five amp pro DCC system. One time a loco crossed a boundary and smoked the booster which should have been tougher than using a decoder. Old timers get to gabbing. When we use to use DC with four throttles, the cry, who has my loco would be heard at times.
But it's your railroad.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
You could try having a single point connection to your layouts wiring for your power supply (some sort of plug). When you want to run DC, you must physically disconnect DCC etc. Since you only run two locomotives at a time, should be relatively easy to keep track of what is on the track. If you have multiple cabs in DC with rotary switches, connect all of one switch position together and use that for DCC. Make a checklist to go through each time you run trains to verify that you are not cross connected. Never turn on both DC and DCC at same time, and leave the not in use system disconnected.
Hardwiring a decoder to the track wiring is inadvisable for the reason Randy stated. Its not a question of if you will have a short, but when. And the when results in dead decoder.
There are still a number of DC wireless throttles on the market:
This company from Australia makes a nice base station system for HO or N.
https://www.rcs-rc.com/
The Aristo Craft/Crest Train Engineer Revolution is now back on the market under a new name, Precision RC. This is a recently developed product and likely to be around a while. I suspect the name change/new ownership has more to do with the other things that caused Aristo to close up and not a lack of interest in this product.
http://www.revoelectronics.com/
They have real nice base station units similar to the old Aristo Craft 10 Channel Train Engineer that I use.
Not the best picture, but I use these, 10 of them actually. They can still be found "New old stock" or barely used. They work well, have great range and great slow speed control. They produce a pulse width modulated speed control signal just like a DCC decoder.
They do not come with the power supply shown, I added those.
Sheldon
How many locos would be running at a time and what scale? If not more than 1 or 2 and HO or smaller, then HO scale decoders would likely be plenty powerful enough. As mentioned, the decoders are not designed to handle the inevitable shorts that will occur; howevere there are ways to protect them, such as circuit breakers or ballast bulbs (light bulbs) between the decoder and the track. I don't know of anyone who has done this for their layout, but I do know of some that have done it for a DC test track (don't remember who right off hand).
If you truly have no plan to convert to DCC down the road, I would not recommend this, not because of the danger to decoders (since this can be overcome), but because you would be paying for unneeded features and adding unneeded complexity. In addition to the throttles Sheldon mentioned, here's a company I heard about recently: http://bluerailways.co.uk/ One thing that's neat about their products is they use Bluetooth, but they also have a standalone Bluetooth throttle, so you can use an app on a phone or tablet or a physical throttle with real knobs and switches.
Like
sheldon I use the train engineer throttles. (three of them) and have for over a dozen years. Everyone who visits learns to use them quickly.
Dave
thank you for all the great responses. You are correct, I had forgotten that if a decoder sees a short that the device is destroyed. That would be a expensive propostion. Also as has been pointed out it would be a waste due to the fact that only one function would be used. Thank you for that. Also thank you for giving me the web sites of DC radio throttles as well as the blue tooth throttle. I had thought that Aristo Craft was no more. Also the Revo electronics throttle is new to me. The BlueRailways Products also look very promising and interesting. Again Thank you for the great web sites of these great products.
As for a layout, it is in the planning stages. Still working on the building that the layout is to go into. So this is a great time to ask questions, present ideas and look at products.
The throttles mentioned by Mel work well. I have the 821A model, which puts out 3 amps of PWM current. It easily runs more than a dozen locos at a time, or multiple locos on heavy (in excess of 20 lbs) trains.
Wayne
da_kraut Hello everyone, thank you for all the great responses. I had thought that Aristo Craft was no more. Also the Revo electronics throttle is new to me. The BlueRailways Products also look very promising and interesting. Again Thank you for the great web sites of these great products. Frank
thank you for all the great responses. I had thought that Aristo Craft was no more. Also the Revo electronics throttle is new to me. The BlueRailways Products also look very promising and interesting. Again Thank you for the great web sites of these great products.
I had thought Aristo Craft was gone.
Saw some kids at a train show a number of years ago running their Thomas Trains locos using that controller having a great time.
richg1998 da_kraut Hello everyone, thank you for all the great responses. I had thought that Aristo Craft was no more. Also the Revo electronics throttle is new to me. The BlueRailways Products also look very promising and interesting. Again Thank you for the great web sites of these great products. Frank I had thought Aristo Craft was gone. Saw some kids at a train show a number of years ago running their Thomas Trains locos using that controller having a great time. Rich
Aristo Craft is gone, but the Revolution Train Engineer is not, new ownership of just that product.
Good to know. Just looked it up and bookmarked.
If you want a walk around throttle that doesn’t have to be wireless, MRC makes a walk around throttle. They probably have the best reputation for DC transformers. I myself use two CMI ‘Super Blue’ transformers made by Chicago Models International. They have sweet walk around throttles with momentum and braking. They use telephone wire and phone jacks so you can move to another aisle and plug them back in. I bought them in the 1990s and they outlived the company who made them. The same design is now used by USA Trains. You might be able to find them on eBay or other shopping sites.http://www.usatrains.com/usatrainspowerpacks.html