Decoder protection

[Anonymous]

I recently had a Lionel HO Challenger to stop working after derailing going over a turnout. After Lionel repaired it I noticed the work order stated "replaced blown electronics" I assumed this was caused by a voltage spike that I have read about that can happen when a engine jumps the track and shorts out. After contacting Tony's Electronics about purchasing something from them to protect against this happening again I was advised to use one of their Power Shield circuit boards in each district or with each booster for protection. They also make a combo Power Shield and Reversing unit combo. Does anyone out there have any experience with the product's or any suggestions? I'm using the NCE Power Pro-R 5 watt system with one extra 5 watt booster and 2 districts with a reversing Wye. I assume I would need 3 boards one for each booster and one for the Wye.. Thanks Bill

[cacole]

I don't have any experience with Tony's Power Shield because our DCC system has adequate fast circuit breaker protection built in, and we have 12-Volt Halogen bulbs wired in for added safety; however, I would suggest that you call Tony's again, or drop them an e-mail, with your question. In my experience, Tony is very honest and will not try to sell you something that is not necessary. They also have a lot of knowledge about NCE and other DCC systems.

[Anonymous]

I assume when you said a 5 watt system with a 5 watt booster you actually meant 5 amps each time. That is a lot of current to send into one district, assuming it's 5 amps per district. Although I haven't tried Tony's Powershield products yet (I intend to when I get a booster for my system), I would certainly recommend doing so and possibly adding more districts and splitting the current between them. That way you could run 2 to 2.5 amps per district, which would limit the amount of current that could damage your locomotive's electronics. As was previously mentioned, you can call Tony's again and describe your situation and they should be able to give some good recommendations.

[selector]

At the risk of offering what you might consider to be unwelcome advice, why not use jfugate's simple, dirt cheap, and highly effective short preclusion method of a 12 volt automobile bulb wired in series into each district?

[Anonymous]

Selector, that's a pretty neat idea. I hadn't read that one anywhere. Basically, I would guess the bulb acts as a fuse. They're also pretty cheap, so I can see where it would be cost effective. I could do this and put the bulb inside a structure for interior lighting. Hmmm....

[Anonymous]

Check out Joe's forum clinic on DCC here: http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36389. It explains the taillight trick and a WHOLE lot more good DCC info.