I have a DG580L in a large scale Aristo 0-4-0. I am really tired of the PWM hammering on the motor. It growls and grumbles very strongly. Can I use an RC filter on the DG580L to smooth its output just a little? If so, what configuration works best on Digitrax? I have Stan and Rutger's book. Will the circuit he presents work with the Digitrax decoder?

- gws

-- George Schreyer (gwschreyer@geocities.com), May 09, 1999

Answers

George,

Try contacting Digitrax directly. I don't need anything that big for my HO and HOn3 motive power. My engines all run fine with PWM active. I also use the Zimo decoders which have a CV to adjust the PWM frequency and most often use the 16Khz which is practically silient. If you have enough space available you could also consider a H bridge setup with a rectifier similiar to the DCC driving a DC as shown in section 4.5. You'd then be able to use a smaller (and cheaper) decoder and end up with a very smooth power drive. There are now some H drive components in nice small combined packages that I've seen in the DigiKey cataloge. First thing should be to contact Digitrax.

-- Ed McCamey (emccamey@cheerful.com), May 11, 1999.