useing Non DCC Friendly turnouts.....

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Wiring for DCC : One Thread

hello everyone, i have tried to re work my shinora turnouts, but it just isnt working for me. by the time i get the wires soldered on and try it, the switch is so deformed that it wont even lay flat. my question is this... is there any other way to use my shinoras without haveing to re work them? whats the worse case scenario if i use them with DCC and dont re work them? i know i face the possibility of a short, but will they work still? i just cant afford to go out and buy all new turnouts, so im looking for an alternative. can someone help me? thanks! steve

-- steve manchester (trainzman@verizon.net), October 03, 2004

Answers

Steve,

If you are having trouble soldering the turnouts to the point of warping them, you definitely need to do something different. We don't want you to suffer.

I suggest you create small electrical districts with only a few turnouts and power them through a light bulb. See my web page for more on the light bulb. http://www.wiringfordcc.com/switches.htm - suggestion 2-20.

It is very important to note that this won't fix anything. If you have a short, you will still have a short. All this will do is isolate the problem to one small area of your layout. If you are having an operating session, this will keep from shutting down the rest of the layout and annoying your friends. Even if you are operating by yourself, this will be a great troubleshooting aid as it will localize your problem. There is nothing worse than having a booster shut down due to a short and having no idea where the problem is.

As I said, this won't fix anything. If you get a short while going over the turnout, your train will stop. But at least your whole layout (at least everything tied to that booster) won't be shut down.

This next bit of advice doesn't have to do with DCC friendly, it has to do with making your turnout last a long time. That is: solder a feeder to the point rails. If you don't, eventually the hinge will become intermittent and fail to power your points. There is not much you can do to get around this long term problem.

To everyone reading this who doesn't already own their turnouts: Walthers has come out with DCC friendly turnouts. I highly recommend you buy them instead of the old ones. Not all hobby shops are carrying them yet - they still have the old ones left over. The new packages have a bright sticker on them that says "NOW IMPROVED For Both DC and DCC Operations"

-- Allan Gartner (wire4dcc_admin@comcast.net), October 03, 2004.


Wire it up as shown in the drawing on this web page.

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/switches_walthers_old.htm

Putting the lightbulb where I show it is optional. You may instead use one bulb to power the limited area as I suggested in my previous message. If you do not use a bulb, connect the wire from the switch to the frog.

There is one difference regarding this drawing. I show a bond across the points. Since this bond is sometimes too stiff for some switch machines, I now recommend dropping feeders from the points to your power bus - shown as blue and red.

Redoing these drawings is another one of my projects for when I have time.

-- Allan Gartner (wire4dcc_admin@comcast.net), October 03, 2004.


i was just wondering, do i need to attach a power wire from the isolated frog to the stock rails? also, do i need to run any other power wires? im testing my turnout with a regular power pack, so when i hook power to the turnout, should i have power to both routes? any information is appreciated, because i think if i can get one working right, i can get the rest of them done also. thanks!

-- steve manchester (trainzman@verizon.net), October 03, 2004.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ