DCC Question About Kato Unitrack #6 Turnouts...

[Kisatchie]

I read somewhere that Kato Unitrack #6 turnouts can be used with DCC without modifications. Is that true? If not, what needs to be done with them? If it matters, I plan on switching them manually if I go that route.

Thanks for any help.


Hmm... I don't know
nuthin' about DCC...

[jmarley76]

IMO, Kato Unitrack switches work great with DCC. I have a Digitrax Zephyr and have had no problems. I saw your other thread on Unitrack no.4 switches, and should note that I use both on my layout and find both to be reliable. I have five no.6's and one no. 4 on the original layout; I just added a sixth leading off to some hidden staging on my expansion. The staging yard has two no. 4's, and regularly handle larger locos.

On previous layouts, I used Atlas Code 80, and while most cars tracked fine, I noticed that almost every smaller loco I had seemed to not like running over the frogs on the switches. Since making the leap to Unitrack, I have only had smooth running.

[Kisatchie]

Thanks for your reply! It was very helpful.


Hmm... be very helpful,
Kiz, and get me a banana...

[jagged ben]

It should be noted that all turnouts ought to work fine with DCC.   The only difference between using DCC and analog is that with DCC very momentary, small shorts between wheels and rail are likely  stop your train for a second while the decoder shuts down and resets itself.   With analog, by contrast, any train with a bit of momentum will just roll through and then start powering

A lot of air has been blown around about turnouts where the points may be opposite polarity of the stock rail.  The Kato no.6 is one of these.   These are supposedly 'not DCC-Friendly', because if the back of a metal wheel touches the point then you get a short.   The thing is, that's true in analog and DCC, and if you are getting shorts that means something (probably wheelsets) is out of gauge and you should fix that, rather than call the turnout names and destroying design features that are not related.   If everything is properly in gauge, you don't have a problem anyway.    If everything is not in gauge, you might not find it as noticeable in analog, at first, until the oxidation from all those shorts starts to build up and create other problems, or you have derailments on other parts of the layout because your wheels are not in gauge.. 

I can't comment from experience on how reliable the Kato no. 6 are at staying in gauge and not having problems with shorts.   But you have one testimony above that they are just fine. 

[peteski]

A big +1 on this.
Somehow this DCC friendliness thing got totally out of hand.

[powersteamguy1790]

I read somewhere that Kato Unitrack #6 turnouts can be used with DCC without modifications. Is that true? If not, what needs to be done with them? If it matters, I plan on switching them manually if I go that route.

Thanks for any help.


Hmm... I don't know
nuthin' about DCC...

Kis:

Unitrack #6 switches work extremely well with DCC. No modifications are necessary. Unitrack #4 switches also work well with DCC, but they require certain modifications (points have to be adjusted). John Sing did extensive work on this and you should look at his tutorial.

http://www.pbase.com/atsf_arizona/kato_4_turnout_tuning&page=all

Have fun with it.....

[carlso]

Kiz,

Get that poor guy a banana or two.

I am, by no means, an expert regarding model railroading after all I have only been playing with trains for 70 years.
But I can tell you from first hand experience that Unitrack #6 switches operate without any problems with DCC. If you have watched any of Mike Fifer's updates of the Southern New Mexico N Scaler's layout in Las Cruces you can see how smooth the Unitrack and # 6 switches are. We have 64 #6 turnouts and 6 double crossovers currently on the layout. We banned the use of #4 turnouts from the get go because a couple of use knew they were not very reliable. The #6's have been in use 5 years now and we have never had a gauge problem or actually any other problem with them. Our only negative about the Unitrack is that the rails shine like a bright light but we could fix that by painting and ballasting the track. Maybe someday.

One word of caution, somebody above mentioned this : do not let a locomotive or its tender or any rolling stock with metal wheels sit any length of time on the switch as it can and will melt something on the piece.

Carl

[peteski]

One word of caution, somebody above mentioned this : do not let a locomotive or its tender or any rolling stock with metal wheels sit any length of time on the switch as it can and will melt something on the piece.

Carl

That should not be an issue on a properly functioning turnout and with all the loco's wheels properly sitting on the track (not derailed). Melting will only occur if there is an excessive current passing through whatever piece of metal (conductor) gets hot.  Under normal conditions the model sitting on a turnout's track should not be consuming any more current than when it sits on a piece of plain track.

[Mike C]

 Use the #6 turnouts exclusively on my layout with DCC and have never had a problem . Except when I try to run through a closed switch  ...... As far as letting a loco sit on a switch , I've never seen any problems there either .

[carlso]

OK guys, you are correct. I should have said do not let a derailed truck sit on a switch as it will very likely touch two rails and cause a short. I have seen that happen several times on N Trak modules as well as permanent layouts especially if you are turning to the diverging route or vise versa. You best kill the power ASAP or remove the car from the switch. So yes, I did not state my thought that well.

Carl