Idaho Belt Freelanced plan

[basementcalling]

Works for me !  I'm newer to DCC as well, but know enough to get in trouble.  As far as programming etc, do yourself a favor and get a PR3 and download JMRI.  I also know enough to get in trouble with that as well (like programming 25 locos to same address by mistake  ) .  What you or I don't know, there are plenty on here to ask questions to.  I can thank @Ed Kapuscinski  for the jump to JMRI.  Very happy with the move though.

So we both pick a weekend, and go torture Ed? Sounds like a plan.

[GaryHinshaw]

Electricity has always scared the crap out of me since a bad encounter as a little kid with exposed lamp cord plugs when I was 3 or 4. One of my earliest memories is getting a shock from pushing my Matchbox car along the wall and the metal car contacting the prongs. I still unplug lamps before changing bulbs in lights.

On safety: remember that once you are on the track side of the power supply, you are only dealing with ~15 volts, so nothing can go too far wrong with regards to personal injury.  But you do have to be wary of situations where a short can persist long enough to heat up something to the melting point.  5 amps running through a thin conductor can get hot, but the built-in circuit breaker in the command station and booster (and OG-CB card) shouldn't let that persist very long.

I'm thinking I need two yard power districts and one for the branch. The main can be one, but the paper mill town should probably be a separate district so a short in the complex trackwork doesn't close down the entire main.

That sounds like a decent plan, though you might want to divide the main up a bit more so you don't have to hunt down a short on that long run you have.

I am assuming the OG cards cannot daisy chain in series or each subsequent power district would be a subdivision of the prior one, and a short anywhere along the chain would impact everything after the district with the short?

So should the main bus run from command station to OG, and then the outgoing wires from the card to a terminal strip or something that can run multiple feeders to each piece of rail? Or can the OG output run under the layout like the main bus with feeders running off through suitcase connectors to track?

Yes, you should always run them in parallel, like this:



With regard to wire gauge, the OG-CB cards can only take 18 gauge or smaller wire.  I have mine set up in a bank between two terminal strips, like this (not quite finished yet):



The (short) wires from the command station and booster to the first terminal strip, the breakers, and the second terminal strip are all 18 gauge, then I bump them up to 12 gauge for the long bus runs.  I tap 20 or 22 gauge feeders off the bus as needed (for each section of track).

HTH,
-gfh

[Cajonpassfan]

Peter, very nice mill complex, should be so fun to switch, especially with DCC
And, you're not the only one following Gary's DCC 101, I am too, because I'm having a helluva short issue I can't seem to track. Worked at one point, but now (last year or so) it doesn't. Drives me absolutely nuts

Gary, your schematic implies that power districts need to be double gapped; do I read that correctly? Mine are not (only ones adjacent to reversing section/districts). Most work that way fine, but one does not; perhaps double gapping is the next thing, of many, to try? Thoughts?
Otto K.

[superchief]

Otto, power districts should always be double gapped, but even then after two years I found a wire running up the inside of the helix that was tying the upper and lower districts together. It was still running and then shorted and took about two weeks to find this, and have not had that problem again. and do not ask me how it ran for two years before shorting out!!!!! Good luck, Gordon

[GaryHinshaw]

Hey, you guys are supposed to be encouraging Peter, not scaring him! 

BTW Otto, as Gordon notes, you do want to double gap the districts as a rule.  To see why, imagine that you had some or all of the red wires connected at the far (right) end of the above diagram (this would effectively correspond to single gapping).  If you had a short in district #1, you could have a current rush in the red wire of another district (#2 say) if #2's red wire was shorter than #1's, since that would provide a lower resistance path back to the command station.   This would cause OG-CB #2 to trip, and confuse the layout owner...

[Santa Fe Guy]

Hi Otto, yep double gaped always when creating blocks (districts). When I cut gaps in the rail I insert a small piece of styrene into the gap and add super glue then file it to the rail shape once dry. Seems to help stop any expansion of the rail that can cause nasty shorts. Looks better too. So glad DCC is only 2 wires ha ha.
Rod.

[Cajonpassfan]

Well guys, this layout owner is confused, because the NCE directions note that common rail OR home (double gapping) will work (except on reversing sections of course; see below). And it worked fine for several years.
I'm off tomorrow so I will experiment to see if double gapping solves that problem...
Thanks for your feedback.
Otto K.

[glakedylan]

I thought, by the research I have done, that
digitrax and "OG-CB" cards are not compatible
that a digitrax system requires a PSX(1-4)?

is that just a company's way of attracting business for Digitrax
or is it a reality that the "OG-CB" cards are not compatible
with digitrax systems?

I would certainly like to know!

appreciation--
Gary

[basementcalling]

Making the mill look even better.



If only they were 60 footers.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[bdennis]

I thought, by the research I have done, that
digitrax and "OG-CB" cards are not compatible
that a digitrax system requires a PSX(1-4)?
appreciation--
Gary

Gary,
I know a number of layouts that are using OG-CB on Digitrax layouts near me. I have never had an issue.

There can be an issue with OG-AR (Auto reverser) when used with a Digitrax BDL-168.. But that can be fixed easily..

So no issues here..

Regards
Brendan

[GaryHinshaw]

I took delivery of a few new FBOX's myself last week.  Definitely a sharp car, but TBOX's are sorely needed.

Well guys, this layout owner is confused, because the NCE directions note that common rail OR home (double gapping) will work (except on reversing sections of course; see below). And it worked fine for several years.

Otto, could you describe or sketch the setup that is giving you problems?  (Maybe in another thread.)

[Cajonpassfan]

I took delivery of a few new FBOX's myself last week.  Definitely a sharp car, but TBOX's are sorely needed.

Otto, could you describe or sketch the setup that is giving you problems?  (Maybe in another thread.)

Thanks Gary, I will, if I can't hunt the sucker down today...
Otto

[Ed Kapuscinski]

So we both pick a weekend, and go torture Ed? Sounds like a plan.

I agree.

[Cajonpassfan]

Thanks Gary, I will, if I can't hunt the sucker down today...
Otto

Okay, I got the sonavabitch..
.see The short from Hell in DCC...
Otto

[basementcalling]

Okay, I got the sonavabitch..
.see The short from Hell in DCC...
Otto

OK, the Tool Man can keep those little connector thingies. Glad I waited to buy until turnout motors were closer to essential.

I needed a change of scenery on the IBRR, as all paper mill all the time can test the fiber of your being. I came into possession of a wide screen smart TV box last holiday season, and knew better than to throw it away. The box that is. I chopped it into nice strips on the paper cutter at work - tis where teachers work biceps. I finally put some to use in a fill and cut scene just before my big river crossing.

Here's a distance show from the end of the center aisle just for Gary, because he says I never shoot them.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

For this closer in shot I added a stealth hopper for scale. The curve has a 20 inch radius with larger than needed easements.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

And here is a shot from the other side of the river looking back at the cut and fill. Originally this was going to be a mine or gravel operation scene, but I like this much better already.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

And a shot of the fill from fascia edge to bottom edge of overhead cabinet storage. The plan here is to use LED strip lights in this aisle to illuminate the railroad. The scene is 18 to 24 inches tall. Not bad for a double decked layout, though there is actually only 1 level of track through this section.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Camilla sighting. She is getting frisky.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

I need to get the basic landforms in here just to cut her access to the table top.