DS64 Issue

[dclyde]

I'm having a very strange issue that requires some explaination.  Please be patient with the explaination...

I have a white line that is currently powered by an old train power pack.  I did this only to have some sort of 12vdc power source but nothing is actually connected to the white line.

I have a brown line that is powered by a Digitrax PS515 12vac.

I have a layout with 8 DS64s installed.  Early on, I had some issue with the switches receiving commands from the throttles with the DS64s connected via TrkA/TrkB and posted the issue here on The Railwire.  A suggestion was made to use the brown line to power the DS64s as the commands were sent/received from the loconet.  I did this and everything worked great.  Recently, I added more DS64s for a total of 11.  While programming the last one, I noticed that the entire brown line would shut down for 30 or so seconds and then come back on.  This cycle repeated endlessly.  I then decided that it had to be a power problem but thought that the PS515 should be adaquate to power all he DS64s.  So, I started troubleshooting the source.  I happened to notice that the white line power supply appeared to be the culprit and found that the brown line and the white line had been reversed which means that the DS64s trackA and trackB had previously been powered by 12vdc and not 12vac as I had thought.  I corrected this but now I have the same problem that I had a while ago where the DS64s are unresponsive the throttle commands.

I reconnected the 12vdc to the DS64s and they appreared to function as desired until the cutout cycle starts.  Obviously, I have overrun the output of the powerpack.

I was under the impression that you should not power the DS64s via TrkA/TrkB using 12vdc.  If so, why is does this appear to work?

Do I have any alteratives to connect the DS64s properly and actually have them work.  As of now, using 12vac, the units power up but will not accept any throttle commands.  I have the same problem when I connect the trkA/trkB to trkA/Trkb.

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Dave

[Iain]

That little throttle probably is not putting out enough amps and you are overloading it, the reason for the thirty second power losses.  It's time to upgrade to a dedicated power supply with enough amperage to get the job done.

[mmyers]

Dave,
There are three ways to connect auxiliary power to a DS64.
You can connect AC or DC to the TRACK A and TRACK B terminals.
You can connect AC or DC to the 2.1mm Coax jack.
You can connect DC only to the AUX A and AUX B terminals.

DS64 actually uses DC for all of its internal needs. The TRACK A and B terminals and the Coax jack are connected to an internal bridge rectifier so AC can be used. It will be rectified to DC. If DC is connected to those terminals. DC will pass through with a voltage drop across the rectifier. You can connect a simple AC power source or actual DCC track power to the Track A and B terminals. It's been found that DS64's function better when not connected to DCC track power.

AUX A and B terminals are not connected to the bridge rectifier. DC is the only acceptable choice when using these terminals. Make sure you didn't connect the brown line to the AuxA and B terminals by mistake. 

Your PS515 should have enough power to handle all of your DS64's now and in the future. Just don't throw every turnout at the same time. You could skip the Track A and B terminals and connect the brown line to the coax  jack.  Baynesville Electronics stocks 2.1mm male plugs. (To the left of the entrance door in the carousel.)

Also make sure that Option switches 10 and 14 are Thrown.

Martin

[dclyde]

Martin,

Thanks for the help....I'm off to Bainesville today.  I would like to try 12vac to the coax.

Dave

[dclyde]

An update:

1)  I went to MBK and purchased a PS2012 which has 12vdc as its output.  I did not use the 'Y' cord as it apparently has a 5amp curcuit delimiter on it and I have an 8amp SuperChief.
2)  I connected one connection to the command station and the other to the white line.
3)  I connected all DS64s to the white line with the connections to the DS64s via TrkA/TrkB.
4)  I reprogrammed all the DS64s to factory reset (opsw 7=c) followed by opsw10=t, opsw14=t.  I gave each DS64 a unique UnitId and, of course, programmed the individual switches.
5)  I reconfigured the loconet as I had previously used the side port thinking that it was a loconet socket rather than a throttle socket.

The result of all this is that everything seems to be working fine now.  Of course, the true test will be when I power everything up tomorrow.  Hopefully the settings will stick.

One thing that I did notice that I thought was rather odd was, with the PS2012 connected and everything turned on, the amp meter indicated about 5amps worth of load.  Once the DS64s were reprogrammed, the amp meter droped to about 1.5amps.

I'll let you all know how it goes at the next powerup.

Dave

[mmyers]

One thing that I did notice that I thought was rather odd was, with the PS2012 connected and everything turned on, the amp meter indicated about 5amps worth of load.  Once the DS64s were reprogrammed, the amp meter droped to about 1.5amps.

Default for DS64 is to operate twin coil switch machines. Each DS64 has  Capacitor discharge unit built in. That was probably the caps charging. If you reprogrammed for Tortii, the CD unit should be bypassed.

I got my fingers crossed for you.

Martin

[dclyde]

Man has this been an expensive week for us.

I finally got everything set up, programmed and functioning....except for one issue that I encountered.

When I plugged in the DT400, I got nothing....blank screen on the DT400.  I tried plugging into a UR91 that has a wall wort.  The DT400s screen lit up but did not get to the main screen.  I then disconnected everything from the command station except the power connections and plugged the DT400 directly into the command station and still nothing.

I then did a search on the Digitrax Yahoo Group and found that others have had the same problem and replacing the internal battery took care of it.  So, I took out the old battery and let it sit for 8 hours to reset the command station.  Put a brand new battery in and had the same results.

I then went to MBK and purchased another SuperChief starter set and replaced the command station with the new one.  That worked fine.  I did find that without track power on, the loconet was only putting out 5.3 volts.  Obviously, not enough to hande a throttle also.  It appears that I have over run the loconet's ability to power it.

I then went to Bainsville and bought a coupld of the 2.1mm connecters per your suggestion and wired up one of the UP5s.  This provided 11.1 volts to the throttle.

So now it appears that I have to send the old DCS200 to Digitrax for repair (per Digitrax) and make another trip to Bainsville to buy 30 more of the connectors.

Yep, a very expensive week.

Dave

[John]

Wow .. Dave .. I think I would have waited for the round trip from Georgia before buying a new DCS ...

[dclyde]

Purchasing a new SuperChief will provide me to three additional options:

1)  I can now take my time sending the old unit to Digitrax.
2)  Once repaired, it will become a much needed booster.  As such, it will also become a backup command station should I ever have to send either in for repairs again.
3)  The DT400 and the UP5 are a bonus and can be used anywhere.

There is a method to my madness.

[John]

LOL .. true .. and you have a spouse into trains also

[dclyde]

Yep, I definately one very lucky man thanks to Denise.

[dclyde]

As an update for those who may be interested...

I soldiered 30 male power connectors and began systematically installing them from all the UPxxs and DS64s to the white line (12vdc) via the wall wort connector.  Interestingly enough, I continued to check the voltage on the loconet as I moved around the layout.  I started with 5.3volts before any of the devices were converted.  As I moved around the layout, I could  see the voltage increase on the loconet.  When I finished the last device, the voltage was at 9.1volts.  After the conversion, each device indicated 11.8volts.

That seems to me to be quite a voltage difference:  5.3volts to 9.1volts.

I would have never believed it but, this dog and pony show made a world of difference.

As a sidebar, I was previously having some issues with our throttles in that they would occasionaly spontaneously reset themselves.  This issue my also be corrected now as none of the throttles have reset since I changed the power structure of the loconet devices.

Food for thought...

Dave

[Ed Kapuscinski]

So, what IS the digitrax failure rate?

It seems pretty high.

[John]

So, what IS the digitrax failure rate?

It seems pretty high.

I don't know .. I have had mine for about 7 years, with nary a problem ..

[mmyers]

I've had mine since 1996. Still ticking. Did send it in once for an upgrade but it wernt broke.

I think you hear more often about problems because they sell more Digitrax.
Most people don't line up to "not complain"

Martin