DCC - Electrical
DCC in a Dummy?
Probably an odd question, but here goes...
I have a staging yard that is three tracks; no way to turn around locos. Also, my layout (urban, industrial) has no wye or turntable. My loco for the train to and from the staging yard is an F-7 (Intermountain, sound, Milwaukee).
dcc sound volume
I recently learned from my "sound vs no sound" post that you can mute the sound on locomotives, but can a guy control the volume of the sound, and or have sound for the horn and bell only?? The volume on my Bachman blasts over the volume on my Athearn, and I have not yet ventured into higher end DCC with sound locomotives until the new proposed railroad budget gets passed by the war department...aka my wife..
DCC Question
Having made a switch from HO to N scale I have 2 choices of control. First off I have 5 locos picked up over the last 20 yrs. Kato 2-8-2, Life Like S1 or S2 Both date from the late 90's. Kato U30 about the same age, Mantua 2-8-2 fairly new I believe, and an Atlas SD7? age unknown.
They all run ok on a Tech 2 power supply.
I also have a 20+ yr old Digitrax system that seems to keep on working also. Can I use the Digitrax with these locos without killing the motors or is the Tech 2 a better choice?
"DCC ON" or "POWER ON" sign
So, looking to the wisdom of the masses here for suggestions.... I want to have a visible indication (outside the train room) of when my DCC system is on. Something plugged in to the power strip that my DCC is plugged into, so I was thinking 120 volts, although a 12 volt light powered by a wall wart plugged into the power strip would work.
I searched on line for a "Power On" sign, but didn't find anything. Think of signs like "On Air" or similar, like you'd see at a recording studio.
Windows Update and a TCS DCC Install
Got home from work yesterday to find my new TCS WowSound Diesel Kit and Intermountain F7B had arrived. Yay. At the same time I started to drop the decoder into the F7, I started up my gaming computer (8 GB RAM, internet at 30 MB/s), forgetting Windows had scheduled an update.
I open the shell, start up the soldering iron, and locate all of my tools for an install. 5% complete.
I can't help but think of racing this update. 6% complete.
Wiring Continues
Wiring continues on my layout, albeit slow paced. I realized I needed some hookup wire and a few other odds and sods to get the job done. Then spring arrived and I have been outside enjoying the good weather. I did get facia on and my MRC prodigy advanced2 hooked in. Just about to tackle the final hook ups on the turn table. I do wire in toggles so I can shut power off to the tracks.
Time to get back to work before the day gets too nice and I head outdoors.
Tinned Copper vs. Copper wire for DCC.
OK, I'm not going to ask which to use for DCC stranded or solid, but a friend of mine gave me a bunch of stranded wire, both 14 and 22 gauge.
I noticed when I stripped the ends, the wire is tinned copper vs. copper.
Is it OK to use this type of wire for DCC ?
Thanks in advance.
Bill.
Show your train order signals!
Show your modeled train order signals!
I was interested in modeling a horizontal color light signal as seen below, possibly using a Tomar TO Signal as a starting point. Can you post your modeled TO signals, semaphore, light, or other? Also ideas for lighting, control, and fascia panels would be appreciated. I am looking for ideas and inspiration.
Running Trains with Smartphones as Controller you have Computer and command station.
This is using a NCE 5 Amp Power Pro System and a computer with JMRI installed. Next post down is using a Raspberry Pi computer and 5 amp command power pro station.
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