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  1. J

    Life Like Passenger Cars, are they any good?

    Thanks all, Yeah, I bought em for $25 bucks. Surely, I'll replace the couplers and maybey upgrade the trucks if necessary. Thanks for the info! JT
  2. J

    Life Like Passenger Cars, are they any good?

    I am interested in a set of 4 HO scale "Life Like" PRR Passenger cars I found for sale on ebay. I believe they are "Life Like", not to be confused with Proto 2000 Life Like -which confuses me, cause I dont know the difference. Any way, its a set of 4 passenger cars "Clestial Roof" for...
  3. J

    BUS LINES -How many needed, please help

    Line Loss. -Well a booster should solve that right? Figure put a booster in at 45 feet of Bus?
  4. J

    BUS LINES -How many needed, please help

    Why 3 Wraps per Foot NCE in their manual recommended 3 wraps per foot on the bus, where the BUS is over 30 feet long. My BUS is nearly 90 feet long from where the DCC system connects, to the 'end of the line'. 90 feet. And as It would be impossible to go back down their and twist everything...
  5. J

    BUS LINES -How many needed, please help

    My question is this: On one leg of my layout, nearly 20 feet long and consists of 6-8 lanes of parallel track (4 lanes of track account for 2 main lines -north and south bound each, and the other lanes for passing lanes and spurs) I run 12 gauge BUS which I twist 3 times per foot and use 18...
  6. J

    POLL: Control Turnouts w/ Toggle Switch Panel or Via DCC Macros

    Wow... I checked the mini-panel out. THAT is cool. I already have NCE Switch-8's wired to my Tortoise machines and I already have access to my turnouts via DCC CAB but that Mini-panel will make it much easier to design an actual panel interface. I have an idea of how this mini panel works...
  7. J

    POLL: Control Turnouts w/ Toggle Switch Panel or Via DCC Macros

    Im wiring my turnouts right now and have a high end NCE DCC system -NCE Power Pro. I have turnouts working just fine through my CAB with Macros to link them together in Routes, but Im wondering if I ought to build an old fashioned Toggle Switch Panel. How do you guys feel about Running a RR...
  8. J

    Choosing a DCC Starter Set for Large Basement Layout

    I'll be there soon, my layout is well underway. But I still have the third section to build entirely. I mean I havent even built the bench work for the third section yet. My first section is 'complete' that is track is down, major wiring completed... Im adding automated turnouts there now...
  9. J

    Choosing a DCC Starter Set for Large Basement Layout

    Ack! Listen, I am a programmer in real life -Java, C++, internet...etc... When they refer to DCC and "programming", its nothing like "Real" programing. In DCC you are merely going through a menu system and editing CV (Configuration Values)... there is nothing to fear. Each system has a...
  10. J

    Powering Tortoise Switch Machines & Accessory decoders for automation

    NCE manual says that their accessory decoders can be powered from the rails, the DCC Bus or a separate power supply. I guess its a mathmatical function of my 5 amp DCC system vs the # of trains Im running and the # of turnouts with machines and decoders. For estimates I'd have 5 amps running...
  11. J

    Powering Tortoise Switch Machines & Accessory decoders for automation

    Hi all, My question is about powering Switch Machines and decoders. Whether its better to run them off the DCC Bus, or create a separate Accessory Bus & how to best go about that. Here are the details of my layout: I just set up my first DCC system (NCE Power Pro 5 amp) it is currently...
  12. J

    Choosing a DCC Starter Set for Large Basement Layout

    Thanks all for the advice and wisdom. After long consideration and painful back and forth between Digitrax and NCE I decided to Pony up the $$ and get the NCE Power Pro 5 amp Wireless System. Here is why: While Digitrax Super Empire builder offered a 5 amp system and the cheapest price...
  13. J

    Choosing a DCC Starter Set for Large Basement Layout

    SO the Zephr Xtra is programmable? F0-F28? I mean, what can it do exactly? Im really close to ordering one cause for $175 it looks like a lot of DCC for starting out.
  14. J

    Choosing a DCC Starter Set for Large Basement Layout

    Hi All, I have a large basement layout with about 150' of track. It wraps around the walls of a 24' x 18' room. I've already laid about 75 feet of track and have my busses and feeders in and running DC. Its time to add DCC before I go any further. Ive heard of people using the Digitrac...
  15. J

    ATLAS Custom Line MK IV Turnouts, Insulated Frogs & Atlas Snap Relay w/ DCC

    Well, the underlying cause for the stall at the frog on this particular atlas turnout was because of the grade. I significantly lowered the grade and the problem has retreated about 90%. Im leaving well enough alone for now, as I am about to go DCC and will install that system first. Then I...
  16. J

    12 Function vs 22 Function DCC System

    My local hobby shop told me that if I bought the "old" Digitrax Super Empire Builder DCC system that wasnt full duplex that I'd be getting a system with only 12 functions per locomotive vs 22 functions on the "Full Duplex" system. The "Full Duplex" Super Empire Builder is like $150-$200...
  17. J

    ATLAS Custom Line MK IV Turnouts, Insulated Frogs & Atlas Snap Relay w/ DCC

    TURNOUT POLARITY SWITCHES & DCC: I've been using ATLAS Custom Line MK IV Turnouts on my layout and encountered a "dead current" problem at a Atlas MKIV Turnout w/ insulated Frog at a 3% grade. My locomotives started stalling at the insulated frog. I quickly realized that there is no...
  18. J

    Reverse Loops, Polarity Conflicts & DCC

    well I already took it out and I think its actually improved the layout. There is a big yard (multiple passing lanes built off of main #1 at the top of the diagram) and all that was "caught" in the loop. As you can imagine, a yard is a heavy traffic area and given that others have told me that...
  19. J

    Reverse Loops, Polarity Conflicts & DCC

    Thanks everybody for such great answers and clear logic. Regarding the independent direction of Locomotives in DCC -thats what I thought initially until some idiot at my LHS told me otherwise. Anycase, I see now that it is possible to incorporate a reversing section into the design as you all...
  20. J

    Reverse Loops, Polarity Conflicts & DCC

    Its becoming clear to me that the "looping" section in my sketch is HUGE. All the track in between the insulated joiners would have reverse polarity, therefore in a loop including that much of the rail road you gotta figure there are other trains heading in independent directions. Any of them...




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