Allen

Allen,

in it's simplist form, DCC only needs two wires from the control to the tracks.

If you want to run two blocks for a purpose (such as shorts) you'll need something (like a circuit breaker) in between the control and each block.

Feeders are optional, not required. Some folks put them every 3 feet, or some other arbitrary figure. I added on to each piece of rail so I didn't have to concern myself with track joints getting loose and loosing connectivity.

Each feeder would go back to a bus line for that block, that would than go back to to a circuit breaker or another similar device, and than they would feed back to the control/power unit.

Turnouts depend on the turnout you're using. The ultimate, safest goal seems to be isolating the frog at the very least, and if short wheel base locos are to be used, powering the frog with a switch controlled by whatever is throwing the turnout.

That's the simple answer, I'm sure more elaborate and accurate descriptions will be forthcoming.

Wiring for DCC

Allen-

I think Scarpia sums of the wiring of blocks pretty well, but for your turnouts I would point you to what I think is generally regarded as the gold standard of websites on DCC wiring.  Take a look at this resource as it's been very well put together and has a wealth of infomraiton that will help you:

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/switches.htm

Wow...this DCC stuff may be

Wow...this DCC stuff may be over my head. Also the website mentioned above states: "The whole reason for DCC is to allow multiple locos to operate independently on the same track, without having to divide up the layout into complicated electrical control blocks." I'm only going to run one loco at a time but would like to "park" others on the track to sit idle. I thought I read somewhere every 6 feet or so you should have power to...maybe I'm confusing this with "blocks". I'm pretty sure my Atlas #4 turnouts don't need any modification. I'm questioning why I really need DCC at this point. My head hurts!

lets see

That quote is correct - you can do exactly what you want with DCC, without using blocks.  Each loco that has a DCC decoder is called up by it's number, otherwise it just sits and waits for the call to service. Even when electricity is coursing under it's wheels.

To park locomotives in DC, you'd need for each one to be on a seperate, electrical switch controlled piece of  track (a block).

There are as many thoughts on feeders, as there are model railroaders, I'd bet. 6 feet, three feet, 6 inches, it all depends on the person and the situation.

What you can do in the simpliest method, is just attach the two wires to the track from the DCC unit. Than, as you come across "dead spots" (say a siding), you can always drop a feeder as needed.

I'm not familiar with the Atlas turnouts - if they're power routing, than you might be ok, but don't take my word for it.

In the end, you don't need DCC. Than again, you really don't need a layout either. To me, the whole hobby is about wants, not needs.

Allen, I don't recommend ...

Allen, I don't recommend the wiring for DCC site because it's too detailed and most of that information isn't needed by beginners.

So just forget that site for now.

Better is to get Kalmbach's DCC Made Easy book ... it will be the best $10 you ever spent.

(getting on soapbox)

Guys, many times I've seen some beginner come on a forum and ask for DCC assistance and someone almost always points them to the Wiring for DCC web site. BAD MOVE. The Wiring for DCC site is NOT a beginner's site and the response will often be what we saw here - MAN, THIS DCC STUFF LOOKS COMPLICATED, MAYBE IT'S NOT FOR ME.

If that's the impression we're leaving, we've totally misrepresented DCC. So please STOP recommending the Wiring for DCC site to beginners. It's NOT a DCC beginners web site.

(getting off soapbox)

Need to study up!

I would like to add my assistance as well to Allen. I have followed his posts recently and there are a ton of questions, most of which will not get properly answerd through a forum unless you have done some "homework" first and have some background knowledge in the subject. Now I do not mean to scare you off with the term homework, but studying and reading some basic books can be very fun and rewarding, especially in a subject you love. Another good book is Easy Model Railroad Wiring by Kalmbach. It details very basic electrical fundamentals in railroading, talks about power sources, blocks, turnouts, etc in a very understandable format. It even explains DCC.  As such, and I may start a riot here, but maybe starting in DC is not such a bad thing. When Allen is ready for DCC, which will be soon, his layout will have all the blocks wired and ready for the extra power leads. I am speaking from experience when I converted, the layout was wired proprely for block control so addding the DCC WAS TRULY as simple as adding 2 wires. And most commercial turnouts, especially Atlas,  do have dead frogs, so this is not an issue.

So Allen, take some time to read these two books before you dive into the layout. You can then decide which way is best to go for you. In the mean time you can always have a small section built to run and switch a few cars.  Good luck!

Steve 

Allen, I don't know if you are like me or not,

but I can tell you that for me, I like reference books, but I don't sit down to study them before starting.  I try to read through them first, but sometimes trying to tremember what I just read before going on is difficult.  If I'm doing something new, I prefer to have the book open to reference while working.

Now to get back to your original questions.

Your blocks are for electrical trouble shooting in the event of a short circuit.  If you have a short, you can shut down one block and leave the other one "hot."  If the short goes away, you know it is in the block that you shut down, or if you have a light wired in to tell you which block has shorted, you know where to look for the short.  In dcc the blocks have nothing to do with train running.  They are not turned off when the train is out of the block, like they are in dc.  In dcc everything is live all of the time with constant full dc voltage to all tracks at the same time.  The decoder is the throttle connection to the locomotive, and it does not transfer power to the locomotive until it is addressed from the throttle.

How many drops or how close do you want them?  That is up to you.  In the modular club that I belong to, our standards require that rail joiners are for mechanical connections only, not for electrical connections.  Every single peice of track on every module is required to have its own electrical drop.  That may be overkill, but we never have electrical problems when modules are built to the correct standards.  Where we have problems are in the joiner tracks between modules.  We have to use the rail joiners to transfer power from one module to the next one.  Loose or dirty rail joiners, mean that the joiner tracks may go dead.  If you put a drop in every 6 feet, you will have at least one, and maybe more electrical connections that are relying on power being carried through rail joiners.  I think that sooner or later you will have power failures due to loose or dirty rail joiners.  It is much easier to put a drop on every rail while building the layout  than to go back to put them in after the rails are down and the layout has full scenery.  By the way the modular club has been in existance since 1961, and the requirement for a drop for every rail on every piece of track was in existance before we went dcc a few years ago.  It may have been a practice from the beginning.

Hey thanks all. I stopped in

Hey thanks all. I stopped in our local hobby shop.."The Train Station" and they were extremely helpful and patient. I learned so much from them that I'm ready to tackle this job myself. My situation is really simple. It's my first layout and it doesn't have any reverse loops. I think in a few years I'll change things up after getting my feet wet with what I've got. It's small enough that I don't think I'll put in any blocks.

That brings me to one more question. IF somehow I get a short in the track in DCC, could I disconnect DCC, throw on a DC powerpack and locomotive and have it run around the track until it stopped showing where the short is or is this too simplisitc?

Allen

Small Short

Allen, on a smaller or uncomplicated layout with no reverse loops or any other special conditions, the only place you are likely to have a short is at a turnout in the frog area, or if a diesel derails, or you bridge both tracks with a nail, etc....

In the frog on commercial turnouts you need to be careful and I am sure the guys at your hobby shop can explain better. Locomotive wheels have a tendency to bridge the gap between the left and right track, or + and -right at the diverging end of the frog. The rails are so close together there that sometimes contact with both rails will be made. You may need to cut insulating gaps in the rails around the frog to totally isolate it.   I wish I had a quick picture to download to show the area. But I would not flip back and forth in case you get a short. You need to find out why and then correct the situation.  

Steve

Unless you are running very short wheelbase locomotives

you should just use insulated frog switches.  Small steam engines or very small diesels like a Plymouth switcher are the only locomotives that won't bridge a dead frog.

Sorry...

Sorry Allen, that won't work. If you have a short some place on the layout, it will still be a short on DC.

That said however, did you wire your layout for DC using blocks? If so, then hook up the DCC booster where the DC power pack was hooked up and turn off blocks until the short goes away. Now at least you'll know which block contained the short.

If you don't have blocks it's time to put on your thinking cap. If it was all running before, then what has changed? If you've recently added a turnout then that would be your prime suspect. If you did some track work, then look for a spike lodged in a turnout. Has any joker left a quarter laying on your track? Sometimes you can hear a brief 'buzz' when the booster tries to recover from the short and re-applies power. If you listen carefully you might be able to find it that way. If all else fails you'll need to start disconnecting pieces of track and/or feeders until the short goes away.

Sorry I don't have better news for you.

Regards,

Charlie