Maybe this will help

Here is Alan Gartner's piece of working with Kato turnouts & DCC:

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

I would consider his site to be my "first stop" for anything relating to wiring turnouts for DCC.

btw- your PDF is not coming up. Maybe you can try uploading without spaces in the name?

Chris

Thanks, I will take a look at

Thanks, I will take a look at Alan Gartner's skte.

Frank

Allan Gartner's site and DCC newbies

 I don't routinely recommend Allan Gartner's site to DCC newcomers, since his site is so loaded with content and wiring considerations for every conceivable situation that it just makes a DCC newcomer's eyes cross.

Once you understand the basics of wiring and of DCC, THEN Allan's site is good to peruse for a deeper understanding. But a beginner's site IT IS NOT.

Eventually, I hope to address common DCC questions in the pages of MRH, but until we get to that point, your very best bet is to get these two Kalmbach books:

This book will teach you the basics of wiring your track for DC or DCC.

The best thing about this book is it's loaded with many step-by-step pictures and diagrams - making the concepts you need to grasp about as clear as it gets.

This book, with postage, will cost you less than $15 on Amazon. It's worth every penny.

I know Rick (he's operated on my Siskiyou Line a few times) and he's a great writer. Rick used to conduct the Student Fare column in MR back in the 70s and 80s.

By the way, Rick's currently working for Microsoft as the head of the new Microsoft Train Simulator II project - you can catch the interview we did with Rick this past July in the MRH Theater section under the 2008 National Train Show. 

Anyhow, back to DCC and wiring - long story short, DCC needs the same gapping of the track that DC needs. Some have asked why that is since DCC is essentially a square wave AC signal on the tracks, not DC.

True enough, but with AC signals, PHASE matters, and if the AC signal is out of phase, that's a short in AC - it works the same and it's just as bad.

Once you get a solid understanding of basic wiring under your belt, one of the best DCC books out there is this one from Kalmbach:

This is an excellent book for newcomers to DCC because Lionel presents the concepts clearly and simply, with lots of great pictures and diagrams.

You can find this book on Amazon for less than $15 with shipping. If you buy both books listed here on Amazon at the same time you can save money and consolidate the shipping.

I don't know of any place (yet) on the internet that has this level of great how-to info for beginners. I hope to rectify that over time with MRH articles.

And obviously, since MRH is free, all the better!

I will have to pick up a copy

I will have to pick up a copy of the Basic wiring and read through it.

I did go out to Alan Gartners site and there is a LOT of information, but I felt like my head was going to explode.

I saw the DVD you offer on DCC and electrical, I think I will pick that up after I learn more about the basic wiring.

Thanks for your help!!

By the way I purchased the DVD of the Clinics at the Anaheim convention and I especially like yours and Mark Gurries presentations

Thanks

Frank

No head injuries please!

No head injuries please! I apologize if my direction was a little over the top for a beginner. His site can be a bit overwhelming. There are sections there that provide more basic introductions. I linked directly in to the section regarding your turnouts which may not have been wise. I have a background in electronics which makes it a little easier for me. I am sure that Joe's book recommendations will be a better start.

Once you are more comfortable with wiring I do still recommend checking out Gartner's section on wiring specific turnouts. A lot of the stuff will make a lot more sense then. In some regards, his website is more a colleciton of best practices then a structured tutorial.

The only book I have on DCC is the NMRA publication "DCC Digital Command Control - The Complete Guide!". It is really good about discussing the theory of NMRA DCC specifications but the rest of the info is out of date and I can no longer recommend it.

Chris

+

I was reading thru the Alan Gartner web site ' Wiring for DCC '. They have some info regarding KATO nscale #6 turnouts.   I hope that the info is dated and does not apply anymore because they had wiring diagrams under the turnout that were wrong,  non DCC friendly #6 turnouts and  dead frog rails.   

Read the books recommended but go back to the 'Wiring for DCC ' site to double check your turnout configuration and wiring.  Get an OHM meter also if you don't have one.

Marc F

Kato has changed

Kato has changed a bit.. I saw a discussion of it on another N board. I have used Peco myself, so would not know the difference. His directions for updating the Peco code 55 turnouts is spot-on. I apologize if I gave bad direction.

Chris

I ordered a copy of the Basic

I ordered a copy of the Basic Wiring book and hope to have it in the next couple of days. I will be reading that to get some basics down and take a look at the help offered here.

I already have the DCC book by Lionel Strang, so I will be taking a look at that too.  Winter is almost here, so I have plenty of time to read and work things out.

Would rather take my time and do this part right.

Thanks again,

Frank

Yet another Newbie......

Still in the Dream phase of a garden RR and I thought that battery power was the way to go.  Now that I have seen some of the JMRI / DCC discussions...I may be crossing back over the bridge to track power... Hoping to get a few answers...

Will my AMD 1Ghz processor with 100mhz fsb & 2Gb memory be enough to run JMRI?

Is JRMI & DCC stickly a track power application? Can I consider battery power?

Anyone out there that wants to give me a Garden RR? (deosn't hurt to ask!)

Kevin

JMRI/DCC and track power

Kevin,

Your old computer should be plenty powerful enough to run JMRI, both for DecoderPro and as a full CTC panel application.

DCC is typically a track only system.  However, with some slight modifications to a DCC decoder you could power it off a battery and use only the DCC on the track for signal.  You could also use the DCC track power to recharge the battery as well.  If you follow any of the KAC discussions on the yahoo boards for soundtraxx or QSI you will see people adding to the capacitance.  It should be simple enough to replace the Caps with a 12V battery power supply instead.  I have no experience with any of this, just that it should be theoretically possible to do so without too much difficulty.

-

S