Track and electrical/DCC
wiring switching tracks
i am very new into this model train hobby - i bought a basic BACHMAN set - it had a typical oval but i bought 4 extra straight`s now i want to have a track in between so i bought 2 switch tracks [ i think that is what they are called ] one left and one right - have the curve track coming in the mail however i do not know how to wire up these tracks can some one H E L P !!
Adding keep alive to Atlas Gold HO HH660?
Has anyone done this who could give some advice? I have a factory sound "Gold" HH660 in MEC paint, and I have a "Silver" custom painted one in Portland Terminal with a Loksound decoder and keep alive that I scored on eBay. They are just night and day in terms of performance! The factory one is basically a dirty track detector. I do plan to improve the pickups as there seems to be a problem there somewhere, but the Loksound with keep alive will just merrily do it's thing flawlessly even on sidings that haven't been cleaned in months.
should i dump digitrax?
well i am having trouble just getting things shipped to me from a couple supplier's, and now wondering if digitrax is worth it.
as most of the threads focus on another brand of dcc controllers.
i read where digitrax "is now shipping" and that info is old, but my last order has been waiting for two months now, the first was canceled by a suppler. (after a two month wait) and all this is just for one item.
looks like digitrax does not care about there end users.
Loksound 5 question (mars light on AUX1)
Hi all
I was wondering about the following...
If i got an 8-pin Loksound5, if i am not mistaken AUX1 (green wire) is for installing an extra led (extra to the white cable meant for the headlight...).
On the ESU page (functions for sound-files for an EMD 576B prime mover, S0746 reference) it mentions that F5 key activates AUX3 (rotary beacon).
So i am wondering, if i wire an LED to AUX1 (green wire) can i somehow reprogram the decoder to have AUX1 activated as Mars Light by pressing F5? If yes how? ( I got a Z21 command station by the way...)
JMRI/Decoder Pro with Windows 7?
With the upcoming loss of support for Windows 7 I'm in the market for a new laptop. So I was wondering if anyone is successfully running the newest version of JMRI/Decoder Pro on a Windows 7/32 bit PC?
I've looked into upgrading my old laptop to Windows 10, but that looks like a lot of work. If I can run windows 7 for the layout without connecting it to the Internet that would be fine. I'll clean out everything but JMRI after I get the new laptop up and running.
Lou N
Led Lighting Placement options Genesis F7A units
Hi all,
I started up converting (and kitbashing) a few Genesis F units to DCC & Leds. The plan is to have an 8-pin socket for the decoder to be able to be on/off the locomotive if needed.
I hastily wired up one unit for testing (all good) using a basic motor only decoder and then i started wondering about best practices for dealing with LEDs resistors and associated placement inside an F7A as well as cable management.
Peco switches! Head is spinning!
I'm sure this has been discussed before but my head is spinning. I've read all of these posts on how to wire or install Peco electrofrog switches vs insulfrog switches. I see all of these special wiring diagrams on Peco electrofrog switches running wire from here to there. I don't care to do all of that. If I understand correctly, all I have to do is add insulated rail joiners on the two inside rails leaving the frog and that is basically it. One guy said unsulfrog vs electrofrog in a moot point.
Peco code 70 switches
Has anyone heard anything about the release of the new Peco code 70 switches? I was wondering if they were at TrainFest. They've been promising their release forever. First it was the end of 2018. Then it was last March. Now I'm hearing before the end of this year. Thanks for any info shared.
Tom Johnson
Broadway Limited 'Address Changer'
I bought one of these about 6 months ago, but have never yet used it. Being a novice at this DCC decoder program subject, this item appealed to me. Recent I was told it would not work on a project loco I have.
I got mine out and read the literature and the instructions. Everything I read tells me it works on ALL NMRA compliant decoders & locomotives in HO & N, and even Z scales according to the instructions.
Here is a video,..
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