Exactly, Bob! While I'm really, really new (as in weeks) to DCC and
not an electrical guru at all, I have read and heard so much about
the crying fear of decoders being blown because there is a short. I
agree that if there's a derailment and the wheels short (like your
crowbar example)that's a power supply concern and not a decoder
problem.
Ignoring the "obvious" wiring errors, the only way I can see a
decoder
being blown because of a short is if:
1)the decoder output is connected directly to the rails, which is
possible if the motor is not, or rather no longer, isolated
2) or if the wires, or some component on the PCB, ground outs on the
metal chassis,
3) or the wires somehow become cross connected because their solder
connection breaks and the wire moves or their insulation is worn away
4) the decoder self destructs internally because of heat or excess
current draw or component aging
Seems to me most of these are preventable in the first place by
studying the loco, the decoder and its needs, existing wiring if any
and the careful placement, wire routing, connecting and soldering of
the decoder and its connecting wires, including the speaker and its
leads.
QUESTION: Is there some other way, that I'm not seeing and should be
much worried about, to short out the decoder and that is what
generates all this talk and fears?
Thanks in advance. Ken
--- In WiringForDCC@..., "bobgrosh" <bobgrosh@h...>
wrote:
--- rotortips <Rotortips@s...> wrote:
Has anyone tried to use a thermal circuit breaker or 1
Amp fuse
between an engine pick-up wire and the decoder to
protect the decoder
from short circuits?
No
First!!!
A fuse does not protect the item being powered. It protects the
power
supply.
