Re: 1156 Bulb Short Protection and Powercab
This is what the NCE sites says about protection of the Powercab
"The Power Cab has built in overload for basic self-protection that will continuously try to reset until destroyed if left uncorrected. The Power Cab?does not have circuit breakers that will trip or fuses that will blow. Use the new EB1 v1.1 electronic circuit breaker to protect the Power Cab against short circuits."
The power supply only supports 2 Amperes of current.? This increases the trip time for chem fuses.
Best,
Ken Harstine
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Re: 1156 Bulb Short Protection and Powercab
That makes a lot of sense Blair. Thank you.?
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Re: 1156 Bulb Short Protection and Powercab
Dave,
It's a function of prior-current, I suspect - if the bulb was
already seeing significant current(i.e. a couple of locos running
at speed), then the filament is already warming, so when the short
occurs, it takes less time to light up, and hence acts before the
powercab; if the filament was cold (i.e. a single low-current loco
crawling into a turnout that is in the wrong position), then the
booster sees the short before the filament warms.? That's what I
think is going on.
I suppose a chart showing which boosters/systems will benefit
from bulb-style protection, and which won't, might be useful, but
how many people are still deploying bulb protection?
Blair
On 2021-06-16 15:43, Dave Hamernik
wrote:
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Show quoted text
Well I guess wiring up my 1156 bulbs was a bit of an exercise in
futility since the powercab responds more quickly. However, the
bulbs sometimes do respond first so at the end of the
day, they offer an extra level of protection. Not sure why they
sometimes light before the powercab but¡
Thanks for your response.?
Dave
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Re: 1156 Bulb Short Protection and Powercab
Well I guess wiring up my 1156 bulbs was a bit of an exercise in futility since the powercab responds more quickly. However, the bulbs sometimes do respond first so at the end of the day, they offer an extra level of protection. Not sure why they sometimes light before the powercab but¡
Thanks for your response.?
Dave
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Re: Powering turnout points
This paper might be of interest to you.?
if the link doesn¡¯t work search for ¡®improving atlas turnouts¡¯. You should find a forum that has this pdf.?
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Re: 1156 Bulb Short Protection and Powercab
Hi Dave,
Using a 1156 bulb doesn't work with all systems.? As you probably know, the filament in the bulb needs to heat up for the bulb to limit current.? Some systems are faster than the bulb and the PowerCab is one of them.? I have also found that "chem fuses", which also do a similar thing, will not work with the PowerCab either.? I haven't tried the NCE CP6 bulbs with the PowerCab to see what would happen.? Let's see if anyone else has tried them.
Should no bulb work for you, the new NCE EB1 electronic circuit breaker has a lower initial current trip current than the old one and will work with the PowerCab.? Other electronic circuit breakers, if they have low current trip points, will also likely work.
Allan Gartner
Wiring for DCC
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1156 Bulb Short Protection and Powercab
I have read a lot about using the 1156 bulb for short protection and understand how it works.? However, I have an NCE Powercab and? find that the Powercab typically senses a power surge first and my bulb doesn¡¯t light.? The bulb lights sometimes but the majority of the time the Powercab turns off and resets.? Has anyone else experienced this that has a Powercab?? Thanks.
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DCC Shuttle/reversing units.
I have a 23 foot long running in/test
track. It is currently running in DC, controlled by a DC shuttle
unit. After building, cleaning or repair, my locos were put on
this and run until everything was as it should be. It never gets
used now, as all my locos have been converted to DCC. So I have
been exploring the idea of converting it to DCC running.
And here is the problem.? With DC, the
unit will cheerfully accommodate any loco that is put on its
tracks. But the DCC shuttles I have looked at, require
reprogramming of the loco decoder. They seem to ignore the
Extended Address and recognise only the Primary Address.? In
practice, this means that in order to utilise these units you
have to reprogram the loco each time so as to make the Primary
Address the Active Address. This is impractical and you really
cannot be expected? to undertake this task every time they want
a particular loco to run under the control of a unit. What is
required is a unit that recognises the Extended Address and is
capable of operating any loco that has an Extended Address of
1-9999.
Now being in the UK, there are probably
makes of units of which I have not heard. So does such a unit
exist? Or is there some other way solve this problem?
Any help would be appreciated.
Regards and thanks
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Re: Powering turnout points
There are two holes in the frog, run a tap into the hole and use a screw, looks shabby but it works and a dab of black paint disguises it. I don't know the size of the tap, i fudged it. Atlas should put the info on the package...........PLEASE. jd
On Sunday, June 13, 2021, 10:42:15 AM EDT, Greg Harter <greg1462@...> wrote:
The Atlas turnouts have a metal frog to which soldering is nigh impossible.? I've used conductive paint with reasonably good results.? After it has completely dried, put on another coat, and let dry.? Then put a light film of epoxy on it for strength.? The conductive paint has very little holding power.
Greg Harter
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Re: Powering turnout points
The Atlas turnouts have a metal frog to which soldering is nigh impossible.? I've used conductive paint with reasonably good results.? After it has completely dried, put on another coat, and let dry.? Then put a light film of epoxy on it for strength.? The conductive paint has very little holding power.
Greg Harter
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I would use a Decoder Buddy.? The resistors will be right and it's less expensive.?? Craig Zeni
Cary, NC
Despatched from my infernal Android
Hello everyone, well Athearn won't stand behind the fact they installed the wrong resistors on my motherboard so I've got to order a new one.? After looking at their site I see a couple to choose from but I can't tell which one I need.? Any help would be appreciated.?
Sam R.
Lewiston Maine?
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Hello everyone, well Athearn won't stand behind the fact they installed the wrong resistors on my motherboard so I've got to order a new one.? After looking at their site I see a couple to choose from but I can't tell which one I need.? Any help would be appreciated.?
Sam R.
Lewiston Maine?
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Re: Powering turnout points
Michael,
It might, but keep in mind that the wire must: 1) be of adequate size to carry the full current required by the least energy-friendly train you can think of, and 2) be very flexbile so as not to create problems throwing the turnout. In summary: probably not, but worth a try if you think both items are covered.
Wouter
On Sat, 12 Jun 2021 at 15:27, Michael Shockley via <docshock31= [email protected]> wrote:
I think I could solder a single strand of wire from the point to the closure rail it leads to to power the points. Wouldn¡¯t that do it?? Pardon me if I used the wrong term there.?
Mike Shockley?
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Re: Powering turnout points
That will work.? Leave a bit of slack in the wire.?
On Saturday, June 12, 2021, 09:26:51 AM CDT, Michael Shockley via groups.io <docshock31@...> wrote:
I think I could solder a single strand of wire from the point to the closure rail it leads to to power the points. Wouldn¡¯t that do it? ?Pardon me if I used the wrong term there.?
Mike Shockley?
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I think I could solder a single strand of wire from the point to the closure rail it leads to to power the points. Wouldn¡¯t that do it? ?Pardon me if I used the wrong term there.?
Mike Shockley?
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Re: Turnout point conductivity
I have some 4 and 5 inch drill bits that are from 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. There are available but they sometimes melt foam with friction and mess up the bits. I have used pieces or steel wire chucked in a drill. Run it in and pull it right out while it is running. Try it on a piece of scrap first. Get some flux called ruby fluid from your hardware store, works good on clean brass and nickle silver rail.?
It is a tedious job powering points but the results are worth it.
jd
On Friday, June 11, 2021, 02:43:25 PM EDT, Perry A Pollino <texasperry@...> wrote:
Steve, Thanks. I did not think about going all the way through the layout base. But I do have 1 inch of foam plus 1/2 inch of ply. I did struggle a little with feeder wires. even with using a piece of brass tube as a guide. But I may give it a go. Perry
On Thursday, June 10, 2021, 05:31:31 PM CDT, Steve Haas <goatfisher2@...> wrote:
Perry writes:?? ? ¡°It will be a time consuming project to wire all my turnouts.¡± ? It may appear a bit daunting at first, but your project can be broken down into easily completed tasks. ? ? My preferred method for this is to drill two holes for each point; one on the outside of the rail at the heel of the point, and one immediately across from it on the exterior of the stock rail.? If you are a really good solder, you can solder these on the side of the rail away from the viewer¡¯s normal position, thus hiding it entirely. ? You said you had 65 turnouts to do, at four holes per turnout that totals 260 holes.? I¡¯d start at one end/town on the layout and work my way around the layout.? If you want, break this up into logical groupings, towns/yards/scenes, etc. ? Determine the length of wire you will need from the solder point on one rail, through the roadbed, over, up the other hole and soldered to that rail. Don¡¯t skimp on that wire length, give yourself an extra inch or two when calculating the length. ? The next steps can be accomplished while sitting in front of the TV, watching sports if you choose, of while joining your significant other watching what they want to see <GRIN>: ? 1)??? Using the two colors of wire you use for your track bus, Cut 65 of each color to the necessary length (made even easier if you can set up some type of jig/fixture so you don¡¯t have to worry about the appropriate lengths),
2) ??? Once that is done, start stripping both ends of each wire ¨C 3/4 ¡° to an inch,3)??? When done stripping, form one end of the wire to the shape it needs to be to lie along the web of the rail (My method is vertical out of the hold, bend 90 degrees perpendicular to the rail, and another 90 degree bend so the tip of the wire will lie in the corner of the rail between the web and the base). ? Tin both ends of the wires. Probably best done in the shop or the train room, your significant other may not appreciate the fumes in their part of the household. ? Take your prepped wires and adjourn to the layout. Plug in that soldering iron and keep it hot.? Drop wires according to bus color down the pre-drilled holes. ? Now, start working your way across the layout in a logical pattern; tin the rail where each wire will be attached, then align and solder each wire. ? From the under side of the layout, take each wire, bend it and insert it into the other hole you drilled for this connection.? While you are down there, do an entire town, region, or other logical part of your layout. ? Back on top, bend the ends of the wire to properly lay on the web of the rail as discussed above. Then flux and tin that rail, followed by soldering the feeder to the rail. ? ? It sounds complicated, but if you break it down in to logical steps, and execute many of those steps in ¡°batch¡± fashion, the whole process will require less effort than you expect and will be done much sooner! ? Best regards, ? Steve ? Steve Haas Snoqualmie, WA ? ? ?
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Re: Turnout point conductivity
Steve, Thanks. I did not think about going all the way through the layout base. But I do have 1 inch of foam plus 1/2 inch of ply. I did struggle a little with feeder wires. even with using a piece of brass tube as a guide. But I may give it a go. Perry
On Thursday, June 10, 2021, 05:31:31 PM CDT, Steve Haas <goatfisher2@...> wrote:
Perry writes:?? ? ¡°It will be a time consuming project to wire all my turnouts.¡± ? It may appear a bit daunting at first, but your project can be broken down into easily completed tasks. ? ? My preferred method for this is to drill two holes for each point; one on the outside of the rail at the heel of the point, and one immediately across from it on the exterior of the stock rail.? If you are a really good solder, you can solder these on the side of the rail away from the viewer¡¯s normal position, thus hiding it entirely. ? You said you had 65 turnouts to do, at four holes per turnout that totals 260 holes.? I¡¯d start at one end/town on the layout and work my way around the layout.? If you want, break this up into logical groupings, towns/yards/scenes, etc. ? Determine the length of wire you will need from the solder point on one rail, through the roadbed, over, up the other hole and soldered to that rail. Don¡¯t skimp on that wire length, give yourself an extra inch or two when calculating the length. ? The next steps can be accomplished while sitting in front of the TV, watching sports if you choose, of while joining your significant other watching what they want to see <GRIN>: ? 1)??? Using the two colors of wire you use for your track bus, Cut 65 of each color to the necessary length (made even easier if you can set up some type of jig/fixture so you don¡¯t have to worry about the appropriate lengths),
2) ??? Once that is done, start stripping both ends of each wire ¨C 3/4 ¡° to an inch,3)??? When done stripping, form one end of the wire to the shape it needs to be to lie along the web of the rail (My method is vertical out of the hold, bend 90 degrees perpendicular to the rail, and another 90 degree bend so the tip of the wire will lie in the corner of the rail between the web and the base). ? Tin both ends of the wires. Probably best done in the shop or the train room, your significant other may not appreciate the fumes in their part of the household. ? Take your prepped wires and adjourn to the layout. Plug in that soldering iron and keep it hot.? Drop wires according to bus color down the pre-drilled holes. ? Now, start working your way across the layout in a logical pattern; tin the rail where each wire will be attached, then align and solder each wire. ? From the under side of the layout, take each wire, bend it and insert it into the other hole you drilled for this connection.? While you are down there, do an entire town, region, or other logical part of your layout. ? Back on top, bend the ends of the wire to properly lay on the web of the rail as discussed above. Then flux and tin that rail, followed by soldering the feeder to the rail. ? ? It sounds complicated, but if you break it down in to logical steps, and execute many of those steps in ¡°batch¡± fashion, the whole process will require less effort than you expect and will be done much sooner! ? Best regards, ? Steve ? Steve Haas Snoqualmie, WA ? ? ?
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Re: Turnout point conductivity
Perry writes:?? ? ¡°It will be a time consuming project to wire all my turnouts.¡± ? It may appear a bit daunting at first, but your project can be broken down into easily completed tasks. ? ? My preferred method for this is to drill two holes for each point; one on the outside of the rail at the heel of the point, and one immediately across from it on the exterior of the stock rail.? If you are a really good solder, you can solder these on the side of the rail away from the viewer¡¯s normal position, thus hiding it entirely. ? You said you had 65 turnouts to do, at four holes per turnout that totals 260 holes.? I¡¯d start at one end/town on the layout and work my way around the layout.? If you want, break this up into logical groupings, towns/yards/scenes, etc. ? Determine the length of wire you will need from the solder point on one rail, through the roadbed, over, up the other hole and soldered to that rail. Don¡¯t skimp on that wire length, give yourself an extra inch or two when calculating the length. ? The next steps can be accomplished while sitting in front of the TV, watching sports if you choose, of while joining your significant other watching what they want to see <GRIN>: ? 1)??? Using the two colors of wire you use for your track bus, Cut 65 of each color to the necessary length (made even easier if you can set up some type of jig/fixture so you don¡¯t have to worry about the appropriate lengths), 2)??? Once that is done, start stripping both ends of each wire ¨C 3/4 ¡° to an inch, 3)??? When done stripping, form one end of the wire to the shape it needs to be to lie along the web of the rail (My method is vertical out of the hold, bend 90 degrees perpendicular to the rail, and another 90 degree bend so the tip of the wire will lie in the corner of the rail between the web and the base). ? Tin both ends of the wires. Probably best done in the shop or the train room, your significant other may not appreciate the fumes in their part of the household. ? Take your prepped wires and adjourn to the layout. Plug in that soldering iron and keep it hot.? Drop wires according to bus color down the pre-drilled holes. ? Now, start working your way across the layout in a logical pattern; tin the rail where each wire will be attached, then align and solder each wire. ? From the under side of the layout, take each wire, bend it and insert it into the other hole you drilled for this connection.? While you are down there, do an entire town, region, or other logical part of your layout. ? Back on top, bend the ends of the wire to properly lay on the web of the rail as discussed above. Then flux and tin that rail, followed by soldering the feeder to the rail. ? ? It sounds complicated, but if you break it down in to logical steps, and execute many of those steps in ¡°batch¡± fashion, the whole process will require less effort than you expect and will be done much sooner! ? Best regards, ? Steve ? Steve Haas Snoqualmie, WA ? ? ?
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Michael,
? I would "re-wire" (simply re-gap?) the turntable so that it is a "split ring"
style of turntable.? Yes, this can cause a 'hiccup' in the sound as a loco
is turned.? My response is "so what?" ... as in just how often are you
going to be turning engines and do you really care?? My $,02.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? - Jim
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Turntables generally reverse their own polarity at halfway through their rotation. If you pull onto a turntable bridge, then rotate 180 degrees your bridge will be at it original N / S orientation. Your engine, if powered, will move back where it came from as if you lifted it and turned it around. An auto reverser is not required for the bridge. Unless you have a reverse loop or a "Y," you do not need a auto reverser.?
Think of it this way, Rail Roads only travel East and West and they have a North and South rail. That way it is easy to keep its orientation.?
On Monday, June 7, 2021, 10:29:41 PM EDT, Michael Boyle <boyle10017@...> wrote:
Thanks to everyone for your most generous assistance.
So the conclusion I've come to is that the turntable will be on an AR. The track from the turntable to the three-way will be on the same power district (breaker protected) as the surrounding yard tracks. The engine service tracks, to the right of the three-way, will be on their own AR.
Once again,
a sincere "thank-you."
Michael Boyle
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Ken Harstine
Craig Zeni
Michael Shockley
Jim Betz