New: ESU CabControl DCC system.

[Ron Ron Ron]

22 minutes ago, GoingUnderground said:

Try turning up the voltage on the PSU slightly. Some CabControl users in the USA have found that helps eliminate spurious "shorts".

 

I'd forgotten that on Keith.

It's suggested in an American YouTube video review.

 

 

.

[GoingUnderground]

3 hours ago, young37215 said:

 

I checked the settings which show the top right function button is set up as a Stop/Start button for power

I still suggest that you use the panel just in case the contacts for the side button are faulty.

 

EDIT: I'd also suggest disabling all the side buttons, as, based on my experience, it is too easy to press them without realising it. Or perhaps it is just my incompetence that means that I end up pressing them when just holding the handset. All mine are disabled for that reason.

Edited January 15, 2021 by GoingUnderground

[young37215]

Hooray. Increased the voltage and the short does not arise. The buttons work as programmed and I managed to move a loco up and down my 500mm of test track. Tomorrow I will attempt to install the CC on my layout

 

Thank you so much, I appreciate your time and support. Having bought a US product I was having nightmares that it was all going pear shaped. I hope to report back in a day or two that I have managed to get CC to operate my layout.

[young37215]

I managed to get CC up and running yesterday and spent a few hours gaining practical experience. I was hoping that Railcom Plus would load chip data straight into the ICU but was frustrated by ESU's default setting on their V4 chips which is off! I need a Lokprogrammer which I dont have, a friend does but we cant meet up at present. Not a major issue as I can manually set up locos but I will not manually set up individual functions for each and every loco.

 

The ICU is sensitive to shorts and trips track power when it senses one. The obvious solution is dont create them but in planet real world I get the occassional short. With more than about 10 locos on the layout (and I have 20) CC will not re-apply track power. When I physically remove locos down to about 10 I am able to re-apply track power. This sounds like a variation on my initial shorting problem; I wonder if increasing the voltage again will solve it? I only use CC for loco control, I have a totally independent Megapoints network for point and signal control. If I understand correctly the Loksound sound chips regulate the amount of power they take up so a higher voltage should not cause a problem?  I dont have a multimeter so I cannot tell precisely what the voltage is at, the variable switch is a little bit above the low point and the range is 15V to 21V so I guess I am in the 16/17V range. 

 

Can anyone tell me whether my increasing volatage represents an unacceptable risk? 

 

 

 

[Nigelcliffe]

1 hour ago, young37215 said:

I managed to get CC up and running yesterday and spent a few hours gaining practical experience. I was hoping that Railcom Plus would load chip data straight into the ICU but was frustrated by ESU's default setting on their V4 chips which is off! I need a Lokprogrammer which I dont have, a friend does but we cant meet up at present. Not a major issue as I can manually set up locos but I will not manually set up individual functions for each and every loco.

 

The ICU is sensitive to shorts and trips track power when it senses one. The obvious solution is dont create them but in planet real world I get the occassional short. With more than about 10 locos on the layout (and I have 20) CC will not re-apply track power. When I physically remove locos down to about 10 I am able to re-apply track power. This sounds like a variation on my initial shorting problem; ....

 

 

Enabling Railcom and RailCom Plus is a few simple CV changes to each loco, and does not need a LokProgrammer.   Some of the more advanced features of RailCom Plus may need a LokProgrammer to set them. 

 

Your startup problem sounds like "inrush current" as everything fires up.   A work-around is a few section switches on the layout, and at power up, you switch them on manually, so the system doesn't see such a big surge in power.  

 

 

[GoingUnderground]

To enble RailCom Plus in V4 decoders change CV28 (twenty EIGHT) to 131 (the default in LokPilot V4s is 3 = off, whilst in LokSound V4s the default is 131 = on). If you've lost your LS or LP V4 manuals, you can download them from the Downloads area of the ESU website, www.esu.eu/en 

 

You do NOT need a LokProgrammer to change CVs, it's just a lot easier if you have. Section 10 of the CC manual covers changing CVs with CC.

 

You will also need to make sure that RailCom Plus is turned on in the CC ICU, see section 14 of the CC manual

 

CabControl, like the ECoS, is sensitive to shorts as it reacts faster than many older designs of controller. If you plan on using breakers to create separate power districts, make sure that you buy solid state breakers as traditional electromechanical relay based ones won't be fast enough. The same goes for Autoreverse modules.

 

You could try increasing the voltage, ESU recommend 16-18V for 2 rail DCC. I have my ECoS set to a bit over 17V as the ECoS includes an option to display the output voltage. Unfortunately, CC cannot do that, but as the voltage range of the PSU is 15-21V, somewhere a bit less than half way sounds about right.

Edited January 17, 2021 by GoingUnderground

[young37215]

2 hours ago, Nigelcliffe said:

Your startup problem sounds like "inrush current" as everything fires up.   A work-around is a few section switches on the layout, and at power up, you switch them on manually, so the system doesn't see such a big surge in power.  

 

Thanks Nigel, helpful as ever.

 

Your hypothesis is an interesting point and I can see the logic of your solution. What surprises me is that my Guagemaster Prodigy at 3.5 Amps never complained on start up wheras the supposedly 7 Amp CC does. I understand that they are different pieces of kit and will have been built in different ways but if it is the case that 20 locos trips out then CC seems fundamentally flawed given is aimd at the US market and their famed larger layouts. Whilst running this morning I found 13 locos was the threshold for re-setting track power. If I had more locos than this the ICU showed a short. I'll see how the next few days pan out, I already have one outstanding issue with ESU relating to their registering my ownership and thus gaining access to the ESU Forumn. If the 'inrush current' assessment proves correct, I will be making a complaint to them.

 

I am still uncertain on voltages, is there any reason that I should not try increasing this to see if it has any effect?

[young37215]

1 hour ago, GoingUnderground said:

To enble RailCom Plus in V4 decoders change CV28 (twenty EIGHT) to 131 (the default in LokPilot V4s is 3 = off, whilst in LokSound V4s the default is 131 = on). If you've lost your LS or LP V4 manuals, you can download them from the Downloads area of the ESU website, www.esu.eu/en 

 

You do NOT need a LokProgrammer to change CVs, it's just a lot easier if you have. Section 10 of the CC manual covers changing CVs with CC.

 

You will also need to make sure that RailCom Plus is turned on in the CC ICU, see section 14 of the CC manual

 

CabControl, like the ECoS, is sensitive to shorts as it reacts faster than many older designs of controller. If you plan on using breakers to create separate power districts, make sure that you buy solid state breakers as traditional electromechanical relay based ones won't be fast enough. The same goes for Autoreverse modules.

 

You could try increasing the voltage, ESU recommend 16-18V for 2 rail DCC. I have my ECoS set to a bit over 17V as the ECoS includes an option to display the output voltage. Unfortunately, CC cannot do that, but as the voltage range of the PSU is 15-21V, somewhere a bit less than half way sounds about right.

 

Just spotted this reply which answers several of the points in my last post. My comment earlier on using the Lokporogrammer was poorly worded, as you both rightly say, I can (and have) amended CV's using my controller. Thanks for the clarification on the CV's, I will adjust one or two locos in an effort to enable Rail Com. It is turned on in my ICU and works, several of my chips must have the Railcom setting enabled because they registered immediately when the loco was placed on the rail. 

 

I was hoping that power districts would not be a potential solution although I suspected they might be. I dont understand them at present and need to read up. Given that my running line totals in excess of 50m, I have read that I should install power districts.

 

 

[GoingUnderground]

52 minutes ago, young37215 said:

 

Just spotted this reply which answers several of the points in my last post. My comment earlier on using the Lokporogrammer was poorly worded, as you both rightly say, I can (and have) amended CV's using my controller. Thanks for the clarification on the CV's, I will adjust one or two locos in an effort to enable Rail Com. It is turned on in my ICU and works, several of my chips must have the Railcom setting enabled because they registered immediately when the loco was placed on the rail. 

 

I was hoping that power districts would not be a potential solution although I suspected they might be. I dont understand them at present and need to read up. Given that my running line totals in excess of 50m, I have read that I should install power districts.

 

 

Have you adjusted the overcurrent protection limit? Whilst the CC is supposed to set the limit itself in the first instance, you can set it manually. See section 14.6 of the manual.

 

Also I think you said earlier that your coaches had lights. They will be pulling current when you switch on, especially if they have stay alives. A few strategically-placed DPST switches in the DCC bus should fix the switch-on issue. A pain, but not a big issue IMHO. 

 

Also, auto-registration is done by RailCom Plus using RailCom functionality. Plus is an extension of RailCom and can be turned on and off independently of RailCom in both command stations and decoders. You can have RailCom turned on but locos with Plus equipped decoders will not auto-register unless RailCom Plus is turned on in both the decoder and on the command station. Sorry to go on, but so many folks don't seem to realise the difference between RailCom and RailCom Plus, or if they do they still call it RailCom.

 

As regards running at a higher voltage, you'll have seen my earlier comments, which were taken from the ECoS manual. The CC manual suggests 15V, but I suspect that is because some N. American manufacturers warn that their decoders are not to be operated at voltages exceeding 15V, which seems unnecessarily low to me given the NMRA standards, but the makers clearly know more about their products than I.

 

I'm guessing your problem with registration with ESU is that you're in the UK and they're not happy about a grey import from the USA?  I take the view that in our internet world market segmentation by geographical region is virtually impossible as there's always going to be someone who will sell the product cross-border. If the problem that you have is just the time it is taking, well it can take several days at the best of times, and they may be short staffed at the moment because of Covid. At least they haven't got the problem of preparing for the Nuremburg Toy Fair as that's been postponed until July.  

[young37215]

29 minutes ago, GoingUnderground said:

Have you adjusted the overcurrent protection limit? Whilst the CC is supposed to set the limit itself in the first instance, you can set it manually. See section 14.6 of the manual. I had already increased this to 5A from the factory setting of 4A. 

 

Also I think you said earlier that your coaches had lights. They will be pulling current when you switch on, especially if they have stay alives. A few strategically-placed DPST switches in the DCC bus should fix the switch-on issue. A pain, but not a big issue IMHO. Only 2 Hornby coaches so modest draw albeit they have stay alives. I will endeavour to keep them in an un-powered siding at start up so as to reduce the current draw. I will also look into carving up the power BUS as you suggest as part of my deliberations on power districts. 

 

Also, auto-registration is done by RailCom Plus using RailCom functionality. Plus is an extension of RailCom and can be turned on and off independently of RailCom in both command stations and decoders. You can have RailCom turned on but locos with Plus equipped decoders will not auto-register unless RailCom Plus is turned on in both the decoder and on the command station. Sorry to go on, but so many folks don't seem to realise the difference between RailCom and RailCom Plus, or if they do they still call it RailCom. I was not aware of the difference until your comment! On the basis that I have had several decoders auto register, my ICU appears to be enabled. My issue is most of my Loksound decoders have not auto registered which makes sense as ESU default the RailCom Plus setting to off which is why I want to amend CV's to On

 

As regards running at a higher voltage, you'll have seen my earlier comments, which were taken from the ECoS manual. The CC manual suggests 15V, but I suspect that is because some N. American manufacturers warn that their decoders are not to be operated at voltages exceeding 15V, which seems unnecessarily low to me given the NMRA standards, but the makers clearly know more about their products than I.  Really interesting and helpful. I have just managed an hours running at a higher voltage, just below mid point on the PSU screw so should be just below 18V. Interestingly the number of locos I can leave on the layout to re-set track power has increased to 15/16. I am guessing that the measurement used by the ICU to indicate/trigger shorts is voltage based? Do you have a view of increasing this 18/19V? based on my experience with the increase from 15 to 17 it appears to me that this may well solve my short problem. I am crystal clear that if I choose to increase voltage it is at my risk, what I want to know is the risk that a higher voltage creates.

 

I'm guessing your problem with registration with ESU is that you're in the UK and they're not happy about a grey import from the USA?  I take the view that in our internet world market segmentation by geographical region is virtually impossible as there's always going to be someone who will sell the product cross-border. If the problem that you have is just the time it is taking, well it can take several days at the best of times, and they may be short staffed at the moment because of Covid. At least they haven't got the problem of preparing for the Nuremburg Toy Fair as that's been postponed until July.  Spot on, I registered on their forumn some time ago but it will not let me register CC, only an ECoS.

 

Hi Keith

 

Thank you very much for the information, it is much appreciated. Slowly but surely with you and Nigel's guidance I seem to be getting my head around the CC and how it works. It might not look like it but I have read the instruction manual several times and use it as a reference source before posting my problems. Whilst informative, the manual is far from perfect for a person with little electrical knowledge or instinct. I doubt what I am facing is anything new and I hope that when/if ESU get around to giving me access to their forumn, I will be able to find a lot of answers there.   

 

 

regards Rob

 

 

[young37215]

I have now had a week or so of using CC and am increasingly pleased with it. I have not altered the voltage, it is somewhere in the 17/18V region but the short issue on restarting track power has receded. It has not totally gone away but is 95% better than it was. Interestingly I can now usually restore track power after a short with all locos on the layout. The manual section 14.6 references Current Limit and states that CC auto detects power supply in use; from that I conclude that CC has worked out that my layout can have a high volatge draw at times and is no longer treating the sharp spikes arising on restarting the power as a short. 

 

I find the CC manual OK but there are questions I have that it does not answer. I have still to hear from ESU about getting access to their forum, I shall give it another few days before I chase.   

[young37215]

Another month has passed and I am increasingly pleased with my Cab Control purchase which has been run for 30 plus hours of operating. ESU have even got around to giving me access to the CC/ECoS section on their forum. I have 2 questions where as yet I have not found an answer:

1. The Mobile Control hand held unit VDU shows a list of locos where, I think, they appear in the order in which I set up each loco. I would like to see the numbers in ascending numerical order but I do'nt know if this is possible.
2. The track power button works as an effective emergency stop. This cuts all power, my old Guagmaster Prodigy had a button that caused an immedeate/emergency stop to only the current loco under control which I would like to create.   

Does anyone know the answer to either of my questions?

 

[GoingUnderground]

21 hours ago, young37215 said:

Another month has passed and I am increasingly pleased with my Cab Control purchase which has been run for 30 plus hours of operating. ESU have even got around to giving me access to the CC/ECoS section on their forum. I have 2 questions where as yet I have not found an answer:

1. The Mobile Control hand held unit VDU shows a list of locos where, I think, they appear in the order in which I set up each loco. I would like to see the numbers in ascending numerical order but I do'nt know if this is possible.
2. The track power button works as an effective emergency stop. This cuts all power, my old Guagmaster Prodigy had a button that caused an immedeate/emergency stop to only the current loco under control which I would like to create.   

Does anyone know the answer to either of my questions?

 

 

Can't help you with No.1.

 

The STOP button does what it says on the tin, stops everything by cutting the power at the Main Track out, as described in the manual. You don't need a dedicated button, to stop the current loco, just touch the left hand end of the blue speed slider bar below the loco icon to return the speed of the current loco to Zero.

[young37215]

16 hours ago, GoingUnderground said:

You don't need a dedicated button, to stop the current loco, just touch the left hand end of the blue speed slider bar below the loco icon to return the speed of the current loco to Zero.

 

The Guagemaster Prodigy red button creates an immedate stop any loco currently under control with track power being maintained. Moving the MC2 slider back to zero only slows the loco at the set deceleration rate of the locos decoder, it is not an immedate (and usually panic) emergency stop option.

 

My questions stems from having used the Guagemaster Prodigy for several years and having become used to the emergency stop button. There appears to be a lot more that CC is capable of than the Prodigy and I wondered if the red button equivalent could be recreated. I understand that cutting track power will achieve my emergency stop requirement but it also slows things down as locos then go through their re-start routine when power is restored. If there is capability to create a loco only stop I would like to exploit it. 

 

Of course the best solution is to drive better and avoid emergency stops but I like the idea of a fallback! 

 

 

[Izzy]

A bit OT I know but while the Prodigy Red button will work as an emergency stop if just pressed momentarily, if held down for couple of seconds cuts the track power. Another press restores it. Quite useful and a shame the ESU doesn’t work in the same way.

[GoingUnderground]

The CabControl inherits much, but not all, of its features from the ECoS.

 

The ECoS doesn't have an "Immediate Stop for the running loco" button, but you can force it by configuring it to stop the loco on change of direction, I don't know if that option is available on CabControl, sorry I only have an ECoS and an MC2 handset. To use it with ECoS, you configure the ECoS to Stop the loco on change of direction, and to use it you simply change direction using either the throttle knob, or joystick, or onscreen direction of travel arrows. ESU do warn that the immediate emergency stop on change of direction may well derail the train.

 

Not having a CabControl set I can't tell you if that would work, but it might be worth a try, or you could ask the question on ESU's forum as there may be more CabControl users on there than on RMWeb, but I do get the impression that CabControl owners prefer to use Faceache https://en-gb.facebook.com/groups/1845287662452221/ rather than ESU's own Forum.  

Edited February 26, 2021 by GoingUnderground

[young37215]

On 26/02/2021 at 11:43, GoingUnderground said:

The CabControl inherits much, but not all, of its features from the ECoS.

 

The ECoS doesn't have an "Immediate Stop for the running loco" button, but you can force it by configuring it to stop the loco on change of direction, I don't know if that option is available on CabControl, sorry I only have an ECoS and an MC2 handset. To use it with ECoS, you configure the ECoS to Stop the loco on change of direction, and to use it you simply change direction using either the throttle knob, or joystick, or onscreen direction of travel arrows. ESU do warn that the immediate emergency stop on change of direction may well derail the train.

 

Not having a CabControl set I can't tell you if that would work, but it might be worth a try, or you could ask the question on ESU's forum as there may be more CabControl users on there than on RMWeb, but I do get the impression that CabControl owners prefer to use Faceache https://en-gb.facebook.com/groups/1845287662452221/ rather than ESU's own Forum.  

Really helpful, thanks. Having finally got access to both Facebook and the ESU forum it seems like a good time to test these out. I will report back should I learn anything useful.

[young37215]

I still get the annoying and intermittent spurious short on start up with Voltage set at about 18V and the maximum power at 5 Amps. One suggestion from the ESU Forum has been to add more power by way of the ECoS Boost. This feels a little overkill given that the ECoS Boost costs north of £200 and once I get past the intial start up problem, CC runs happily powering my 20+ DCC sound chipped fleet. It might be that I need to do this but until I understand what causes CC to sense a short on start up, simply adding power feels an expensive experiment. 

 

I am also pondering the addition of a second MC2 handheld unit but, again,it costs the best part of £300. I am now thinking that buying a second CC would be more economic, including import and delivery costs I can get one for under £400. On the basis that this comprises a second 7A power supply through the ICU and a MC2 unit, this appears the better option. Today's question is can 2 CC ICU's be connected and networked in some form of sort of master and slave arrangment? 

[Ron Ron Ron]

19 hours ago, young37215 said:

I still get the annoying and intermittent spurious short on start up with Voltage set at about 18V and the maximum power at 5 Amps................but until I understand what causes CC to sense a short on start up, simply adding power feels an expensive experiment....... 

 

 

At a guess, it sounds like the initial inrush current is being detected as a short.

Either buy and install a "soft start" device, or insert a switch** between the track output and the rest of the layout and only "switch on" the track, once the CC has started up, switched its track output on and settled down.

 

(**Alternatively a series of switches for different power districts or sub-districts.)

 

.

Edited March 27, 2021 by Ron Ron Ron

[Ron Ron Ron]

7 hours ago, young37215 said:

.......I am also pondering the addition of a second MC2 handheld unit but, again,it costs the best part of £300.

I am now thinking that buying a second CC would be more economic, including import and delivery costs I can get one for under £400.

On the basis that this comprises a second 7A power supply through the ICU and a MC2 unit, this appears the better option.

Today's question is can 2 CC ICU's be connected and networked in some form of sort of master and slave arrangment? 

 

You can't have 2 Command Stations connected to the same layout, or sections of the same layout.

 

The second CC ICU can feed the Sniffer port of the main unit, so that the second MC2 works as an additional throttle, but....

1. That 2nd ICU mustn't be connected to the layout's tracks.

2. Sniffing is one way only, so there will be no data coming back to the 2nd MC2.

i.e. This is a waste of time.

 

The more sensible option is to use the MC2 that comes with the 2nd CC, as an additional throttle on your 1ast system and put the new (2nd ICU) in a drawer and keep it as a spare.

 

I've seen MC2 handsets available new from around £240.

A lot less from the USA, but in both cases, there's the dreaded import costs to consider.

 

 

 

.

[young37215]

Feedback and guidance is much appreciated. My thinking on a second CC ICU clearly does not deliver what I hoped for in terms of being a power booster.

 

It seems I need to bite the bullet and go down the route of dividing the layout into districts which should include seperate on/off power switches so that I can 'load up' gradually when starting a running session. If I am to expend the effort to create districts then it makes sense to add short circuit protection at the same time. I read that these should be electrical rather than mechanical if they are to be quick enough to stop CC short circuit protection. That said I would not recongise a circuit breaker if one landed on me so I am seeking guidance on what and where I should be looking for to source circuit breakers.  Given I am running ESU products, is there a recognised or preferred option in terms of circuit breakers that work best with ESU ?

 

 

[GoingUnderground]

On 26/03/2021 at 11:45, young37215 said:

I still get the annoying and intermittent spurious short on start up with Voltage set at about 18V and the maximum power at 5 Amps. One suggestion from the ESU Forum has been to add more power by way of the ECoS Boost. This feels a little overkill given that the ECoS Boost costs north of £200 and once I get past the intial start up problem, CC runs happily powering my 20+ DCC sound chipped fleet. It might be that I need to do this but until I understand what causes CC to sense a short on start up, simply adding power feels an expensive experiment. 

 

I am also pondering the addition of a second MC2 handheld unit but, again,it costs the best part of £300. I am now thinking that buying a second CC would be more economic, including import and delivery costs I can get one for under £400. On the basis that this comprises a second 7A power supply through the ICU and a MC2 unit, this appears the better option. Today's question is can 2 CC ICU's be connected and networked in some form of sort of master and slave arrangment? 

I apologise in advance if what I'm about to post seems rude. I assure you it's not meant to be. But you're making assumptions about the capabilities of the CabControl ICU.

 

Ask yourself this question:

 

 "Where in the CabControl Manual or in the CabControl product description on ESU's website does it say that you can use the CabControl ICU as if it were a booster with another CabControl or with an ECoS?"

 

The answer is "nowhere". I'm sure if you could do so that ESU would have published the information on how to do it. You could do this with a Dynamis ProBox, but it had the 6 oin mini-DIN socket as it was configured as a subsidiary device. The CCICU has the 7 pin socket indicating that it is a master device in ESU's ecosystem, and it is not possible to configure masters as subsidiaries.

 

If you look on the ESU forum you will find a very similar question from another CabControl user http://www.esu.eu/en/forum/forums-overview/topic/ecos_support-1/ecos_50310_does_not_list_locomotives_from_50210-1/ You will need to be logged in to the ESU forum for the link to work.

 

And, of course, you have also had answers to your question on the ESU Forum.

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by GoingUnderground

[young37215]

No offence taken on my part, I am grateful for your contribution and advice both here and on the ESU forum. I asked a question and you gave me an answer. In hindsight perhaps the question was more appropriately asked on the ESU platform but I wanted to ask native English speakers hence my reverting to RMWeb. My thinking highlights that my brain does not find electrical workings intuitive hence some of my questions may appear daft to a competent electrician. My simplistic thinking was CC includes a power supply, can I link two together? Answer is No.

 

Somewhat ironically I appear to have resolved the spurious short problem by accident. I decided to go down the suggested route of power sub districts and as a first step, I added insulating fishplates at the district seperation points. The power BUS has not been seperated and continues to feed all track. In the four days since installing the insulated fishplates, applying track power has started with the first button push on the MC2 unit each and every occassion I have powered up the layout with all 20 locos in situ! 

 

Internet searches indicate that the PSX circuit breaker costing around £40 per unit work with ESU products. I'll need a minimum of 2 of these meaning the costs of sub power districts are starting to add up. If someone will give me a suggestion on alternative and hopefully lower cost circuit breakers that work with CC, I will probably follow what seems to be best practice and complete the power sub district seperation. 

 

 

 

[GoingUnderground]

3 hours ago, young37215 said:

No offence taken on my part, I am grateful for your contribution and advice both here and on the ESU forum. I asked a question and you gave me an answer. In hindsight perhaps the question was more appropriately asked on the ESU platform but I wanted to ask native English speakers hence my reverting to RMWeb. My thinking highlights that my brain does not find electrical workings intuitive hence some of my questions may appear daft to a competent electrician. My simplistic thinking was CC includes a power supply, can I link two together? Answer is No.

 

Somewhat ironically I appear to have resolved the spurious short problem by accident. I decided to go down the suggested route of power sub districts and as a first step, I added insulating fishplates at the district seperation points. The power BUS has not been seperated and continues to feed all track. In the four days since installing the insulated fishplates, applying track power has started with the first button push on the MC2 unit each and every occassion I have powered up the layout with all 20 locos in situ! 

 

Internet searches indicate that the PSX circuit breaker costing around £40 per unit work with ESU products. I'll need a minimum of 2 of these meaning the costs of sub power districts are starting to add up. If someone will give me a suggestion on alternative and hopefully lower cost circuit breakers that work with CC, I will probably follow what seems to be best practice and complete the power sub district seperation. 

Whilst there are very many very knowledgeable DCC users on RMWeb, far more knowledgeable than I, judging by the number of replies that you've had from CabControl users, there seems to be very few RMWebbers who are also CabControl owners. There are probably more owners of the original ESU Piko SmartControl on RMweb, but again they seem to have been reluctant to reply, apart from Ron.

 

On the ESU Forum, there are plenty of questions from CabControl owners, but, sadly, not a lot of replies from them. That is why I suggested you join the Facebook users group in case CabControl owners were more forthcoming on that platform.

 

If all that you want to do is stop the CCICU tripping out on startup, then the cheapest answer is a DPST switch as I've already suggested elsewhere. That would also help you fault finding if you have a short the cause of which isn't immediately apparent. However, if your layout is of a size that you feel that you don't want the entire layout shutting down in the event of a short when running, then sectioning it into power districts fed through breakers is a good idea. But be careful how you decide the boundaries between your power districts, as should one district shut down, such as due to a derailment, you don't want a train from another district still on power running into it.

 

The CabControl ICU reacts fast to shorts, and circuit breakers that use relays may well not be fast enough to stop the CCICU shutting down track power. More modern designs that use solid state switching tend to be suitable. The same goes for autoreversing modules in case you were thinking of using one of those on your layout in future. I don't use breakers myself, so I can't advise on a suitable one. But if it works with an ECoS then I'd expect it to work with the CCICU.

[young37215]

I finally managed to confirm with ESU USA that Cab Control's short circuit protection is solely the adjustable current limit found in the Settings.

 

In recent weeks I have upgraded and increased the number of droppers in my power BUS creating the capability of 3 sub power districts. On the basis that I have increased the adjustable current limit to the maximum and still get trips on start up, I need to install switches to each sub district.