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Point motors and accessory decoders help


Monty50
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Hello forum

 

Newbie here who has started to lay track and needs some advice about accessory decoders and point motors etc.

 

I have a ECoS ESU command station (50210). My layout is 12ft x 9ft OO gauge. I will need 33 point motors for my Peco code 100 electrofrog points which I have already bought. I have been reading about the various point motors (Peco, Seep) and also accessory decoders (Switchpilot, DCC Concepts etc.) Planning on using under baseboard mounting for the point motors.

 

I am planning to use DCC point control as it came with the command station and seems a waste not to use it. So which accessory decoder do people recommend for my layout? I was planning on using Switchpilot V2 with Seep points but I have read that Seep points are power hungry and Switchpilots are not up to scratch as they have no CDU built in to power solenoid points. Any ideas as to a good combination of point motor and accessory? I do like the look of DCC Concepts ADS-4sx as CDU's are built in and it says it doesn't drain the track power (No need for a transformer?) I also want to switch the frog polarity of my electrofrog points, so that needs to be taken into account.

 

I have read that it is better to power accessory decoders from an external transformer rather than from the DCC buss? If so which transformer do people recommend for my size of layout or would the ADS-4sx be fine running from the DCC buss?

 

Many thanks

 

Monty

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If you enjoy putting electronics together, you might want to consider looking at the MERG kits. 

 

The 4 way solenoid decoder takes two inputs - 16v (I use the output from an old gaugemaster DC controller) and the DCC signal. The board includes a CDU and I've never had any issues changing two points at a time (say on a crossover).

 

You do have to be a member of MERG to buy the kit, but the lower cost of the kit may soon cover membership fees. I would add though that the kit doesn't have switching for frog polarity etc in like the ADS-4sx appears to.

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I use ADSx decoders and am very happy with them but there are a couple of things you need to bear in mind when using them. Firstly, although the ADSXs do not use much power when idling, they do take quite a bit to power up at start up. You can get round this by designing things so you can switch the decoders in  gradually. I have  about sixty sets of points powered by ADSXs and is they are all switched in at once, they trip my 4 amp controller. I have now got a second 4 amp unit which runs as a "booster" and powers the decoders via an accessory bus (but still switched in gradually). This brings me to my second point. The ADSX decoders must get a command from the controller to change points. If you use track power, that is fine, but you cannot use a separate transformer which is not acting as a booster i.e. is not receiving the commands from the controller.

 

Hope this makes sense.

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7 hours ago, Monty50 said:

I have read that it is better to power accessory decoders from an external transformer rather than from the DCC buss? If so which transformer do people recommend for my size of layout or would the ADS-4sx be fine running from the DCC buss?

 

Generally for a layout of the size indicated I would think a separate accessory transformer would be desirable - something like this https://www.digitrains.co.uk/tr3a.html . You do need to consider what other off track accessories you may want to power e.g. signals, lights, turntables, ambient sound etc. in deciding the appropriate size.

 

An alternative to the classic solenoid point motors to consider are servos which you could run with the ESU ServoPilot - that avoids the big power draw of a solenoid. Various kits are available with frog switching incorporated.

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Thanks for all your replies.

The ECoS output is 6 amps as far as I know and with half the number of your points JST I think I might give a go at feeding it from the DCC buss at first and if I have problems or enlarge the layout convert to a transformer.

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Good afternoon Monty,

I have a 14' x 8' OO gauge layout with 32 Peco points all powered from ADS8SX's via the DCC BUS from a z21 Smart (3amp ) so your ECoS system should work fine. Point activation is via all three options (Multimaus controller, (on)-off-(on) toggle switches on the control panel and via my tablet through the Roco app and wi-fi system). I can link 2 points to each output which I use for interlocking purposes, such as the single slips and cross-overs and it copes fine when switching the paired Peco point motors over without any issue. 

 

As mentioned earlier, I power the ADS's up in pairs via an on/off switch to prevent them from cutting out the controller. 

 

Once in a blue moon I will have a false fire due to inadequate power stored up, but its rare. 

 

I am very pleased with the ADS's performance and flexibility as you can also power Frogs, as well as LED's for each point to advise on point direction (not entirely reliable as it changes on current passing rather than point actually throwing). I don't use the frog function as I prefer the Gaugemaster DCC80's for that.

 

Ian

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Hello Monty,

 

I use 3 No Team Digital SMD84 ACCESSORY DECODER units firing 27 No Peco solenoid point motors. Each decoder can accommodate 8 point motors and has a built in Capacitor Discharge unit these have provided years of reliable service including where two motors are connected together for my two loops.

 

Michael

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Probably a little late to the party, but I’m running an ECoS with NCE switch 8 decoders, but using 60 Tortoise motors, not solenoids. The NCE’s were a doddle to programme and run off the DCC bus, so no additional power required.

Edited by gordon s
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17 hours ago, atticombe said:

Hello Monty,

 

I use 3 No Team Digital SMD84 ACCESSORY DECODER units firing 27 No Peco solenoid point motors. Each decoder can accommodate 8 point motors and has a built in Capacitor Discharge unit these have provided years of reliable service including where two motors are connected together for my two loops.

 

Michael

 

I can only speak from experience. I have about 60 Peco solenoid motors and there have been no failures yet. Seep motors have built in frog switches but you don't need that if you use ADSXs.

 

As an aside, solenoid motors are noisy and I run my layout with Railmaster which sets all the points on start up - the sound of Peco gunfire everywhere! :D

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