JOHN250 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Hi everyone. I'm in the process of setting up DC and DCC control - I know why would I do that ? I'm devoting one track to DC for exclusive use with Kato Soundbox. That leaves me with 2 tracks for DCC. My Digitrax Zephyr DCS50 manual states " You can add any Loconet throttle to your DCS50 or you can use one or two smooth DC power packs as Jump throttles " I have a Guagemaster series D and I'm wondering if this may be suitable ? Any help would be most welcome. EDIT......I've just found this reference " By smooth I think they mean one that is not a pulse type power pack." So can anyone help please ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelcliffe Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Should be OK with the model D. However, regardless of controller used, do not expect quite as much finesse with the jump-port as you get with a real DCC throttle. There is a significant lag caused by the need to convert the DC input to a DCC instruction, and on some Zephyr's the zero point of the jump-port doesn't quite equal zero volts, so the loco might be set to speed step 1 when you think it should be stopped. So, OK as an interim solution, but if looking for top-notch control, save up for a real second throttle - I really like the new Uhlenbrock Daisy II throttle which, being LocoNet, works nicely with Digitrax command stations. - Nigel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingUnderground Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Hi everyone. I'm in the process of setting up DC and DCC control - I know why would I do that ? I'm devoting one track to DC for exclusive use with Kato Soundbox. That leaves me with 2 tracks for DCC. My Digitrax Zephyr DCS50 manual states " You can add any Loconet throttle to your DCS50 or you can use one or two smooth DC power packs as Jump throttles " I have a Guagemaster series D and I'm wondering if this may be suitable ? Any help would be most welcome. EDIT......I've just found this reference " By smooth I think they mean one that is not a pulse type power pack." So can anyone help please ? Do make sure that there is absolutely no way that the DC and DCC tracks could be bridged even in a derailment as if DC power is accidentally fed into the DCC track when the DCC system is live you may well end up blowing the DCC controller. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOHN250 Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 Do make sure that there is absolutely no way that the DC and DCC tracks could be bridged even in a derailment as if DC power is accidentally fed into the DCC track when the DCC system is live you may well end up blowing the DCC controller. Hmmm ! Interesting point. Safer to stick with DC all round then ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
66C Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Hi John Gaugemaster's non-feedback controllers work fine as jump throttles with the Zephyr. If you look on the Yahoo Digitrax group you will find a couple of designs for battery (9v) powered jump throttles if you want cheap alternatives that do not require an external power supply. The important thing is to ensure that your DC cannot cross feed into the DCC - the smoke will almost certainly escape! Regards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingUnderground Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Hmmm ! Interesting point. Safer to stick with DC all round then ? Provided you ensure complete electrical isolation in all circumstances, there's no reason why you couldn't dedicate one track to DC. You just need to decide which is more important to you, the Kato Soundbox or controlling the layout using DCC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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