Art Dent

UPDATE: I wondered whether a 'Factory Reset' as per page 13 of the PowerPro manual (page 20 of the link you provided) would make any difference. Also put a new CR2032 battery in - same as before. Wondering if I sould contact NCE for a new EPROM? EDIT: Pete - got the unit from a well-known retailer who specialises in s/hand items, so no, I don't know why the origibal owner sold the unit. EPROM has a label with " (c) 1994-2003 NCE Corp. 3 / 1 / 07 C " on it. Large square CPU (?) has a lebel which says " 062017 " on it. Art

Hi Ray, Using the curly cord with the PowerPro and the flat cable with the PowerCab. Yes, the displays are as on p8 of the link you posted. In the meantime, I have fetched another loco out of storage (a sound-equipped one). That reads the same as the Hornby Class 66 with the following differences ... PowerCab reads Manufacturer = 151 and Decoder Version = 255, Short Address = 3 and Long Address = 5183 PowerPro reads Manufacturer = 255, Decoder Version = 255, Short Address = 255, Long Address = @383 (the same as the PowerPro reports for the Class 60) Art

Hi Folks, I already have a NCE PowerCab system. I bought (s/hand) a 5A NCE Power Pro system and it doesn't seem to be reading CVs correctly, Loco No.3 (short address active) is placed on the programming track. Below is a comparison with both systems using the 'Programming Track'. NOTE: Only one system is connected at any one time (I only have a single plug and pair of wires from the command station). For the PowerCab NO Auto-Sw module is used, and for the PowerPro, the only connections between Command Station and track are 'Program Track'. For the PowerPro, the Control Bus cable is plugged in PowerCab PowerPro Press 'Prog/Esc' then '4' on both. Displays are as follows: 'USE PROGRAM TRACK' 'USE PROGRAM TRACK' Press 'Enter' on both '1=STD 2=CV 3 =REG' '1=STD 2=CV 3 =REG' Press '1' on both 'MANUFACTURER = 151' 'MANUFACTURER = 255' Press 'Enter' on both 'DECODER VER: 089' 'DECODER VER: 255' Press 'Enter' on both 'ACTIVE ADR: SHORT' 'ACTIVE ADR: LONG' 'SETUP ADDR 1=YES' 'SETUP ADDR 1=YES' Press '1' on both 'ACTIVE ADR: SHORT' 'ACTIVE ADR: LONG' SHORT ADDR: 003' 'SHORT ADDR: 255' (yes, it says 255 for the SHORT ADDRESS!) ... 'PROG CV' 'PROG CV' 'ENTER CV NUM:' 'ENTER CV NUM:' Press '1' then 'Enter' on both 'CV NUM 001 = 003' 'CV NUM 001 = 255' etc, in fact on the PowerPro ALL VALUES ARE 255. Pressing '2' on the PowerPro to read individual CVs then '1' then 'Enter' to read the Primary Loco Address yields the value 255 again, pressing '29' then 'Enter' to read CV 29 yields the value 255 and pressing '30' and 'Enter' to read the Error Info again yields 255. The Loco is Hornby's Class 60 'Drax' and is fitted with an ESU decoder which matches what the PowerCab is telling me. In all other respects, the PowerPro works fine. Any ideas?? Art

Ahh, Okay. I mentioned it as some folks seem to think that a poorly-running DC loco will be magically transformed by converting to DCC. Art

Hi Richard, Glad to hear the the fog is slowly clearing. DCC certainly has a learning curve, that's for sure! Regarding the above post a loco which exhibits poor running on DC will not be improved simply by converting it to DCC operation. You need to get the loco running correctly / smoothly on DC before converting to DCC operation. Art

G'day SRMan Darn it! You are right. Post in question now edited (don't want to confuse folks!) Thanks for putting me straight (8am over here and had a tiring day yesterday!) Art

Hi Richard, To help you understand the display shown in the picture 4 posts above (the display you get after pressing the 'EXPN' button), this is showing that the following functions are ON. Top row (functions 1 - 14). Functions 1 and 7 are ON. Bottom row (functions 15-28). Functions 17, 18, 27 and 28 are ON. With the exception of Function #2 (the horn/bell) all others are latching (i.e. they stay on once turned on until they are turned off again). Example. Pressing 'OPTION' then '4' will turn function 14 ON until you press 'OPTION' then '4' again which will turn function 14 OFF. On a Zimo chip (Paul will correct me if I've got this wrong) the main volume level is set with CV266, with a suggestion that 65 is the sensible highest value. Here is a link toi the Zimo site which lists all of the CVs and what they do: Zimo CV List (it is, thankfully, in English)! CV266 ('Master Volume') is on page 24. Hope this helps, Art

Agreed. Having seen what David could do, it was a no-brainer really. He he really manages to bring locos and rolling stock to life - I wish my attempts at weathering were 1/10 as good as his. One thing I really can’t seem to get right are the ‘oil streaks’ down the sides of tank wagons from the filler caps! Art

Hi Jinty, Looking forward to seeing my locos appearing soon after their weathering and assorted sundries fitting! Must be getting close to the of of the list by now (he said, hopefully)! Art

No, I don't remember the delay. All I remember is phoning relatives in Australia as a kid at Christmas (to say thank you for presents) and it costing over £1 per minute! Folks these days don't really appreciate the (almost) instant and (virtually) free communications that we have now become used to - for example my son is currently in Florida and we have been chatting by text about the Hulk roller-coaster (which he said was bl**dy scary!). My daughter who was recently in The Outer Banks, N.C. (and was lost) so we were following and guiding her progress towards the Post Office using Google Street View and saying "Now you should see a Texaco garage on your right hand side, turn next right by the WalMart store". Totally agree with your comment " ... the beauty of this hobby is that everyone that has something working for them has the right solution for them ". Some solutions are, however, more elegant than others Art

Yes, but I was thinking of the early copper wire transatlantic cables dating from 1955/6 - long before the advent of lasers and fibre-optic cables (actually the first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid (according to Wikipedia) in 1858. Article: Transatlantic Communications Cable Art

That's OK RFS, no problem. I agree with you that any timing issue on our layouts is likely to be extremely small (and like as not covered under the NMRA specifications so that it won't be an issue). I tend to get a bee in my bonnet when I see something posted that isn't correct (I'm somewhere on the spectrum I guess). Although the drift velocity is fairly low (well, compared to c anyway), the signal travels rather quickly - otherwise the transatlantic telephone cable would be useless across 4000 miles of the North Atlantic. I've never seen a calculation as to how quickly the signal travels. You can explain the effect like this - "Imagine a drainpipe packed end-to-end with billiard balls. As soon as you push another ball in at one end of the pipe, a ball drops out of the other. The ball you put in hasn't travelled the full length of the drainpipe - but the movement of the balls (effectively the signal) has travelled from one end to the other extremely quickly." Anyhow, interesting as this discussion is, the OP's thread seems to have take something of a diversionary path (and I am partly to blame for this). Time, methinks, to put this to bed or possibly coninue the discussion in a new thread. Regards, Art

Err ... actually no. Electricty (or electrical current) to be more precise is a flow of negative charge carried by the electrons - they are not a form of electromagnetic radiation (which does travel at approx 186k miles/sec). The drift velocity of electrons through the copper lattice is approx 200 m/sec IIRC. EDIT: Actually, just doing a quick calcuation, for a current of 1A in a copper wire of cross-sectional area 1.5mm² , the drift velocity is about 0.05 mm/ sec. The equation to use is I = n A v Q where I = 1, n = 8.5 × 10²⁸, A = 0.5 × 10⁻⁶ and Q = 1.6 x10⁻¹⁹. v is the drift velocity in m/s. Either way it isn't anwhere close to c, the speed of light (= 300,000,000 m/sec). See: Drift velocity in a copper wire (scroll down to numerical example). Art

... and how many layouts have a continuous ring with no breaks? Thing is neither of us will know. Of course you could always wire the bus as a ring and if you encounter problems, split the ring and put bus terminators at each end of the 'C' shaped bus (and also put at least one isolating break in both of rails in the loop). Art

Esentially - yes you can wire it as a complete ring. After all, if you have an oval of track, what do the rails do?? Art

For the sake of completeness (and to help answer the OP's question) ... Solid-core mains wiring has the following resistance: 1.0mm² has a resistance of 18.1 mΩ per metre (= 0.018 Ω/m) or 0.006 Ω per ft, 0.055 Ω per 10 ft and 0.28 Ω per 50 ft length 1.5mm² has a resistance of 12.1 mΩ per metre (= 0.012 Ω/m) or 0.004 Ω per ft, 0.037 Ω per 10 ft and 0.18 Ω per 50 ft length 2.5mm² has a resistance of 7.4 mΩ per metre (= 0.0074 Ω/m) or 0.002 Ω per ft, 0.023 Ω per 10 ft and 0.11 Ω per 50 ft length So it looks like even humble lighting cable (= 1.0mm²) would suffice for DCC Bus Wiring. Art

Sorry to be pedantic Pete, but whilst the overall figure of 0.036 Ω/m is correct, the maths inbetween has a small error. [I got upset seeing 3.6/km = 3.6/100 which is incorrect] The Rapid site says the resistance is 36.8 ohms per kilometre. Actually this rounds to 37 ohms per metre to 2 sig. figs. However, let's use 36 as previously stated. A kilometre is 1000 metres, so that is 3.6 ohms per 100 metres or 0.036 ohms per metre. This gives the figure (as you said) of approx 3 ohms per 100 metres (actally it's closer to 4) or 0.55 ohms per 50ft (=15.24m) or just about 0.1 ohms per 10ft (=3.048m) or just about an ohm for a 100 foot run. This gives us a nice figure (for those of us that still think in feet and inches) of roughly 0.1 ohms per 10 foot of wire. For those that work in metres and centimetres use 0.4 ohms per 10m. Remember these figures are for 16/0.2 0.50mm² 20AWG equipment wire Art

Hi Graham The issue has been fully resolved and I'm happy with the outcome. It isn't something that really should be discussed on an open forum as the matter has been resolved. Hope you understand. Art

An update ... The problem I had seems to be on the way to being resolved. I thought that the initial response was odd given the good reviews that Smart Models have been receiving. It is looking like another positive review from me in due course. Watch this space! Art

Just a quick query folks. Having a few issues with a Smart Models kit and currently the problem is unresolved. Anyone else had any issues with Smart Models and their Customer Service? Cheers Art

Okay - so the XT60s are rated at 60A when connected to a LiPo battery pack. Those in 1/10 R/C Touring Cars are rated at 7.4V or 11.1V - so what would be the current rating for DCC? It is a moot point really as we won't be getting anywhere near a quarter of that (i.e. 15A) on the DCC track bus - more for interest's sake. Cheers, Art

That's a good point Noggin. My son and I used to go 1/10th R/C Touring Car racing and we used Deans Connectors which are gold-plated and keyed. This 20-piece set (10 pairs) including some heat-shrink is £5.99 at Amazon making it 59p per connection. https://www.amazon.co.uk/UEETEK-T-Plug-Connectors-Female-Shrink/dp/B00W6NA20M/ref=sr_1_6?crid=7MKB1585AOWY&keywords=deans+connector&qid=1559990648&s=gateway&sprefix=Deans%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-6 Like the look of the XT60s though as the pins and sockets are shrouded (and able to handle 60A continuous current at 7.2V so around 30A at 14V) Art

Hi Ron, I did know this but then promptly forgot, so thank you for the reminder. I blame age! Indeed the ‘S’ of SB5 means ‘smart’ and the ‘D’ of DB5 means ‘dumb’, the ‘B’ meaning ‘booster’ and the 5 referring to the 5A capacity. Some folks may not realise that. I may may see if the SB5 can cope on its own first - but that is after track-laying has commenced. Regards, Art Trying to type this on an iPad mini and it is a PAIN! Thanks for the pix and suggested outlets : )

Hi John i don’t know about the covers to which Ron refers but this is the type of earth terminal block I was referring to Earth Terminal Block (eBay UK link) Like you I’d appreciate Ron providing a link for those. Art

Thank you folks for the replies. The layout is on multiple 2ft x 4ft basbords as I mentioned in my OP, I currently have five built and the mdf to make three more. The intention was to have the layout able to be taken apart, but it is unlikely that it will be moved and as RFS mentioned, even if moved it would be unlikely to fit anywhere else. The track feeds are going to be protected by a Power Shield - probably a PSX-4 - splitting the layout into four “districts”. I was wondering about the length of the track and consequently the bus wires, so may get a second SB5 booster and put one on one side of the loft and split it into two districts with a PSX-2 and do the same on the other side. The accessory bus won’t have a circuit breaker. i was considering using two centrally-located 4-way metal earth terminal blocks on each board to allow for easy connection to the bus wires and distribution of the dropper feed wires around the board but that would possibly mean that some droppers would be around 18-24 inches long. Is that too long? If that idea turns out to be a non-starter (comments welcomed) then adding a “baked bean tin” sized loop of wire at each entry point to a board would allow for a board to be ‘removed’ should the need arise. That’s a great idea. Thanks for the input so far, Art