RailPro > RailPro Specific Help & Discussion

RailPro and DCC Modules Compatability

(1/4) > >>

LanOsb133:
Hello all!  I plan on joining a local Module MRR group that operates on DCC.  I would like to make my modules for DCC since Railpro will also run on them.  However. I was wondering if the Railpro powersupply will power the tracks correctly for DCC users, or if I will have to wire the tracks with DCC power and have it set up for them and than just enjoy my railpro features on just my engines.

Thanks for any info!

Alan:
Sadly, you will have to wire for DCC because a DCC booster applies both the motor power and the digital control signal to the rails. Your RP trains will run fine on the DCC wiring.

G8B4Life:
Well the RailPro power supply won't work for DCC though a DCC supply will work for RailPro so you can't use them at the same time however that has little to do with the actual wiring you need to include on the module. The good news is the difference in wiring for DCC and wiring for RailPro is very little.

Without knowing which module standard the club follows I'll make some guesses to what's needed by the module standard they use.

You will need a track bus. It's wired the same for DCC and RailPro, ie probably just two wires with feeders. Being modular it'll have some sort of connector at each end. You can easily add this connector to your RailPro supply for home use.

They may have an accessory bus. This would be the same as for the track bus (except without feeders to the track) and is no different for DCC as for RailPro.

You'll most likely need to include a command/throttle bus and possibly throttle panels on the modules. This wiring has no bearing on RailPro at all but is needed for DCC.

If you follow the wiring standard used by the club for the modules then your modules will work just fine for both DCC and RailPro - as long as you don't try to use a DCC power supply and a RailPro power supply at the same time. The only other thing you'd probably have to worry about is if your modules have turnouts and they are live frog; you'd need to employ some sort of active polarity switching for the frog and not use one of the "auto" types of frog juicers; most don't work on plain DC which will stop you having more fun when running from a RailPro supply.

- Tim

LanOsb133:

--- Quote from: Alan on April 27, 2017, 01:43:07 PM ---Sadly, you will have to wire for DCC because a DCC booster applies both the motor power and the digital control signal to the rails. Your RP trains will run fine on the DCC wiring.

--- End quote ---

--- Quote from: G8B4Life on April 27, 2017, 10:40:54 PM ---Well the RailPro power supply won't work for DCC though a DCC supply will work for RailPro so you can't use them at the same time however that has little to do with the actual wiring you need to include on the module. The good news is the difference in wiring for DCC and wiring for RailPro is very little.

Without knowing which module standard the club follows I'll make some guesses to what's needed by the module standard they use.

You will need a track bus. It's wired the same for DCC and RailPro, ie probably just two wires with feeders. Being modular it'll have some sort of connector at each end. You can easily add this connector to your RailPro supply for home use.

They may have an accessory bus. This would be the same as for the track bus (except without feeders to the track) and is no different for DCC as for RailPro.

You'll most likely need to include a command/throttle bus and possibly throttle panels on the modules. This wiring has no bearing on RailPro at all but is needed for DCC.

If you follow the wiring standard used by the club for the modules then your modules will work just fine for both DCC and RailPro - as long as you don't try to use a DCC power supply and a RailPro power supply at the same time. The only other thing you'd probably have to worry about is if your modules have turnouts and they are live frog; you'd need to employ some sort of active polarity switching for the frog and not use one of the "auto" types of frog juicers; most don't work on plain DC which will stop you having more fun when running from a RailPro supply.

- Tim


--- End quote ---

Thanks for the insight guys, I figured this was the case but wanted to clarify before I started building my little switching modules.  Tim so if I wired it all up for DCC, and I was at home, I could still plug in the Rail Pro power supply and power the tracks and than unplug it and take it to the club and have them plug in all the DCC stuff and it should (theoretically) work for them?  Given of course that all the wiring is done correctly?  I would love to be able to run my modules that way if possible.

Alan:

--- Quote ---I could still plug in the Rail Pro power supply and power the tracks and than unplug it and take it to the club
--- End quote ---

If I may answer for Tim...

Yes, you can do that. Simply connect the RP power supply to the track bus connector you have for the DCC booster connection. At the club attach their DCC booster, at home attach the RP power supply.

An easy way to think of this is DCC power has two components in series, a power supply and a booster, whereas RP has one, a power supply. Track and layout wiring are the same. If the club uses Loconet you may also need to install a Loconet cable running the length of your modules. It won't actually connect to anything on your modules but it will need to be there to maintain the club's module-to-module Loconet circuit.

Tim makes a very good point about the frogs. DCC juicers don't work on RP DC. To be compatible with both RP and DCC you either go dead frog or use switch motor / manual lever electrical contacts for frog juicing.

A completely different route to go would be to use a complete DCC setup on your modules (minus throttles) and then simply run RP trains on it. The advantage is you can then use DCC frog juicers, auto reversers, occupancy detectors, etcetera for complete interoperability with the club. The obvious disadvantage is cost. 

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page