beavercreek
Travel, Art, Theatre, Music, Photography, Trains
I have finally bitten the bullet and converted the last section of my layout to DCC.
The section is the 'The Quarry' self contained DC shuttle line shown in https://www.gscalecentral.net/threa...e-loop-mmmm-this-one-may-be-difficult.301465/)
Instead of using a Massoth (or LGB) feedback unit with track contacts, I have used a Tam Valley DCC shuttle unit together with their DCC booster (this allows G scale power and voltage of 22V+ at 5amps).
My whole layout can now run DCC (as well as analogue DC if wanted)
The Tam Valley unit does not require a central station (it uses small plug-in power supplies) and will automatically operate any loco of address 0-99 (4 digit addresses can be used using an optional lcd screen address programmer).
For powering the DCC booster, I use a 150W universal laptop supply set to 20v (at a cost of £10 from Amazon)
The two units (shuttle and booster) are compact and easy to put in a small enclosure.
Although the shuttle loco is not controlled by the Massoth Navigator handset the ease of use advantages of the Tam Valley unit over a Massoth Feedback unit for DCC shuttling are:
1) There is no CV programming required and it automatically accepts any loco address up to 99 (or 4 digit addresses with optional lcd screen)
2) Besides the two gaps in the track that is required, there is no need for magnets or track contacts
3) The speed of the loco can be altered by the speed knob on the unit
4) The time of journey and 'rest' at each end are controlled by knobs on the unit
5) A mid-stop (or 'station' stop) can also be easily added using more rail gaps.
Similar properties to a Massoth feedback module are .....
1) The Tam Valley unit can operate other DCC accessory units to operate points etc so that the loco can shuttle to different paths each time
2) The loco 'rest' sounds and lights carry on at each end whilst waiting for reversal.
3) The system also allows acceleration and deceleration to be programmed into the loco decoder (as long as the end sections are long enough).
I bought mine from Coastal DCC in UK
Tam Valley's website...... http://www.tamvalleydepot.com/products/trainshuttle.html
It works great....... as long as you don't have a mouse eating through one of your end-gap detecting feeds....which happened to me the night before my open day!!!
How the DCC booster (to give the power and voltage necessary for G scale) is hooked up to the shuttle unit (it shows a 16V power supply but a 22v or higher one is perfectly fine)...............
This diagram is not on the website and was sent to me by the Tam Valley product developer, Duncan McRee
The section is the 'The Quarry' self contained DC shuttle line shown in https://www.gscalecentral.net/threa...e-loop-mmmm-this-one-may-be-difficult.301465/)
Instead of using a Massoth (or LGB) feedback unit with track contacts, I have used a Tam Valley DCC shuttle unit together with their DCC booster (this allows G scale power and voltage of 22V+ at 5amps).
My whole layout can now run DCC (as well as analogue DC if wanted)
The Tam Valley unit does not require a central station (it uses small plug-in power supplies) and will automatically operate any loco of address 0-99 (4 digit addresses can be used using an optional lcd screen address programmer).
For powering the DCC booster, I use a 150W universal laptop supply set to 20v (at a cost of £10 from Amazon)
The two units (shuttle and booster) are compact and easy to put in a small enclosure.
Although the shuttle loco is not controlled by the Massoth Navigator handset the ease of use advantages of the Tam Valley unit over a Massoth Feedback unit for DCC shuttling are:
1) There is no CV programming required and it automatically accepts any loco address up to 99 (or 4 digit addresses with optional lcd screen)
2) Besides the two gaps in the track that is required, there is no need for magnets or track contacts
3) The speed of the loco can be altered by the speed knob on the unit
4) The time of journey and 'rest' at each end are controlled by knobs on the unit
5) A mid-stop (or 'station' stop) can also be easily added using more rail gaps.
Similar properties to a Massoth feedback module are .....
1) The Tam Valley unit can operate other DCC accessory units to operate points etc so that the loco can shuttle to different paths each time
2) The loco 'rest' sounds and lights carry on at each end whilst waiting for reversal.
3) The system also allows acceleration and deceleration to be programmed into the loco decoder (as long as the end sections are long enough).
I bought mine from Coastal DCC in UK
Tam Valley's website...... http://www.tamvalleydepot.com/products/trainshuttle.html
It works great....... as long as you don't have a mouse eating through one of your end-gap detecting feeds....which happened to me the night before my open day!!!
How the DCC booster (to give the power and voltage necessary for G scale) is hooked up to the shuttle unit (it shows a 16V power supply but a 22v or higher one is perfectly fine)...............
This diagram is not on the website and was sent to me by the Tam Valley product developer, Duncan McRee
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