Newly joined novice.

[ericr00]

Hi, to all.   I have had to giving up, my past 10 years of flying aircraft models, due to age and health.  Concentration of flying a model in the sky, was proving too much for me !

However, I've turned to model railway as a hobby.  And my first question is, when I begin to lay the track and pin it,  is there anything I need to do; such has wireing the system first for Points, Crossing Gates, etc ? ( I intend to use a Select DCC controller).   Any general, additional avice would be appreciated  !!! 

[Chrissaf]

You might possibly benefit from reading Chapter 6 in my 'Getting Started........' PDF document. You can download it from here:

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https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/track-extension-pack-guide/?p=1

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Understandably, we get many similar first posts on the forum. If you use the 'Search Forum' box with the green magnifying glass icon and then use it to initially search for the term "Starting" without the " " marks. Then once those posts are exhausted, search again for the term "Started". You will find many of the posts in the search results will offer a great deal of just starting out information.

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If you intend to start off with a Select. Then if it is not already at the latest 1.6 firmware revision. Then I highly recommend that you get it upgraded by Hornby to 1.6

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This latest 1.6 version totally transforms the capabilities of the controller. The installed firmware is displayed very briefly on the LCD screen as the very first number (between 10 & 16) when the Select is powered up. If the Select has been purchased 'brand new' then the firmware upgrade may be provided by Hornby for free. If Hornby deem it to be a chargeable upgrade then the charge is a token £15 plus your postage to Hornby costs. To arrange an upgrade you contact Hornby Customer Services to obtain a 'returns number' - the Select is typically upgraded and returned within 7 to 10 days.

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TIP: As a newbie poster on the forum, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

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See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/

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[creilly81]

All i would say regarding laying track for a DCC set-upand this is my personal preference (and of course this may also depend on the size of your layout) is to have your control wired to a main bus and have rail droppers every so often which are then soldered or wired to that bus. This creates a far more reliable connection all the way around your layout and leads to far less problems regarding DCC related locomotive issues.

Pre-soldered fish plates made by Peco with dropper wires attached (i believe the part number is PL-80 if you are using the standard Hornby track) with colour corosponding red and black wires,which makes it easier to set-up.

[96RAF]

The object of a power bus is to bypass the fishplates which can be a source of power transmission problems. Pre-wired fishplates in my opinion do not solve the problem.