Yelrow Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 greetings, i know how you all like these testing questions. I have made a mini Bus, eg, all 5 circuits now have power, by droppers from other 4, so i no longer rely on points. Being a cautious soul, i dont want to connect Elite, until i am sure i done it right, so, can i simply connect a dc, controller, and test track with meter, or even, run a train. Also i then have to connect power track, and elite to mini bus. Suggestions on a postcard please, with a french stamp, on best way to do this. Would it be better to do away, with power rail, and have another dropper. cheers. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2e0dtoeric Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Connect your Elite directly to the BUS, (and don't use garlic!) 0r it defeats the purpose of having a heavy supply rail (the bus) around the track, if you feed it via the track and a thin dropper wire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Starting with what 2e0 says john, and before you switch on, double check all of your wiring is A to A and B to B for all droppers. As you are doing wiring, I would be fixing your TT too, but if not, then the RLM will still take care of it. So all checked, just connect up the Elite and power up, nothing on the track and no DC checking needed. Given you now have good connections everywhere, any mistake will cause instant cutout of the Elite from the short if you have made a mistake, no damage, just cutout. If no cutout, you are up and running. If you do get a short, inspect again and see if you can see the one that's the wrong way around. If you can't see it, you'll just have to unsolder one wire from each dropper, one at a time, until the short goes away, and the last one unsoldered will be the one that's wrong. Unless you have more than one wrong, but the same approach applies. What do you mean by all 5 have droppers from the other 4? Do you have 5 loops? And just how many droppers have you installed and in what configuration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 Fishy, thanks. To clarify a little. The layout is against 2 walls, eg, corner of the room, so i cannot reach across to the wall, as layout is 5 foot wide. It is an outside wall 2 foot thick. So a proper Bus is out of the question, due to reach. I have 5 continuous loops, all joined by points, with TT, in middle of layout. At this moment, 4 loops have a single dropper, eg, one rail, 2 wires, so these 4 loops no longer rely on points to feed. Remaining loop is fed by power rail. So my bus is fitted all round underneath the layout, but , presently, only soldered to one side. I have just watched a u tube from states where guy uses wire flattened at one end, with 90 degree bend and fits it dropping through rail as a new chair, then solders underneath. That is a part possibility, where i can reach. My view was that if all rails had constant power, it would be an improvement. I would have to cut out from underneath, to join far side, and thats a step too far. Whats an RLM. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 2OED, thanks, will do, but will have to put droppers in to replace power track. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2e0dtoeric Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 RLM = Reverse Loop Module!If your board is five feet wide, and you get a derailment close to the wall, how do you intend to reach it? (Or do you have VERY long arms?) :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 2EOD, good question, i cant. I do not like layouts, where locos have tiny runs. Whats the point of having the cock o the north, if you cant run it flat out, should you wish. Hence my outside track is 10x5 ft, which gives it a nice run. I have 5 of these circuits on the layout, naturally becoming progressively smaller, towards the middle. Also, have 15x20 foot DCC Tam shuttle, around 2 walls, again to allow locos to run. Before my knees became so bad, i intended to cut away some baseboard, from the wall, making , sort of suspension tracks, so i could rectify, from underneath. But now, its re-think time. Once i have perfected this mini bus, it is my intention to add layout to my DC, layout, on first of 3 levels(existing), moving present 3 rail layout to new location. Existing DC layout, on top of ping pong table, 10x5, allows me access to all, just by walking round the room. Centre, oval would be cutout, to allow vision to DC Tracks below. If you can imagine an 10x5, wedding cake, in 4 tiers, with centres out, thats the present layout. In this way, the DCC Turntable, would be on a raised area, to the left of layout, on top of existing DC Turntable. Only problem with all this, is the multiple wires, for 12 points, mini bus, etc. Going to have to ponder that. Was it not you that had similar problem, with a cat on line. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2e0dtoeric Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 I agree with what you are saying, Yelrow, regarding the length of run. I've got about 23 feet end to end, bent into an 'L'. Each end is about 50" wide, with a hole in the middle for access, but the individual board width is ony 36", and THAT's a quite a stretch if something happens at the back!That is one reason why I scrapped the first layout, I couldn't reach anything that derailed or got stuck behind the back-scene, without getting a ladder out, leaning it on the wall, and using a 'picker-upper' spring claw gadget.Yes, I'v a cat that likes to sleep on the line, in the sunshine through the window. I keep a spare garden cane in the room for prodding her with, if I want to play!I sometimes hear her playing with the loose rolling stock, too - usually at about 3am. I hear them going click-click-click- as she pushes them about, often followed by a clunk! as something falls off the track! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Cats seem to love model railway rooms, don't they? However, I try my best to make quite sure mine (cat, not model railway) is not in there at night, although she has occasionally and sneakily kept so quiet and cleverly hidden away in there at chucking out time that she has had her wicked way. They're not stupid, are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Chucking out time? Around here it is shutting in time, as a service to the local fauna. John, that's more a micro than a mini bus, but anything that cuts down the number of points and fishplates between the controller and the end of the line is going to help. You will of course still need DCC point clips to your sidings, if not now in your crossovers given you have power feeds to each side of them. Sorry about the unexplained RLM but, given you have one running your TT bridge, I thought you might have remembered that one. And clearly you will not be rewiring that just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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