DCC Basics Wiring & Components

[@aldimore]

I found lots of good info in this series. Very well done. I think any new modeler will benefit by following you.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

thanks! hoping to share my struggles and knowledge through the channel so others can get a head start! this is such a fun hobby, but there's a lot to it.

[@tommynorwood5184]

Hi C Mastracci , very good information on DCC. There’s a lot of questions I still have . But I trun to my Zephyr manual and if I can’t find the answer I’ll make a call. Thanks for the information. Have a good weekend. 😎😎 👍

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

It comes with a pretty decent manual.

[@jonpowell-ov3yh]

Very useful, especially for newbies. One added bit of advice...when I switched to DCC a lot of people sang the praises of "suitcase" connectors. My layout uses 16awg stranded for the bus and 20awg solid for the feeder drops. During the first few months of operation 95% of the problems I encountered turned out to be caused by these connectors. I then switched to the blue "Posi-Tap" brand pieces (part # PT16-18) and operations have been bullet-proof since (at least electrically! Lol).

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

that's actually the first negative i've heard on the suitcase connectors so that's good advice! all of my connections are twisted connections using a Western Union Splice and some electrical tape - except where wires might need to be disconnected - i typically solder the strands together there and then use a joiner so the strands don't become frayed. I'll have to look and see what the connectors are because they're not suitcase and they're pretty cool although i see continued use might wear them out.

[@N-Scale]

Nice Looking and Nice Info !!!!

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

thanks!

[@donwaldron4076]

I also bought two Atlas books!

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

that's how i got started!

[@wilzdart]

good info, One thing you did not touch on was the ground wire from the command station to the booster. I was surprised to see or maybe you just did not mention about power districts. You can get by with a small layout. this is a basic DCC video packed with great advise. Question do you use a power districts on your large layout? Liked the series.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

i did forget to mention the grounding wire. it's visible in the one shot from behind the unit but i skipped right over it. good call, definitely don't forget the grounding wire! i briefly mentioned power districts but didn't really get into it much. I need to do a better job a districting myself and actually wired the layout in preparation for that - i just need to set up the management. helped this entire heap was once block control so setting up districts already has the isolated sections to wire to otherwise it would be a major undertaking.