Add a DC Controller to a DCC Layout
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- Опубликовано: 16 июл 2024
- I added this DC controller to my previously DCC only N scale switching layout that is currently under construction.
►Apollo DC Controllers: www.apollocontrollers.com.au
(Note, you will need to supply a 12V power supply with a 2.5mm plug. Something like this might work, but you may already have one laying around the house like I did: amzn.to/3znqMg5)
►Toggle Switches: amzn.to/45MNCtK
►Toggle Switch Panel: amzn.to/45JKkrh
►DCC PowerCab system: amzn.to/3L5XUM8
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Хобби
That is a really sweet little control panel. Looks really cool too. I need to pick one up for sure!! Thanks for the video!
I use a DPDT switch on my layout. I was always forgetting which way was DC and which way was DCC. I bought a Dymo label maker to make little labels for ease of identification.
I was actually talking to the screen, telling Steve to to just this.
Awesome video. I've got two Apollo Controllers and they are really good. Very smooth control.
Good deal. I recently purchased some Kato DC locomotives and added DC control to my layout in addition to the existing DCC. I am using an old PC power supply for all my power needs except DCC. These new new DC locos run so well out of the box I may never add a decoder to them. I just dont see the need.
I have the same setup except I used one of those old school DPDT switches with the big silver baseball bat handle. And as was mentioned below, I had to use a DYMO labeler to make a label as to which system was which. One warning from my HO scale DCC/DC days - we don't want to have DC locomotives in powered sections of track when turning on the DCC systems. Bad things can happen.
Super 👍👍👍
Steve this an expensive controller and you still need to put a power pack of some voltage behind the piece, its cheaper to buy a power supply that already a supply and put a double poll switch and maybe move the pot off the board, plus they supply pulse with power supply
Not the cheapest, but it works really well and looks really nice. Keep in mind the price is in Australian dollars so US price is 2/3rds the list price. But yeah, if you are trying to save dollars where you can on a project or you have more time to build one yourself, there are certainly cheaper options.
@@StevesTrains , I"ll admit I'm cheap when it comes to certain things. I only run DCC-EX and my layout is setup to run DC or DCC,, and most of the electronics on the layout I put together.
Awesome 👍🏻
I was about to say make sure those gp 40's are dcc ready. The older n scale chasis for these are a mess and hard to get decoders in. I have both in my collection.
Yeah, there are drop in decoders for these newer Atlas locomotives that make the conversion easy.
Even better, set up DCC-EX and you can control the layout in DC mode using DCC controllers!
That is something I’ll need to do eventually.
I have seen that DCC-EX will operate in DC mode, but the documentation for this is almost non-existent. I am working on an Arduino sketch which will run on the *same* hardware as DCC-EX - that reduces hardware cost from $100+ to around $50.
@@rwissbaum9849 I built my DCC-EX stack for around 60 EUR so I don't know where you pulled that 100+ number from...
Also enabling DC operation is as simple as choosing it from the installer options, this is well documented on their website although it is not the most easily navigable site I give you that!
At 4:16 you show the connectors for your two power supplies. Two questions: Are these simply 12V DC adapters that plug into a wall socket? Is it possible to use only one 12V power supply for both DC and DCC wiring by inserting the DPDT switch at the point where the single power supply comes in and then wire the two controllers to the switch?
My DCC system takes 16 volts and the DC one 12 so would just depend on what your systems take. You could of course integrate the power supplies within the layout and just have a single power cord.
Huh, too funny... The Apollo controller has a design similar to a certain PC train sim... Auran Trainz.... Both are from Australia... Coincidence I think not!
Steve, Where did you obtain the Apollo controllers. Have a link? Thanks.
Link in the description
@@StevesTrains
I've got one and they are fantastic. Highly recommended.
do your dcc switches still work in DC Mode?
I have them powered directly from the powercab panel so they receive DCC power whether the track is powered by DCC or DC. But I have to have the powercab on as well to control the turnouts with the buttons in DC mode.
so when you switch from DCC to DC do you leave the DCC equipped locomotives on the layout. what happens if DC current is applied to a DCC decoder?
Most DCC locomotives will operate in DC mode when put on DC power. You can control them just like any other locomotive except that the starting voltage will be much higher than a regular locomotive.
@@StevesTrains While DC operation of DCC , I believe that received wisdom is that you should do this - especially for long periods. Hence "your" solution to adding one or more DC controllers. @hellgatebridge's question wasn't truly answered - perhaps the subject of a future video.
So Steve, what is wrong with a SD40-2? They are one of my favorite locomotives.
Maybe he doesn't care for the manufacturer that makes a lot of the SD models?
More of an inside joke that I always complain about so many SD40-2 models around and I don't like them as much as some others. It just seemed like every manufacturer was coming out with SD40-2s and hardly anything else for a stretch there and I was just getting frustrated about that and refusing to buy them. lol
@@StevesTrainsI have two in HO scale both made by Athearn, but one of them doesn’t like making tight left hand turns, but does fine making tight right turns, and the other works just fine making tight turns, left or right… weird, considering mechanically they are exactly the same.
There is no reason any layout cannot be both Dcc and Dc.One switch will do the job.
*Before* you apply DC power to your DCC bus, *please* carefully review your layout for DCC compatible electronics which might be connected to your DCC track bus. Do you have any stationary decoders (e.g. NCE Switch-It or Switch-8, or NCE Light-It) installed? Do you have any Frog Juicers installed? Do you have any block occupancy detectors installed? Do you have any power management circuits installed? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, proceed *very* carefully. At best, your DCC add-ons will not work. At worst, you may fry one or more of these components.
Good points. My DCC layouts have never been that complicated. I have the digitrax DS74s on this layout connected to my NCE powercab, but not directly to the track bus. So I can power those with the powercab, or not at all, and the track power is selected by the switch.
I think the takeaway here is this: if a modeler wants to have a dual-powered layout, he (or she) should have, as a minimum: (a) a track power bus which will connect to either DC or DCC, (b) a DCC bus for those devices that require a digital signal, and (c) a DC bus for those devices (lights, etc.) that require DC power. Also, powering frogs requires some advance planning. Frog Juicers are great for DCC, but won't work on DC. Therefore, frogs should be powered through a BluePoint or Tortoise or some other turnout control that provides auxiliary contacts.