Additional Power booster

[motrainguy]

Hi again -HELP-
I plan to have 3 main tracks on the first HO layout I build. Each main track will have a consist of 2 powered diesel's (plan to run long freight trains of 20+ cars or more up some 2% inclines) and maybe a dummy or so. My question is if I use E-Z DCC Command and add a Bachman 5amp booster to run all 3 tracks (3 total trains with a total of 6 engines), will this be enough power for this layout???. 3 of the the engines are later model Bachman but are not decoder ready or decoder equipped (will have to hard wire decoders into them). One engine is a Spectrum and is decoder equip ed already. The last 2 engines are late Athearn Ready to Run without decoders, also need to hard wire them also. Will not have sound (budget not there for this) using only basic DCC engine encoders with filament headlights.

Will I have power to do this with an additional 5 amp booster.   

[ABC]

The E-Z Command can only power about 4 locos simultaneously, so you will need to buy one 5-amp booster.

[Pacific Northern]

Hi again -HELP-
I plan to have 3 main tracks on the first HO layout I build. Each main track will have a consist of 2 powered diesel's (plan to run long freight trains of 20+ cars or more up some 2% inclines) and maybe a dummy or so. My question is if I use E-Z DCC Command and add a Bachman 5amp booster to run all 3 tracks (3 total trains with a total of 6 engines), will this be enough power for this layout???. 3 of the the engines are later model Bachman but are not decoder ready or decoder equipped (will have to hard wire decoders into them). One engine is a Spectrum and is decoder equip ed already. The last 2 engines are late Athearn Ready to Run without decoders, also need to hard wire them also. Will not have sound (budget not there for this) using only basic DCC engine encoders with filament headlights.

Will I have power to do this with an additional 5 amp booster.   

Yes, with  the power booster you will have enough power

[BradKT]

Motrainguy:

I'm glad that I saw your post and I believe that I had the exact same problem as you are anticipating.  I have a fairly large layout (L-shaped with 3 main lines that are connected by switches) and the two halves of the "L" are 5' x 9' and 6' x 10'.

When I ran more than one train, the overall power dropped generally, but especially at several specific locations around my 3 main lines.  At that time, my layout only had one terminal rerailer installed that was connected to the 5 amp power booster.

I also use Bachmann EZ-track, the Bachmann EZ command system and a 5 amp power booster on my layout, but I still had that problem.

On April 14, 2009 I wrote an initial post titled "I Think That I May Not Have Enough Power for My Layout."  The responses on how to fix the issue were truly outstanding.  [/b] [/i] [/u] I strongly recommend that you find this topic and read this post.  If you can access my profile (I don't know if you can or not), it's post numbers 49-59.

IN A NUTSHELL, THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM IS THAT YOU NEED TO INSTALL SEVERAL TERMINAL RERAILERS at various locations on all 3 lines on your layout.  You are not going to be able to supply sufficient and evenly distributed power to various locations around your layout with only one terminal rerailer...even with a 5 amp power booster.  This is especially true about DCC layouts and there are several old threads of this site that discuss this issue.  I believe that a couple of them may be referenced on the discussion thread that I am referring you to.  I wound up installing 12 rerailers.  Some of the responses even had pictures showing me how to do the electrical wiring so that I could connect these multiple rerailers to the terminal wiring strips and then ultimately to my 5 amp power booster.  The hardware for the wiring can be obtained over the internet from Radio Shack.  You can get the wire from a variety of sources, including Home Depot or Lowes.

The group walked me through how to do this.  I thought that it would be an intimidating job but it wasn't at all.  Once you understand the concept, I recommend that you plan out the wiring using the terminal strips by sketching the connections out on some paper.  I am not an electrician and you don't have to be either to do this.  They even told me where to get the plastic clips to hold the wiring in place under my layout.

And no, you do not need an additional 5 amp power booster.

After I got all of the materials, it took me less than a week to do this, spending a couple of hours each day.  As my layout had already been basically built with a lot of scenery, that time period included about 2 or 3 days of minor scenery restoration where the rerailers had to be put in.  If you are just starting your layout, you won't have to deal with that.  The only tools that I needed were a drill, a small drill bit (I forget the size, but that was just to get the mounting screws for the terminal strips started), a larger drill bit anywhere between 1/4" to 1/2" so you can run the wiring through the supporting 2x4s and a set of decent screwdrivers.  The terminal strips were mounted underneath my layout on the supporting 2 x 4s underneath the plywood surface.

This was one of the very best discussion threads that I have ever read on this site...and one of the most useful.  This approach will save you a lot of headaches and an additional 5 amp power booster will be a waste of money because it won't solve this problem anyway.  It is, however, something that you simply have to do if you are building a good-sized DCC layout with 3 main lines as I did.

Good luck to you.  I'll make it a point to check this thread over the next few days to see if you have any follow-up questions.  The group really helped me out on this and if I can help you out on this issue, no problem.

[Doneldon]

You don't need to replace track with terminal rerailers.  Just solder your feeders to the outsides of existing tracks.  This will be a lot easier than pulling everything apart.

[Jhanecker2]

Since you have not yet built your layout you can also install  wired railjoiners sold by Atlas for Code 100 track  insteard of terminal rerailers  or if your not into soldering wires to rails. However , if you are considering soldering , Micro-Mark makes jigs make soldering to rails easier.       Good Luck  !!  John  II.

[Doneldon]

Jhanecker2-  No offense but I don't like the Atlas wired rail joiners because the feeder wires are so very tiny.  Also, taking the existing rail joiners off of Bachmann track (at least EZ Track) is the devil's own work.  One can tear up a piece of track very easily pulling one of the stock joiners off.  Plus, it takes more timethan it's worth.