I named my garden railway "The Saskatchewan Railway and Mining Co." after a railway that was created by an act of parliament in 1888 and renewed in 1891 but never built any track nor acquired any assets.  Not only is it part of local history but the initials, SRM, are also the initials of the group I model with, the Saskatoon Railroad Modellers.  Makes painting the rolling stock easy - the reporting marks are SRM either way.

Jim

Sorry, Kelly, but I am not going to make you any taller.  While that was not CN's official name for that scheme, it was widely called that around these parts.  I still remember the first locomotive I saw with that grey North America on it and wondering what had gone wrong with the paint job.  It was only later, when I was telling a friend about it, that I was informed that the grey patch was North America.

Jim

You cannot have more than one command station connected to the rails at any time.  With two or more command stations issuing digital messages at the same time, the messages would soon be garbled beyond belief.  If you were lucky, none of the decoders would be able to understand any of them.

The outputs of command stations have no fixed frequency, just pulses wider than or narrower than a particular width.  Thus the outputs could be positive or negative at any instant of time.  Whenever the outputs of two command stations in parallel were of opposite polarity, both command stations would see a dead short.  And they would both shut down to protect themselves.  A common over current protection scheme is for the command stations to stay shut down for about 1 second, then reapply their outputs to the rails to see if the short is still present.  If it is, they shut down again within milliseconds.  So each time the two command stations went out of phase, which would be several hundred times per second, they would shut down for a full second.  Not much power would be reaching the rails.

Now if you are familiar with the parts of a DCC system, you will immediately realize that in a combined system, like the E-Z Command, the box actually contains a throttle, a command station, and a light duty booster.  It is the booster parts that would be shut down almost continuously because the command station parts were going out of phase.  You could, theoretically, use the command station portion of one E-Z Command to control the booster portions of two or maybe more E-Z Commands.  This would not increase the number of locomotives you could address but it would increase the number that you could supply sufficient power to. 

As an electronics design engineer,  the first step toward trying this out would be to come up with a schematic diagram of an E-Z Command.  As far as I know, Lenz has never released this information, even to Bachmann.  One difficulty you may have in tracing the circuit to come up with your own schematic is the lack of markings on some of the key parts and the use of only house numbers on others.

I think Doneldon and others have given you good advice - if you want more current, buy a booster.  You are likely to find the output voltage of a booster is a little less than the output voltage of your E-Z Command.  As we are running trains and not slot cars, I see no disadvantage in that.

If you feel adventuresome, consider building some boosters yourself.  There are some good designs on the net, many of them based on motor control IC's that have built in current limiting and/or thermal shutdown.  I would suggest modifying these designs to include optically isolating the inputs if you want to use more than one of them.  At one time, I considered building a number of mini-booster in the 2 to 3 amp range for distributed power around my layout but in the end went with an 8 amp booster and four "electronic circuit breakers" that use the over load protection scheme mentioned above.  While having less total power, the power available in any of the sub districts of the layout is higher.  This works out better if you have multiple trains, each with multi-unit consists, in the same sub district at the same time.  If the total draw of your layout is less than five amps, you can eliminate the breakers and still have your trains fully protected.

Bottom line, your best bet is what others have already suggested - bite the bullet and buy a booster.

Jim

Quote from: Blink_182_Fan on February 02, 2012, 11:38:31 AM
CN also has the 'North America' scheme, which is 'CN' in white on the side with a grey picture of the North American continent.

Ah yes.  The infamous "peeling paint" scheme.  Almost any other colour would have worked.  But grey looked like primer and the edges of North America looked jagged like the edges of peeling paint.

Jim

All of the information is available in books, in magazines, and on line.  So why am I still teaching classes on building model railroads?  I think people like the personal touch and the feeling that if they don't exactly understand the answer, they can ask again in another way.  Then there is the camaraderie, the being together with other model railroaders.  Many of us get a lot of pleasure helping others enjoy a hobby that we ourselves enjoy.  And finally, for those of us who have retired from an active working life, helping others is a way that we can continue being useful in our world.

I would guess that Doneldon spent over an hour putting together his answer above.  That is an hour he could have spent on other things - watching TV, reading a book, working on his own railroad, or just watching the paint peel off the walls.  But he chose to give that hour to wackracer and to others that may read this thread in the future.  There is a good chance that hour will help Chuck get back into the hobby and enjoy his trains.  I hope that will get his grandchildren interested in trains or other hobbies, knowing that children interested in hobbies often learn to enjoy learning for learning's sake.  And who knows where that learning to learn and learning to like learning will take them or what great things they will do in the future?  Doneldon's gift of an hour now may be a much greater gift to the world than any of us can imagine.

Doneldon, ya done good.  And I for one salute you.

Jim

I assume you are talking about Hornby DCC or a Hornby dc controller for H0/00 trains.  Yes, you can connect these to E-Z Track to control H0, 00, 0n30 and any other trains that will run on H0 gauge E-Z Track.  There is a cord available that plugs into the E-Z Track and has bare wires for the terminals on your Hornby supply.  Or you can solder wires to the rails or the rail joiners.

Strictly speaking, you could hook just about anything to E-Z Track including your  220 volt mains supply without damaging the track.  You would, however, damage any locomotive or lighted car on the track and risk damaging yourself if you touched the rails.

Jim

I assume that by "DCC switch" you mean one that is thrown via your DCC throttle.  If so, that lets the Atlas Snap Relay out as there are no external control connections to parallel.  And I don't suppose you spent the extra money for DCC controlled switches just to convert them to manual turnouts.  Answer is:  there is no easy solution.

One possible solution that comes to my mind is to use a second decoder running on the same address as your turnout.  Then wire the LEDs to that decoder.  The exact details would depend on the DCC system used and how it addresses the turnouts.

Another solution would be similar to Jeffery's solution but using small latching relays instead.  I am thinking something like this type
http://search.digikey.com/ca/en/products/V23079B1203B301/PB1085-ND/1633971 sold by Digikey for about $3.50 CAD.  The difference between these and the Snap Relay, which is also a latching relay,  is the current required to operate them.  These small relays require only about 12 milliamps to operate.  This is small enough for the electronics in the turnout to supply in addition to throwing the switch.  A Snap Relay takes about 2000 milliamps which is more than the electronics can handle.  There are two or maybe three complications to this idea.  (1) These small latching relays MUST have dc of the correct polarity to operate.  If you want to connect them to switches that are run by ac, you must add a bridge rectifier to turn it into dc.  (2) The solenoid coils inside the DCC controlled turnouts have no external connections.  This means digging into the turnout to make the three or four necessary connections.  (3) Soldering small connections will be required.  This means having not only the skills but also the equipment - no big old soldering guns for this delicate job.

Once you have the relay operating under DCC control, you can add whatever signals you like.  Separate red and green LEDs or 2 lead red/green LEDs or 3 lead red/green LEDs or incandescent bulbs or semaphore signals operated by Tortoise motors.  I am presently building a working ball signal for my 1880's 0N30 layout which I expect to operate along with a Tortoise motor that throws a turnout.  Both will be operated by one of these small latching relays that in turn will be operated by an automatic reverser as is reverses the DCC on a turn loop.

Jim

The parade of zeros running across the screen of your Zephyr just indicates that the track is shorted by something.  The short causes the Zephyr to shut off power to the track in order to protect itself (a not so crazy response.)  As long as its track output is shorted, the Zephyr tells you about it by running zeros across the screen.  Sort of its way of saying "hey, Buddy, I need you to do something here!"

The power supply may be separate from the booster.  Or it may be built into the booster.  Or it may be combined with a command station, booster, and throttle ("CAB") all in one box.  There are advantages and disadvantages of all the various ways of combining the four elements of a DCC system, both for the consumer and the manufacturer.

If you are already running on dc, then I assume you have some way of controlling your reversing loops.  You can continue to use these controls if you want to but using reversing modules as Jerry suggests makes life much more pleasant.  with the automatic reversing modules, you will soon forget that you even have reversing loops beyond the fact that you can use them to turn trains around.

Jim

Quote from: florynow on January 28, 2012, 11:52:49 AM
It is almost impossible to get a prototypical locomotive steamwhistle sound out of a miniaturized whistle because, while the cell sizes can be proportionally reduced, the physics of the medium (steam or air) cannot.

If you cannot change the physics of the medium, then change the medium.  The higher the density of a gas, the lower the speed of sound in that medium.  The lower the speed of sound, the lower the tone of the whistle.  This is quite obvious when you blow a steam whistle with compressed air.  The air being denser than steam can drop the frequency more than 10%.  With Sulphur Hexaflouride, the frequency would be less than half of that in air.  With propane or even better butane, the pitch would also be lowered but not as dramatically.  If you wanted a higher pitch from the same whistle, you could blow it with Helium.  You may have inhaled helium from a balloon and then tried talking.  Your voice is pitched higher for the same reason applied in reverse.

As important as the length of the resonator (the pipe of the whistle) is the shape of the resonator.  Helmholtz resonators are enlarged at one end to reduce their pitch relative to a straight tube of the same length.  Perhaps a different resonator combined with a denser gas would be the answer.

But I am still going to stick to digital recordings of full size whistles.

Jim

p.s.  7.5" gauge representing 3' gauge is 2-1/2" scale (2.5" = 1 foot.)  

Quote from: Doneldon on January 27, 2012, 01:53:59 AM

... the SoundBug from MRC ...
                                                                                    -- D

I believe the SoundBug is from Digitrax.

I have only used SoundBugs with Digitrax decoders designed to work with them.  Has anyone tried them with a different brand of decoder, particularly a Bachmann decoder?  Is there a problem with functions overlapping?

Jim 

The rail height on my home layout varies from 36" to 60".  The scenery varies from about 24" to 84".  I works for me and the fellows I model with.  When children visit the layout, they are given chairs to stand on (putting the chair backs toward the layout and a little more than an arm's length away gives a child something to hold onto and keeps little fingers from getting into trouble.)  When half a dozen adults are operating the layout, they find it easier to see over scenery, buildings and other trains on the lower parts.  On the highest tracks, they often step up a couple of steps for a better view.  Conclusion: 36" to 45" is a good range of heights for operating.

Our group's large scale portable layout is only 30" off the floor.  This is a great height for kids standing up and parents sitting down.  It probably contributes to its popularity at shows - the kids often march endlessly around with our trains and the parents are glad of a rest.  With other layouts, the kids often have to carry a stool (which fixes them in one place) or have to be held up by a parent (which shortens the length of their visits.)  In extreme cases, we have youngsters visiting our trains for three or four hours, then wanting their parents to bring them back the next day.  And we often have parents, particularly mothers, thanking us for having our layout so low.  At one show, we actually had a nearby vendor come over and give us a couple of pieces of large scale rolling stock because our table was so low - long visits by kids meant bored fathers wandering over to his table and buying stuff.  Apparently, it was the best weekend's sales he had ever had.  Another advantage of low tables is that us old geezers get to sit down to run the trains.  As age creeps up on us, it gets harder and harder to be standing up for 8 or 10 hours for days in a row.  Conclusion: 30" is a great height for a show layout meant for public display.

Two different layouts.  Two different heights.  And they both work for the purposes for which they were intended.  At 6'-3" somewhere around 42" would probably be a good working height for you.  If you like sitting down and watching the trains run, measure the height of your eyes from the floor when seated and subtract 5 or 6 inches for a good watching height.  But don't forget the little people.

Jim

Maybe compressed sulphur hexaflouride would do the job.  Five times denser than air at 20^o C, it would lower the note of a small whistle by over two times (over one octave.)  Alternately, turn the boiler into a whistle and turn the tender into a propane cylinder.  Use the whistle exhaust for jet engine effects.

Hmmm.  I think I will stick to digital recordings of real whistles.

Jim  

Even the best model railroad is but a caricature of the real thing.  And the wise modeler understands the art of caricature - emphasizing the important elements and simplifying the unimportant ones.  I believe Allen McClelland and John Allen understood this well and used it to put their railroads into context.  Some of the concepts we accept as normal today - obscuring our too sharp corners, abandoning strict adherence to scale in order to force perspective, and building recognizable structures that are lower, shorter and narrower than their prototypes - are all part of the caricaturist's art.

Jim

Getting your locomotive to start at about .5 on your Zephyr throttle is easy - just increase the start voltage setting in the decoder by increasing the value in CV2.

A really loud buzz and uneven speed are a bit more troubling.  Bachmann locomotives tend to produce some decoder noise because the decoders are not designed for silent running.  But most would not consider it loud.  Do you have another Bachmann diesel to compare it to?  Uneven speed is often associated with dirty track, dirty wheels, or dirty pickups where the power is picked off the wheels.  With this type of problem, you will often see the headlight flickering as well.  But if the buzz is loud and the headlight does not flicker when the speed is erratic, there are a number of other problems that could be happening.  You mention that you did not find anything major wrong with the locomotive.  But maybe there is something minor wrong with it.  A wire rubbing against a drive shaft or flywheel can make a lot of noise and affect locomotive speed, especially starting speed.  A wire jammed between the locomotive frame and the shell can amplify any small noise that is present.  A bad decoder can cause any or all of the effects you mention.  If the locomotive was bought used, the decoder might be a non-Bachmann one that was not properly installed.  A bad motor, particularly one with some foreign material inside it, can also cause  noise, speed variations and higher than normal starting speeds.  A binding gear or one with a bit of moulding flash on it could cause your problems as could a drive shaft that is installed too tightly i.e. one of the universals not pressed all the way onto its shaft.  Having inspected you locomotive for major problems, you next step might be to inspect it for these minor problems and any additional problems others may add to the list.

If all else fails and you bought the locomotive new from a Bachmann dealer, you also have the option of sending your locomotive back to Bachmann for warranty service.

Jim