DCS Rookie: Proper Wiring

Mikado 4501OGR Forum Member

At York, I purchased my first personal DCS system, and am very excited to get it into action!

However, since I'm entirely new to it from an owner's standpoint, I want to ensure that the wiring is proper and that the DCS system can communicate to all of my tracks.

I have 4 independent loops. 3 are connected by switches which have insulated middle rail sections between them. Already, I know that the system does not behave like the older Lionel CAB-1 or even Legacy where you hook it up to one transformer's ground post and you're done. I run with an MTH Z-1000 brick, a postwar ZW, and an ATLAS 80-watt. Do all transformers have to be connected to the TIU to ensure all loops get a DCS signal? And do they all share the same output post? I have read MTH's DCS manual, but it's kinda vague on what I'm looking for.

4/26/1510:44 PM

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Barry BroskowitzOGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBER

This and a whole lot more is all in MTH’s “The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition", available for purchase as an eBook or a printed book at MTH's web store!

4/26/1511:14 PM

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PJBOGR Forum Member

Good luck wiring your layout for DCS. It isn't all that difficult.

If you have any turnouts, however, and intend to power them on all three legs and don't make them junction points by tearing out all wiring in order to have all three legs electrically isolated from each other, it's basically impossible to wire for DCS perfectly. I have the occasional snafu where a command is repeated because I have power drops on all three legs creating at least 2 drops in a given block (like one whistle command causes whistle to blow twice). Having said that, the snafus I've encountered are small (even if annoying) and overall, I think DCS has a ton of great features. I love the Doppler effect, with which we've been experimenting lately. Plus, the star pattern wiring will help isolate electrical problems quickly during any trouble shooting.

Peter

4/26/1511:37 PM

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John DeAltoOGR Forum Member

Hi,

You can parallel black wire together. Never ever connect the the red wire together keep them serapate. Never parallel them together. Good luck !

John,

4/27/157:08 AM

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rtr12OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

I have 2 loops, each have a PH-180 power supply. I have one TIU channel for each loop. The PH-180's are inputs for each channel and the channel output goes to it's respective loop. Each output goes to an MTH terminal block. Each loop is then divided into four blocks with one power feed (hot and common) to each block. These feeds are separate pairs of wires from their respective terminal blocks. Power your TIU separately through the Aux power port. I used a Z-500 from an MTH starter set to power mine. Mine works very well wired this way, I have no problems at all. I think this is pretty typical for DCS wiring.

The book Barry recommended above it's definitely something you need. Worth the price and more. All this is explained in detail, much better than I can explain it here. Lots more stuff in there that will benefit you in using your DCS system as well. I recommend the print copy, you can take it to the layout with you for on-the-spot reference.

4/27/1511:16 AM