Absolutely. Minimal sound while idling. Kill the sound if you don't want to, but the power is almost nothing. ...Tom

Hi... I would suggest to reduce this to the simplest situation. By that, I mean I would first check your wiring (I assume you have, but...). Then just use the PowerCab to RESET one of the decoders and

I used a limit roller switch on one rail to turn off the power when it was up. It worked for 8-10 years without a hitch. No relay required, since the switch was over 2 A, and the engines didn't draw t

Hi.. That is basically what I have used. I also decided to route the power so it cut off the tracks on both sides of the opening for 5 feet or so, which required (in my case) two switches. There may b

Thanks for the suggestions. There turn out to be no real complications that I was anticipating, so I am able to move forward with what's there and your ideas. ....Tom

The second method wins. As Steve is suggesting, there is really no need to have the breakers centrally located. ...Tom

Hi Folks... A late contribution/suggestion: if I were doing it, I would remove the three turnouts on the red track starting above the word Westfield and moving to the northeast. That also removes the

Kudos to Jim. If what you have is working, don't bother to try to re-twist an existing layout. That was my condition for the layout I dismantled last year. Twenty years, 25-foot runs, no twist and no

Not dumb, but just requires a choice. Feeders to the stock rails or just solder the stock rails to the flex track (or whatever). ....Tom

Yep to all of that. I use the TCS KA 1s or 2s exclusively because they give me the shortest time. it's still more than I need. When I do an install, I always make sure the client knows what he's getti

Hi Jim, Maybe I am misunderstanding what you said. If the Tortoise and AR work without keep-alive devices, they'll work with. The energy storage works for the engine but doesn't have any effect on the

I think that you will find later that you will have too much track and not enough room for buildings and scenery. Most of us have made that mistake. Ask your self where you are going to put buildings.

I'll echo what Gary says. I don't see any way that current gets from top to bottom copper unless a bit of solder crossed the gap or something else (??). Then the resistance would be tiny and an easy p

There should be infinite resistance between opposite rails unless you have some type of connection between them.

You could also apply 3 volts with a series set of batteries. Not enough to hurt the bulb. ... Tom

I'm afraid that we are getting close to causing grief here, but there is a significant point to be made. Programming can be done easily with the basic DCC system. There is no need for hexadecimal or b

I felt that might be the problem. So let me say again, that you need to find a human that will do it in person or get on the phone with you. I have done this more than once with EasyDCC and NCE, with

Hi... I would strongly recommend that you search for one of the books on introductory DCC. Then study the section on how to program CVs until you are comfortable with changing one and what is accompli

I'll toss in an opinion which echoes those of others. The diagram looks OK for the reversers I use, which are by DCC Specialities. I don't know the MRC unit. So I'll pose a couple of ideas: If the MRC