Are you controlling the switchits from jmri/digital system or from push buttons?

You do not really need to solder or use suitcase connectors. My Club uses 18G stranded for bus wires, and they terminate every 6-8 feet in terminal strips, with crimp spade connectors. Over 40 section

We actually do not solder anything on the club layout except for track drops and inside control panels. All wires drop to spade lugs and a small terminal block. 20 Gauge solid wire for soldering to ra

Note: the LED connection does not have to be 'at' the tortoise. The LED can connect anywhere along the wire from inside control panels to actual motor. (We actually have indicator LEDs wired to the co

I will be doing a clinic on how this works during the LSR Temple convention this year. (May sometime). That will be available online after the clinic. That will cover design decisions and how it was i

I have a push button panel that controls an 8 track yard. Push a button and the tracks align for the track selected. WIring is simpler than a diode relay, but it does use an Arduino. Parts list: Ardui

If you are not using 12V bi-color LED, add a 1K resistor to each LEAD. Run the wires of one LED to each Tortoise, outside connectors, same connection as the control wires. When Tortoise is thrown, one

I forgot to mention Flux. I use the stuff from miniatronics. increases soldering speed by several times. (1/4 to 1/8 the solder time). I do not solder anything anymore with using just a small bit of F

The key for soldering is speed. If it takes longer that a second to make the joint, back off and try another technique. I don't use resistance soldering, so have no idea how that works in real life. U

Are you powering the frogs through the tortoise relays? We have found that some tortoises do not have a dead gap when the relay throws, so the frog shorts in the center of the throw. We had to use bot

Which decoder? Walthers has uses Tsunami, QSI and Loksound as decoder source. Thomas DeSoto, TX

got a pair of Proto GP38's. Might have been in the box a long time. I had to strip down and take off the trucks, and soak away the clue/greese with running alcohol (Soaked on back porch overnight). Mi

Notice what Alan said, ALL power for the track in the block must go through the BD20. I have three BD20 on the same module, about 3" apart on separate mainlines. Two work like a charm, one is always t

There were several products in the past made of organic material. Ground pecan shells or some such. Bad. We use a rock product, not sure the latest vendor. (Lots of vendors come and go over 30 years..

Use ballast sparingly. Lots of issues if you use too much! Just to top of sleepers is almost too much. Should not cover the ties at all. And keep away from turnouts!!! If it does not touch the rails,

The twist is the key. Taping two wires without twisting is worse than just two random wires. Thomas DeSoto, TX

Several things can cause the start and stop. Dirty track is the most obvious, especially if Loks stop at the same spot every time! DC confusion detection is also common on some layouts. In CV29 (or ma

A couple of things our club has found over the years, now standard practice for all club members to do to their Loks. 1. set CV11 = 0. This is the timeout timer, depending on your system, how many add

The Club layout has a master timer on the layout power supply. All layout electronics, light power converters, Arduinos, etc. on same circuit. Push button, cycles through 2,3,8,12 hour timeouts. Layou

The only decoder I am aware of that does not have forward creep when programming is Loksound. Loksound still pulses, but they alternate, forward, back, forward, back... Some other decoders might do th