Convert Bachmann Non-DCC Turnouts to DCC Control

[jcarlson1701]

Hello All,

I am new to this forum and have re-entered model railroading after a several decade hiatus. For my first setup I have tried to go the most inexpensive route and purchased the Bachmann "Your First Railroad" EZ Track Set along with a Bachmann SD40-2 DCC equipped Loco and the NCE Power Cab Starter set.

The EZ Track set came with 4 remote turnouts (left & right #'s 44561 and 44562 respectively) these turnouts are DC and come with remote switches, however I would like to be able to control these turnouts with my Power Cab.

It has been suggested that I could do this by using something like NCE's "Snap-its" which would be connected to the turnout's existing wiring and then to the Power Cab. I'm a little confused on to how this would be wired...

I understand (I think) as to how the wiring from the turnout to the Snap it would be connected (I assume that I would just use the 3 wire green cable that comes with the turnout that normally connects to the supplied remote switch and instead wire that to the Snap it).

If this scenario is correct, how do I supply power to the Snap it? I only have the 1 power panel that came with Power Cab, so if I have 4 turnouts (which I assume means I would need to have 4 "Snap Its" (1 for each turnout)) How would I attach the 8 corresponding wires for power? I do not want to solder wire to the track if I don't have to. Is there another type of panel that NCE sells to accomplish a nice "neat" connection that I'm looking for? And also, does the Power Cab in it's "starter kit" form offer enough power to drive these turnouts even if this scenario would work or do I need to purchase an SB3 for additional power to the track?

Is this even the proper way to go? As I said I would like to keep the expenses down as I re-enter the hobby and would like to make use of what I already have. Is there a better way to do this using EZ Track? I see that Bachmann does sell "DCC Friendly" turnouts but they are kinda pricey. Or is there a better way than I have discussed (in my confusion) to make this work?

Thank you all for your time and sharing of your knowledge. After I get past this turnout stumbling block I'll be tapping any of yours knowledge for installing a SoundTraxx Tsunami AT1000 in my loco, but one stumbling block at a time!!!

Thanks!!!

Josh

[bapguy]

The 3 wires that go to the remote controll go to the snap it. 2 wires from your DCC bus(track wires) power the snap it. You give each turn out an address. This is how you controll the turn outs from your throttle.  Joe

[jcarlson1701]

Thanks for your reply Joe! However, the DCC bus track outputs (2 wires) are currently going to my rerailer/terminal track which powers my layout. Can I have multiple set of wires (i.e. the 2 wires for track power and 2 wires for each turnout) wired/connected to the same output connectors on the DCC bus? Pardon my ignorance on this as I am pretty new to all of this.  

[Doneldon]

Josh-

DCC-controlled turnouts use track power (or the power buss). That's one of the advantages of controlling
turnouts with DCC decoders: you don't need to provide separate power to accessories.
                                                                                                                                  -- D

[rbryce1]

Your re-railer power connection has a terminal on both sides of the re-railer, which will allow you you to "chain wire" multiple units together to provide track power to many devices.  You can provide power from the control unit to the track by pluggin in the wire to one side of the re-railer, and run a separate wire from the other side of the re-railer to the snap-it device.  I have done this to power multiple rail lines the same way.

The mfg advertises it for an Atlas turnout, but it is for a dual coil mechanism, which Bachmann also uses.

And, according to the mfg, you can use an external power supply to provide power to the Snap-it as well.  Not sure what than means, unless the external power supply is a booster, as I believe it's decoder would have to receive the command signal via track power to operate the turnout.



This information is from Tony's Train Exchange:

General

The NCE Snap-It stationary decoder is designed to operate a single snap action turnout motor. It measures 1.80 X 1.50 inches and is specifically designed for low current motors such as Atlas, Lifelike, Bachmann, etc., but it will operate high current machines such as the Nick & Jack International, Kemtron, or Rix with the addition of external capacitors or the use of an external power supply. The Snap-It uses a capacitive discharge technique to operate coil motor switch machines. In this technique, a capacitor is slowly (e.g. about 1.5 seconds) charge and used to store electrical energy. When a command is issued to operate the switch, this energy is released all at once through switch machine causing it to change position. The current pulse is large, but is present for only a short time (0.125 seconds) while the capacitor discharges so it will effectively operate the switch machine while preventing switch motor burnout and keeping the current drawn from the layout quite low.

The Snap-It supports address ranges from 1 to 2044 and is programmed directly on the main rather than by using the programming track. Pushbutton inputs are provided for manual switch operation. As delivered, one manual switch will open the points and the other will close them. A CV value change will cause the Snap-It to toggle the switch position with each push of either manual pushbutton. For those wanting to fine tune the Snap-It operation, the duration of the output pulse and the capacitor re-charge time are both programmable by changing the appropriate CV value.

Feedback

The Snap-It has no provision for cab bus feedback.

Programming

Programming is easy and does not require the use of the programming track. The Snap-It is designed for programming directly on the mainline. With power off, an included shorting plug is connected across the programming terminals. Track power is applied, and a switch command is issued to the desired address. The jumper is then removed. The Snap-It will now respond to the address issued when the jumper was present.

In addition to the address, the on time of the Snap-It can be programmed. This requires writing a value to CV 552 and requires that your system have a PROGRAM ACCESSORIES on the MAIN capability. The factory set pulse width is 125 milliseconds. It can be set from 1 to 255 milliseconds. I found the default value to work well with low current switch machines.

CV 550 can be set to vary the allowed recharge time of the storage capacitor. Acceptable limits are as high as 10 seconds. The default 1.5 seconds seemed to work well. Longer time will reduce the recharge current, but will also take more time before the Snap-It is ready to operate again.

Finally, CV 548 is set to enable the toggle option. In this mode, the point change position each time either manual control button is pushed. A 0 in CV 548 will disable the toggle option. In this mode, one manual switch will open the points and the other will close them.

Manual

The manual is short (four pages) but complete. It clearly shows how to connect the Snap-It to the DCC system, the switch motor and the manual pushbuttons. Directions are clear and concise for programming the Snap-It address and the other programming options.

Performance

On low current switch motors such as my Peco test load, the Snap-It work quite well right out of the box. However, I was unable to operate a Nick & Jack International twin coil machine using the Snap-It as I received it. I need to add 6,000 uF of extra capacitance in order to operate the NJI machine. The directions do cover this case, including Digikey part numbers for suitable capacitors, but 6,000 uF at 25 volts is a fairly large amount of capacitance. Two 3300 uF at 25 volts (parts recommended in the manual) will cost about $4.20. The manual also suggests that a separate power supply might be used. This would help if you are planning on using an array of Snap-Its with NJI machines to control your layout. One booster supply could operate all of the Snap-Its.

Recommendations

For low current switch machines, the Snap-It is a good choice. It operates the machines well, is easy to install and operate, and provides a very simple programming interface. The Snap-It may not be the best choice if you use high current switch machines such as the NJI twin coil machine. The required additional parts make the Snap-It less easy and more expensive to install. Other accessory decoders are more efficient at operating these high current switch machines (see Tony's other accessory decoder reviews). If you like the Snap-It features and only have a couple of high current switch machines, then a couple of extra parts will have you up and running.

Looks like it will work fine with Bachmann turn-outs, right out of the box.

[jcarlson1701]

Thanks guys! That is very helpful information and I do appreciate it. I'm going to start with 1 Snap it on one turnout and see how it works...