DCC Turnouts and Power

[Spencer]

Hi , I am I Australia and am looking at purchasing a Bachmann starter pack (E-Z command controller , DCC engine and carriages locally ) will purchase the track starter pack from Bachmann at a later date.
I have asked several local dealers , as to what also will be needed to be purchased , to control turnouts , i.e. separate power supply , switches , controllers , wiring etc. and especially what is required for the DCC turnouts.
The replies thus far have been mixed and basically know one knows.. there seems to be a distinct lack of printed information available to dealers.
I have looked at the forum boards , and mostly it directs you to another part of the Bachmann site , but this at best is quite confusing and still doesn't answer my fundamental question.. "What else is needed to control turnouts on a DCC system , ie separate power supplies , switches/controls , wiring etc."
Please Mr.Bachmann , can you shed some simple light on this?

[Jerrys HO]

Spencer,

You have come to the "answer board", I mean The Bachmann Forum and welcome aboard.
I will make it easy for you. The turnouts come two way's, one comes with a controller for operating the turnout and the other has no controller as it is controlled through your DCC controller.
If you purchase the one that comes with the controller you will need a separate power supply to power the controller. An old power pack or wall wart ( old cell phone or cordless tool power supply) will do.
Both are DCC friendly.

Hopefully I have answered your question and feel free to ask more.

Jerry

[richg]

I hope you are buying the Dynamis and not the EZ Command. The EZ Command is very basic. You can control some sounds but you cannot modify the CV's.

Rich

[Jerrys HO]

Rich

I did not know you could control sounds in a turnout. What other sounds do they have besides click, click.?

Oh by the way I love my EZ Command.
Yes it is basic like me until I can afford a better one .
Jerry

[richg]

Rich

I did not know you could control sounds in a turnout. What other sounds do they have besides click, click.?

Oh by the way I love my EZ Command.
Yes it is basic like me until I can afford a better one .
Jerry

I know what you mean Jerry.
Some are happy with it until they can get a better system.
I have seen about six or more Rants a year about the EZ Command limitations in a bunch of train
forums I belong to. The used never bothered to read the manual or made assumptions. Typical Male thing.
Ever hear some guys say, I wish there was a manual about marriage. They would never read it anyway. They would go to a forum, local bar, and Rant.

No idea on what he expects out of the system.
I hope he knows all the documents are on the Parts and Information page.

Rich

[Doneldon]

Spence-

Although power packs have fixed AC accessory terminals for lights, turnouts and animations (a few also have fixed DC), DCC controllers only have the output to the track. You can control DCC turnouts with your DCC system using track voltage. That's a little dicey with the EZ Command because it doesn't have much power to begin with.

You will do far better to use simple remote turnouts powered by an old power pack or wall wart. Anything which puts out AC or DC in the area of 12-14 volts and half an amp or more will do. You'll need a beefier power source if you plan to throw several turnouts simultaneously as might be the case if you line routes into or out of a yard, for example. Remote turnouts are a little more work to wire than their DCC brethren but they are significantly less expensive than DCC turnouts and you won't have to worry about whether your controller can run three trains and throw switch machines at the same time.
                                                                                                                                                                               -- D

[jbrock27]

I have seen about six or more Rants a year about the EZ Command limitations in a bunch of train
forums I belong to. The used never bothered to read the manual or made assumptions. Typical Male thing.
Ever hear some guys say, I wish there was a manual about marriage. They would never read it anyway. They would go to a forum, local bar, and Rant.

Relevance your honor??

[Jerrys HO]

The best part of this thread is that it was about turnouts and how to power them,
not about which DCC system is better.
I still would like to know how to get the other sounds out of my turnouts!
Big D gets an A as he answered correctly. D you get to clap the erasers after class .

Jerry

[jward]

I agree with doneldon.  for me the biggest drawback to the ez command is that there is no upgrade path so if you decide to get something more robust you have to start over with a different dcc system. dynamis is a much better system which offers some very distinct advantages, as do most other dcc systems, even the entry level ones. you can use the locomotive numbers as addresses which makes it easier to remember them. you can program speed settings, and in sound equipped locomotives you can choose the whistle or horn. there are many other advantages as well. keep in mind that while it may be adequate for silent locos, sound ones draw a lot more power and may tax the abilities of ez command. with dynamis you won't have that problem.

regarding switch control, I prefer to use the older style switches with the control boxes. for me it is easier to remember what controls what when I have a bank of control boxes, than it is to try to remember the switch address and how to throw it. I have friends with all dcc switches, and for me trying to run on their layouts is a pain.

I live along a railroad where most switches are air controlled. it would be nice to hear click click hiss every time I threw a switch.

[Joe323]

I seem to remember the scene in the movie "Unstoppable" where the switch is thown and it made a loud clanking noise.  In theory I suppose it is possible to simulate the sounds of a prototype switch with a sound decoder and speaker in DCC but it seems like a lot of trouble.

I have simple wired remotes with a capacitive discharge unit.  Thet make a satisfying snap sound when thrown.

I also have the EZ Command which was fine when I bought it but when I build my new layout circa 2016 I will be upgrading to somthing better for a number of reasons (lack of power, no upgrade path, limited programing abilty).  It should be noted that I started out with 2 DCC locos and am now up to 7 limit on the EZ Command is 9 or 10.

[richg]

I have seen about six or more Rants a year about the EZ Command limitations in a bunch of train
forums I belong to. The used never bothered to read the manual or made assumptions. Typical Male thing.
Ever hear some guys say, I wish there was a manual about marriage. They would never read it anyway. They would go to a forum, local bar, and Rant.

Relevance your honor??

The Male species. They will never change.

Rich

[jbrock27]

Can't say I agree with such a blanket statement.  Maybe that's your experience based on the people you surround yourself with.
Regardless, not sure what place that has on this topic.

[Doneldon]

The best part of this thread is that it was about turnouts and how to power them,
not about which DCC system is better.
I still would like to know how to get the other sounds out of my turnouts!
Big D gets an A as he answered correctly. D you get to clap the erasers after class .

Jerry

Thank you, Jerry. I was always the brown nose who got to clap the erasers.
                                                                                                                   -- D

[Doneldon]

I seem to remember the scene in the movie "Unstoppable" where the switch is thown and it made a loud clanking noise.  In theory I suppose it is possible to simulate the sounds of a prototype switch with a sound decoder and speaker in DCC but it seems like a lot of trouble.

Joe-

You know, it really doesn't need to be complicated because we're only talking about two sounds, depending on whether the switch machine is electrical or pneumatic.

In the first case there would be mechanical clank or perhaps a scraping sound would be better. The air system would have its hiss-thunk sound. Any given turnout would have only one sound -- mechanical or pneumatic. Thus, a small chip would be more than adequate to generate the sound automatically when the turnout is thrown. A nearby speaker or one mounted on the turnout could produce the sound. The only need to involve the DCC system (or the DC system since this wouldn't actually require DCC as it would make the same sound every time the turnout is thrown) would be to select a pneumatic or mechanical linkage. That would be a one-time thing.

Heck, the manufacturers could sell both kinds of turnouts with the sound preset. Then they would install and operate just like any other remote or DCC turnout.
                              -- D

[jward]

from my experience, the electric ones I've heard whir kind of like a tortoise motor. so in reality, you'd only need to generate sound for the air switch motors.