# Upgrading to digitrax



## higgsbosonman (Nov 17, 2014)

So our club has finally ripped the heart out of the layout, and in 7 hours two of us rewired the whole thing. The old system was 3 Lenz LV101 boxes (1 has been dead for years), a retrofitted LV102 that liked to throw fits because of incompatibility issues, and the command box. We had 4 working controls out of seven, and the whole system had been acting flaky until it died for the last time on Wednesday of last week.

A single DCS200 and a DB200+ replaced the whole mess, along with a pair of modified server power supplies (max output 24V 47A) to power the system. We got some PSX circuit breakers so our magic boxes don't take abuse from our club members, but didn't install them because they didn't include a bunch of electrical components (they label them as optional), and we need to get some switches and jumpers and stuff. We only have one DT402 control, but we've got 3 of the cheaper ones and plans for allowing smart phone control. We also rarely have more than 3 or 4 trains running at once.

The difference is ridiculous. Engines run easily twice as smooth and much quieter, and have much better low speed performance. on DC, our big boy and challenger run like they have decoders, with no loud humming, although they still get a little warm. On the old Lenz system (which to be fair was installed around 2003), our engines were having power problems and in some sections if you turned on the headlights the engine would bog down and stall from drawing too much current. DC also sounded like someone was playing with a jacobs ladder. I also mentioned the dead LV101; for the first time in a few years, our staging yards now have power! We tried to celebrate by running a train onto one, but deferred maintenance (read; dirty, filthy track) caused the train to stall before it could make it into the yard.

We still have a bunch of things to do, like run the RJ12 cables so we have more than 1 throttle plug and run the power cables to them, hook up the circuit breakers, set up the IR receivers, and find a computer and router so we can control the trains with smart phones, but this is a HUGE step in the right direction.

This also means that trains run well enough that I might post some pictures and videos of the club layout now!


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

I think you'll really like the Digitrax system, I've had mine for better than two years and love it.

Definitely post some pics, we love pics. 

Magic


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

And, you can't beat the Digitrax warranty. If something goes bad,
even if you damaged it, they'll replace it free when you supply them
with copies of original invoice and full explanation.

Don


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## higgsbosonman (Nov 17, 2014)

Hooray for that warranty!

We blew up our DB200+. Our layout is now down for a few weeks until we can get that one repaired or replaced, install the circuit breakers, and maybe get two more boosters so that they are not each powering half of our nice sized double level layout.

One of our members dug through our box of garbage locomotives, and decided to resuscitate a particularly destroyed engine. After he worked on it for an hour, it ran very bad, with coughing fits of full speed interrupted by the gear train locking up completely and the motor stalling at full power. The booster didn't like this too much, because after he had his fun and we had some guests for a tour of the layout, it decided to die (with them watching of course). After some troubleshooting and power cycling, one of the big mosfets inside split open and divested itself if its innards. It is the one that does the stretching of the AC signal to run DC engines, so I know what the culprit is, and now DC engines are banned from the layout. No more back emf from stupendously bad engines.

Live and learn and get good warranties.


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