# compatibility



## MrDuane (Oct 21, 2011)

Hi, new here and looking to get my first layout going, and wanting to not make mistakes, lol. 

I see posts about sparks and arcs with switches and dcc. and having to hand fix each one. My layout isn't going to be a vast full basement, but will be half a garage size. so I'm thinking maybe 3 engines at one time, possibly 4. 

so, which DCC system works with which brand of switches? since it'll all be new, I don't have to rework any switches for ac instead of dc since it'll all be new.

and I hear it's better for one scale over another. for N scale what advice do you have?


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

Turnouts are not DC or DCC sensitive.Well designed and installed turnouts will not create sparks and arcs as you've read about.It does happen that an occasional turnout will need some adjustments (generally a little filing of points,etc) so that they move and butt cleanly against the other rails but it's about it.I read that some brands of turnouts have to be modified for DCC but never had to do it on any of my Peco turnouts.

On the other hand,it is more likely that cars that have wheelsets slightly off gauge will touch two rails at a same time causing arcing.Now shows the difference between DC and Dcc...DC power supplies will not react to a momentary spark while DCC systems,wich feature high sensitivity protection to shorts,will shutt down and stay down as long as the short is detected.

There's no particular brand of DCC suited to any particular brand of turnouts and/or particular scale.However,I recommend you stick with the leaders (Digitrax,NCE) in DCC.You can have cheaper brands that will get the job done but will be limited in fonctionalities available and in some cases can't be upgraded should you wish to in the future.

There's no better scale...there are just different scales that suit the needs and tastes of different modelers.


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## waltr (Aug 15, 2011)

Here are some articles on wiring turn outs (powering) for DC or DCC.

http://www.proto87.com/turnout-wiring-for-DCC.html
http://www.proto87.com/making-rtr-turnouts-dcc-friendly.html
http://www.railwayeng.com/Turnoutgaps.htm


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

And for the DCC option Brakeman is about right but i will add that ESU's Navigator system has the best hanheld wireless interface right out of the box then any other system I have tried which is most of them. And it is just as upgradeable as the others if not more so. I have however had an issue where after market Soundtraxx Tsunamis sound decoeders will not start up and shut down by your command through functions but I think that is jsut a minor CV thing I need to program into them as the factory installed ones do not have this problem. 

Now for switches there are a few types from the pre DCC age that would have a metal frog which would cause a short on a DCC system and it is easier to jsut get a new DCC type then redo the old one. I have never come across a wheelset that would cause a short by touching to rails and it is getting less and less likely that, that will ever happen because the wheel sets are getting more and more precise. 

Peco or Shinora switchs are top of the line and will cost a good bit but they are very well made and derailments are very unlikely.


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## MrDuane (Oct 21, 2011)

thanks loads guys, ^_^


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

MrDuane said:


> Hi, new here and looking to get my first layout going, and wanting to not make mistakes, lol.
> 
> I see posts about sparks and arcs with switches and dcc. and having to hand fix each one. My layout isn't going to be a vast full basement, but will be half a garage size. so I'm thinking maybe 3 engines at one time, possibly 4.
> 
> ...


MrDuane;

Sparks and arcs on "turnouts" (track switches) are unlikely unless there is something broken on the turnout. As has been said, DCC is more sensitive to short circuits, in a way, because of the very fast-acting circuit breakers used to protect DCC systems. A traditional DC power pack had a slow-acting circuit breaker that would likely not even trip on a brief short circuit.
You can use any brand of DCC system or turnout that you want. To minimise/eliminate any modifications to prevent short circuits you might want to buy turnouts with the DCC friendly configuration built in. Micro Engineering turnouts, Peco Unifrog, and Atlas code55 N-scale turnouts are three that have this feature. There are likely others, but these are three that I have personal experience with. I make most of my own turnouts, and I build them as DCC friendly. They have isolated metal frogs, point rails insulated from each other, and each point rail jumpered to its mating stock rail. A turnout set up this way can't short if a wheel contacts the point & stock rails since both those rails are the same polarity. The isolated frog means there are no rails in the frog of different polarities, since the entire frog is one piece. By the time the wheels have passed beyond the frog, the rails are too far apart for a wheel to short them.
The files below have a lot more information about turnouts. As far as N-scale is concerned, I've been an active N-scaler for over forty years. There are a lot more of my files, written to help new modelers. They are located in the "Beginner's Q&A" section inside the post "Help a new modeler to get started." Or just ask. I'll be glad to help.

BTW. My N-scale layout is in the garage too. My wife wouldn't let me build it in the house, and California homes rarely have basements. 😄

Traction Fan 🙂


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Nice resurrection of a 9 year old thread...


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Clearly, someone has nothing better to do than answer old threads.....


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

THIS DISCUSSION STARTED in 2011 !!


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

That’s what CTV said......


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

Not really, old Snark Bark...
He said "Nice resurrection of........". I said " THIS DISCUSSION.................." ! 
Those are two different sentences.📌


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