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What's All This DCC Friendly Stuff?You will often hear people say that points must be "DCC friendly" before they can be used on a DCC layout. Well, it's true as far as it goes, but totally misleading. The real truth is that points also have to be "DC friendly" but the symptoms of not being so are either not apparent to, or ignored by the average DC layout operator. Short circuits caused by incorrecly spaced wheelsets can occur on points regardless of whether the layout is controlled by DC or DCC. They are often ignored on DC layouts where the controllers are relatively low powered. A DCC, booster, however, may be designed to supply 5A or more in normal operation and will cut off the power very quickly in order to prevent damage to wiring and track by the very high short circuit currents that can flow. A short circuit of this nature will NOT damage a decoder since the current is not flowing through the decoder at all. The best advice is to read Alan Gartners excellent site Wiring For DCC . |