Tomytec x DCC

[Nick_Burman]

Hello,

 

 

I've decided to take the bull by the horn and start doing my own DCC wiring, the first candidates being Tomytec and Kato "mini" chassis. Is there aywhere where I can find instruction on how to wire these chassis without botching things up regally?

 

 

Cheers NB

[kvp]

Tomytec is easy, track wires to the two pickup strips, motor wires to the two motor tabs and isolate the strips from the tabs. Remove any filter capacitors.

 

Kato mini is similar. Large easy to remove cap, motor tabs are under the white plastic clip, that also holds the cap down.

 

Check the isolations with a multimeter before soldering and use some double sided foam tape for the decoder. That isolates it and holds it in place.

[HantuBlauLOL]

Just a warning, afaik Tomix motors can't exceed 12V for input while some decoders has 16V output for motor.

 

 

Btw, what is the function of filter capacitors? What amount is needed for small locos?

[kvp]

 

Just a warning, afaik Tomix motors can't exceed 12V for input while some decoders has 16V output for motor.

This isn't true. The decoders just output what they get from the track, minus the diode bridge and motor driver drop. The control is done through modulating this track voltage through a PWM cycle. So if you run your DCC system at 14V, the decoders will output something around 12V. If you run your DCC system above 16V, then you are clearly out of the N scale voltage range. Also most decoders won't work below 12V or switch into analog conversion mode, so as long as the DCC voltage is between 12 and 14V, everything should work. (it's true that Kato motors are 16V tolerant so can be run on a 18V H0 range DCC system, but they too prefer to be run on 12V)

 

 

Btw, what is the function of filter capacitors? What amount is needed for small locos?

They are there to filter out small spikes caused the motor commutation, so the trains don't disturb analog radio and tv broadcasts. The exact amount depends on the motor characteristics. They are not needed for DCC, since the decoder has its own filters and having them on the input side would just distort the DCC signal.

[HantuBlauLOL]

To balance the RLC frequency, perhaps?