> "rcovington92" wrote:
> A. What is the minimum recommended Amps for S-scale DCC?
This is a little bit like asking "how high is up?"
One way to work towards an answer is to identify how many motors you will be
operating simultaneously. That sort of depends if you have a large layout or a
small layout. It also depends on if you plan to operate it by yourself or with
several friends. Regardless of how you get there, the first step is to come up
with the number of how many motors will run all at the same time. Keep in mind
that some locos have two motors in them.
For a guesstimated round number, figure one-half amp per motor. A bit less for
small engines and a bit more for large engines or older engines with less
efficient motors. Add it all up which makes Sub-total #1.
To Sub-total #1, add any other electrical loads that might be simultaneously
powered by the DCC system. The most common items are probably lighted
passenger cars and lighted cabooses and loco headlights. Passenger cars with
bulbs will draw many more amps than passenger cars with LEDs. The next most
common electrical load might be switch motors. Add up the current (amperes,
amps) for these types of devices that will be simultaneouly operated and you
now have Sub-total #2.
For a large layout, I would add on another 15-20% as an allowance for future
growth and miscellaneous electrical loads such as electronic circuit breakers,
etc. This allowance is Sub-total #3.
Add up all three Sub-totals for a TOTAL. This is the current rating of a DCC
system which will be adequate for your needs. If you choose a system with a
smaller current rating, you might find operation will suffer.
> B. I have heard the the NCE starter system is a little to weak to handle
> S-scale yet I see several of you are using it...what are opinions on this?
There is no need to rely on opinions. Many opinions are little more than
guesses. Do the arithmetic as explained above and you can proceed with
confidence. It all depends on how much load (amps) your layout will crave from
the DCC system. The NCE web site states their Power Cab system (aka "starter
system") is rated at 2 amps. It also shows add-on boosters of 5 amps each
(SB3a and DB3a). Thus, you can increment with add-on boosters almost without
limit. Up to four cabs (throttles) as well.
> C. Lash-ups, taking AM as an example, if I was to grab an A-B-A unit, does it
> come already synchronized?
This is a tricky question since AM has used different motors over the years and
has two different worms (sausage-shaped gear) resulting in different speeds.
If all three locos were made at the same time, then the motors and gears are
probably all the same. No worries then. They will all run together at the
same speeds without problems.
> If not how do you go about getting the two A's running the same speed?
If the A-units have different worms, then call up AM and order one new worm so
that both have the same worm. If the worms are the same, but the motors are
different, do a test run and see if they run at approximately the same speed.
If they do not run at the same speed, then call up AM and see if they still
have one of the motor types available. If possible, you want to end up with
identical motors in both locos for best results with minimum hassles. All of
the above assumes you want to run with DC.
With DCC, differing speeds is not much of a problem because you can program
each loco's decoder so the locos become speed matched. No need to go buy a new
motor in this instance.
> Lastly would the AM scenario be the same with other manufacturers of A-B-A
> units?
The concept is the same. If the motors and gear ratios are identical, the
speeds should be matched well enough to run satisfactorily on DC or DCC. You
might have to run them a bit and lubricate them a bit and check for minor binds
in order to have all of them run at the same speed all the time both forward
and backward.
> D. If MTH/Lionel DCC can't be controlled with NCE with system does work with
> them?
Any locomotive that has an NMRA-compliant decoder installed can be operated
with NCE or any other NMRA-compliant DCC system. Any opinions contrary to that
are simply not true.
The NCE system is somewhat unique in that it does not encourage the user to
operate a non-decoderized loco with it's system. It can be done, but the user
has to jump through an extra hoop or two to make it work.
> Since this is all S-scale based questions, I didn't bother joining the DCC
> group, because I wanted S-scaler feedback
There is nothing about DCC that is scale dependent. It works with all scales
and the physical size of the loco has nothing to do with anything. Quite
honestly, you will get much better answers to NCE-related questions from the
NCE Yahoo Group than from any other Yahoo Group.
If you are contemplating NCE, I would urge you to join the NCE Yahoo Group and
ask as many questions as you can think of. The only S-related question you
might have is now much current does a specific S loco draw. That would be a
good question for this S-scale Yahoo Group. You could also use an ammeter to
measure the current for yourself and not ask any questions at all.
Good luck....Ed L.
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