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Booster
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The booster is sometimes referred to as a the "Power Station". Since the booster contains no intelligence (non-thinking), it can be thought of as the "Pack Mule" of a DCC system as it is responsible for combining the intelligence from the command station with the power of the power supply.
Sometimes, the command station and the booster are combined into one box to make setup faster, cheaper, and simpler. Typically, your first booster is combined with the command station, however, additional power supplies and boosters can be added to larger layouts, or layouts needing additional power such as garden railroads.
Remember, there can only be one command station active on a layout at any one time. If you want to use a combined command station/booster on a layout as a simple booster, you will have to be sure the command station functions of the additional unit are inactive. Some units will shut down the command station functions automatically if they detect another command station on-line. (In this case, turn the command station unit on a few seconds before the other units!) Others need to have this done through some kind of manual procedure. A few command station/boosters cannot be used as booster-only units. Check your unit's documentation for details!
Contents |
[edit] The Booster's Job
The booster takes signals, or commands, from the command station and combines it with power from the power supply. The output from the booster is sent to the track rails to control and power the locomotives equipped with decoders. You can also optionally connect to the track power stationary decoders to control devices like track turnout switches.
Note: However, electric turnouts should be connected to a seperate booster, or at least through a power management device. See the Turnout Control page for details and explanation.
[edit] Booster Power Regulation and Protection
Boosters are responsible for doing the following task: 1) Convert the incoming AC or DC power into a local internal DC power source suitable to drive the track. 2) Provide current limiting protection so that any short circuit current is within safe limits of the booster abilities. 3) Optionally provide a regulated voltage for the track. 4) Provide an automatic resetting "Circuit Breaker" protection function to limit the total power when a sustain short circuit occurs. 5) Convert the command station DCC signals into a DCC track waveforms with suitable volts and amps to run locomotives.
[edit] Booster Size (Amps)
A booster's capacity typically ranges from 2.5 amps to 10 amps, but most of them are around 5 amps.
N and HO scale should not use a booster greater than five amps without some sort of power management device in place. This allows you to use 8-amp boosters, but limit the power sent to different power districts to lower levels. This helps protect your trains and their decoders.
O and G scales should use the eight-amp boosters, along with some power-hungry S Scale systems
If the layout gets large enough to run lots of trains, you can have as many boosters as needed to run all the trains. N-Trak has run extremely large layouts with dozens of boosters controlled by a single command station.
[edit] Additional boosters
You might think it's best to have a single, large, booster to power your entire layout. However, you will soon learn, it's typically best to have a couple smaller boosters distributed around your layout. The reasons include: Additional trains, reverse sections, and isolate derailments.
[edit] Adding boosters
To add additional boosters, you will need to electrically divide your track up, and connect a new booster to that track. The booster will also need to be powered from a seperate power supply, and also connected to your DCC system's booster bus. By connecting the booster to the booster bus, all boosters on the layout will send out the exact same commands to all sections of the track at the same time. This allows trains to recieve commands, even if they are in the middle of crossing between boosters.
Suggestion: Be sure to double gap the tracks to fully isolate the boosters. That is, both rails need to be cut at the same spot.
Warning: Do not wire booster in parallel. This will lead to melted plastic and fried boosters. You cannot simply wire them in parallel. You must connect seperate sections of track to seperate boosters.
Caution: Follow the manufacturer's directions for the booster and your DCC system on how to properly wire an additional booster.
[edit] Additional trains
A booster is rated for a certain amount of power that it's capable of delivering to the tracks. If you try to squeeze more power out of a booster than it's capable of deliverying, it will simply shutdown. If you notice the trains starting to slow down when multiple trains are running, that's a sign you are reaching the limit of your booster - it's time to add additional boosters. Currently, typical boosters deliver between 4 to 5 amps, and as high as 10 amps. This may be enough to run a train or two in the garden, or almost a dozen HO or Z scale trains.
[edit] Reverse Sections
Please see the main article on Reverse sections.
[edit] Isolating derailments
Sooner or later, a train will derail causing the booster to go into short-circuit protection mode. Once this happens, all trains using that booster will come to an immediate stop. If you want to prevent a derailment, say in a switching or staging yard, from stopping all the trains on a layout, you can power these sections with a seperate booster. This way, if someone accidentaly shorts the tracks while putting locos on the tracks, the rest of the layout will continue to operate.
[edit] Alternatives
There are alternatives for adding boosters to get the above listed features, except for adding a booster for additional power. If all you need to do is isolate a small section of track, or run one or more Reverse sections, then you can use power management modules found from various manufacturers. These modules typical go between the booster and the rail section you wish to add the feature to. For example, a reversing power module would connect between the booster and a reversing section, but the rest of the track is still powered directly from the same booster. Some power management modules can take a single (or multiple) input, and provide multiple outputs. This splits up your layout into several blocks using a single booster.
