For Digitrax users and detection/ signalling Gurus: I've mostly finished wiring up my panel for my layout. To see progress, please follow "The Decoy Route" in N-scale. I will have to go make a few changes to the buss wires to have things work properly with the new components. I had originally planned to "run with just two wires". The addition of the PM42 and BDL168 do make things more complex, but will give me more operating potential as the layout grows. The panel will be wired as suchI noticed after I posted that I added an early photo. PM42 as pictured is S4-S1, top to bottom. S1 will be connected to Z1 of BDL168, not yet installed but wired in. Z4-Z1 top-bottom. My PM42 IS WIRED S1 as reverse, S2-4 normal) Two red/black wire pairs on top come from DSC100 & DB150+. These are split, connected to sections 1+2, 3+4, respectively on the PM42. A wire will run between terminal strip positions for any connection needed between components. Question: is there any requirement for track blocks/ sections to be adjacent to each other in relation to how they are wired on the Digitrax PM42/ BDL168? I hope I can clarify this okay. The black line marked reverse will be wired to Section 1-Zone A(1-4). Section 3(PM42) is connected to BDL Zones 2-4(5-16). The portion marked "Outlier Yard" is not set up for detection. I plan to use PM42 section 2 for this, and sections 3-4 for all of lower staging and the future upper level. Hope that all makes sense. From what I can find in my research with all the Digitrax manuals, this should work because all components are connected to Loconet. Is this correct? Thanks for any advice that may come my way. Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk
I will get a better picture of the panel posted tomorrow after I get home. There are more connections completed that are not in the previous picture. Thanks for your patience. Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk
You might want to remember that the reversing section "A", all four sections off your BDL168 will be reversing. All four section "A" feeders will need to be the same section of track broken into four sections or not used. The PM42 should first feed each section of the BDL168, if the PM42 is load side of the BDL168 you will get false occupancy reporting because the PM42 draws just enough current to trigger the BDL168. So if this helps....DCS feeds a section of the PM42 (1 out of four) which feeds one section of the BDL168 (sections A, B,C,D) If section 1 is reversing of the PM42 feeds section A of the BDL168, All four sections will change polarity at the same time. If its in a different section of the layout and something triggers the reversing the PM42 will shutdown, and could cause the DCS100 to shutdown. Now section 2 of the PM42 feeds section B of the BDL168, Now you have four detection sections you can use anywhere on the layout, and I would write them down to make troubleshooting easy. The other sections will be hooked up the same as section B. OR, you can take one section of the PM42 and feed two or more sections of the BDL 168 to get more than four feeds, which saves the PM42 section for anything else.
