DCC Which Rail is A or B

Is there a standard which suggests a preference as to which rail (inside or outside rail) should be wired to the Rail A or Rail B terminal on a DCC booster? I know it needs to be maintained around the layout, but should Rail A be the inside track rail or Visa Versa.

 

It doesn't matter what you name the rails. I use the wire color as a guide; (red and black). If you connect the wrong wires, your system will short out.:lightning::lightning:

Stay cool and run steam.....

 

Ya what he said. :thumbs_up:

 

In NTRAK, no standard is specified, however the recommended practice for DCC is that the "A" track output from boosters connect to the front rail on normally configured modules, with the "B" track output to the rear rail.

Note that not all manufacturers use the "A" and "B" designations, so they key is to be consistent within whatever system you use.

 

EEK!

I can tell that whenever I get into DCC my head is going to spin...

mg: mg: mg: mg: ​

 

Owen
I have talked to people who remarked the 'A' to a 'R' and then connected red to 'R', black to 'B'.
Sounds pretty simple, which is what you want!!

2slim

 

Thank you gentlemen for your input I was curious if some one had come up with a standard.

 

There is a unwritten standard, Right rail foward movement (red) as used in DC. Used in DCC as long as you right rail (red) move foward you can't go wrong.

"Still Training After All These Years"

 

Ok I'm still figuring some stuff out about DCC, I know that the engines have to be set on a certain direction. But how is it possible to see in a mult-unit with 1 engine running forward and two following running backwards. Are they programmed first to do that ?? and isn't it possible to initially put the loco on the track and put backwards to run ??

 

With DC, direction of travel depend on rail polarity. You reverse a loco on the rails, it still moves in the same geograpical direction (Forward=east). With DCC, track polarity doesn't matter, so forward is always toward the front of the loco, no matter which way it is placed on the track.

For multi-unit lashups like you describe, the "Normal Direction of Travel" (NDoT) is set by the least siginificant bit of CV29. If CV29 is even, forward is toward the front of the loco, if CV29 is odd, it runs backasswards.

 

No, it will occasionally utter epithets, but it will remain firm, always seeking solutions you didn't realize you were capable of. And when everything works it will swell with pride. :teeth: :teeth:

Ben

 

seems like we used the moniker Blue to the Back for t-trak modules. kato unitrack wiring is blue and white. keep that standardized and it doesn't really matter if you use A or B on your DCS.. I like the KISS principle.. Keep It Simple Stupid