Kevin's Inglenook Junction
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Two Planks Become One
Ron I THINK Kevin is getting a short as soon as he connects the 2 boards together and turns the controller on ?Not sure if he gets as far as running a loco ? I think the fault shows up even if Kevin switches the wires over connecting from one board to the other
Hopefully Kevin will post a response when he sees our posts
We will try and get some photos up tomorrow which should help :thumbs
Cheers
Matt
Wasnie me, a big boy did it and ran away
"Why did you volunteer ? I didn't Sir, the other three stepped backwards"
"Why did you volunteer ? I didn't Sir, the other three stepped backwards"
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Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Gnight, sleep well tomorrow is another day :thumbs
Cheers
Matt
Wasnie me, a big boy did it and ran away
"Why did you volunteer ? I didn't Sir, the other three stepped backwards"
"Why did you volunteer ? I didn't Sir, the other three stepped backwards"
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Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Best wishes Kevin
Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Ed
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Staying on the thread Kevin.
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I was just think out loud and thought if you did still have a PCP on the fiddle yard board, it would make both boards work ok independently, but if one PCP was wired the other way around, they would short when put together.
Ed
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Last edit: by Passed Driver
Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Interesting conundrum here. Normally when you install a second PCP for a second loconet controller, it is not a power source, not connected to the power bus and not capable of programming a decoder. Do you have a loconet cable (RJ12 with reversed ends) between the PCPs? Or did you just wire it to the bus? The reason why there are 2 sockets in the PCP is one for power/control, one for control.
That scenic break will get in the way of seeing what is going on, so perhaps moving the control panel to the middle and on the side and having a demountable shelf with crocodile connectors from the PCP to the bus might give you the sight lines. Or just having the PCP on the side in the middle? The flexible cable from the controller is good for at least 3 feet.
Why not take a break from poking around with the wires and draw the circuit diagram and take a photo? Then we can see what you have done and make pertinent suggestions. I have been following along and I think I understand. Maybe.
Even if you did inadvertently wire the second PCP opposite to the first it shouldn't affect operations as long as there were not 2 control units plugged in and they were not connected by loconet cables. Although thinking about it could as they would both be connected to the bus. Carry on and before long you will find yourself in power districts dealing with multiple independent power sources. With a short scenic board and a fiddle yard I doubt you need more than one PCP and one power controller. I have had my Powercab system running 4-6 4-foot modules using crocodile clips and one PCP.
Already said I think, but remove the second PCP and just connect the fiddle yard with bananas, having checked the polarity with the multimeter.
Nigel
©Nigel C. Phillips
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Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Check the bus wires connections on them are not reversed as they would have worked individually ok but when you join the boards together that would cause a short.
The photos will help if you can upload them.
Brian
OO gauge DCC ECOS Itrain 4 computer control system
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Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Understood. Have a break, brew some tea, watch some ootoob.
Re Brian's comment. Connecting two PCP boards to the bus in what is the same sector could be an issue. Even with the correct polarity. I think the PowerCab has to be connected to the bus using 1 PCP. The PowerCab also expects the second board to be a signal only board connected to the PCP via a reversed RJ12 cable, and not attached to the power bus. Which is what a basic controller plugs into. Another PowerCab unit can be plugged in but only to the LocoNet socket. I think. Have to check the manual.
Never tried it so just guessing. NCE would know. Bus power to 2 PCPs could be a no-no. The internal wiring could in fact reverse the polarity causing a fault/error message.
Nigel
©Nigel C. Phillips
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RE the PCP Nigel may well be on the right track there as you would probably connect them through loconet using a cat5 cable or whatever they use and the first one would only be connected to the bus wires. That to me sounds logical as S88 bus works in a similar manner. Im not a Powercab user so i would not know what exact connections they use.
Off topic
RE BT Kevin i have been trying to renew my broadband contract for 2 weeks now they are a nightmare to deal with for a communications company they are useless
Brian
OO gauge DCC ECOS Itrain 4 computer control system
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The only connection between the 2 PCP boards is what they are calling a Powercab flat cable.
And no bus connection or transformer power connection to the second PCP board.
Brian
OO gauge DCC ECOS Itrain 4 computer control system
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"For this reason, you cannot move the Power Cab to different panel locations without a few changes to the layout. The reason for this is that the actual track power on the rails and the power from the wall transformer BOTH go through the Handset / Cab directly. If you unplug the Power Cab you have no track power and all locomotives will stop instantly. This also means that to use different panels and different locations you would have to move the track and wall power connections on the rear of panel each time."
"If you wish to use the Power Cab in two completely separate locations such as a work bench and a layout that can be done by having two P114 power supplies and two (PCP) power cab panels. one set in each location. The two locations cannot be electrically connected or have a connection via track."
https://ncedcc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/207811543-Moving-the-Power-Cab-to-a-different-panel-location
Kevin, If you did not disconnect the first PCP from the power bus and simply wired in the second PCP to the fiddle yard via banana junctions that is probably what is/was causing the problem. If you want two Cab throttles what you need is a UTP (Universal Throttle Panel) and a second controller - Cab06 Engineer - and a length of RJ12 reversed to connect them. That way you can control the yard and the scenic part separately. One in the middle would suffice though. Get 2 cab holders and attach them to the sides.
Nigel
©Nigel C. Phillips
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Ed
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It was an exercise to see how the fiddleyard worked by itself and to prove that there was no short circuits present.
The PCP hs been reconnected to the four foot by nine inch Inglenook. Best wishes Kevin
Staying on the thread Kevin.
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