Digitrax Power-up Problem

[dclyde]

Lately I've been experiencing intermittant power-up problems with my system which consists of two DCS200s.  Essentially, I have two SuperChief systems.  One is a command station and the other a booster.  My layout is split in half with the command station controlling one side and the booster controlling the other.

I use a Digitrax PS212 (without the amp limiters) to power both units which, of course, is 12VDC.  All accessories (UP5s, UP91 and DS-64s) are powered off of a 12VDC bus which is also powered by the PS212 and not by the loconet.  Total power output seems to be about 5watts in worst case, well below the 20watt rating.

The power-up sequence I use is as follows:
1.  Turn on the PS212 and wait 10 or 15 seconds as all the DS-64s reset the switches.
2.  Turn on the command station by moving the Mode switch from Sleep to Run.  I generally get the one beep which indicates that the command station has booted properly.  I then wait about 10 seconds to give the command station time to boot up.
3.  Turn on the booster by moving the Mode switch from Sleep to Run.

The opSws are set as follows:

Command station:
1.  OpSw 2 - t
2.  OpSw 5 - c
3.  OpSw 44 - c
4.  All other OpSws are set to default (t).

Booster:
1.  OpSw 2 - c
2.  OpSw 5 - t
3.  OpSw 44 - c
4.  All other OpSws are set to default (t).

I've experienced various issues most of which are not accompanied by any beep reports:
1.  Occasionly, all engines on the booster side of the layout take off at full throttle.  The only way to stop them is to physically turn off the booster.
2.  Occasionly, all engines on the booster side are completely unresponsive to any of my throttles.
3.  Occasionly, the booster will not show that it is offline when the booster is turned on.  The track status light is also off.  If I turn track power on, the track status will turn on.  If I then turn the track power off, the track status light goes off but the offline light will not come on.

The booster definately seems to be the problem however, generally speaking, the system will power-up properly if I shut everything down and wait about a half hour and try again.

My speculation to this point is that perhaps there is a power shock to the units when I turn on the PS212 and the units become confused.  I'm considering running the PS212 to a contral panel with a toggle switch for each unit.  Then wait for the DS-64s to reset and then turn the power on to the command station and once it settles down, turn on the power to the booster.  Then continue with the power-up process.

Am I out in left field here or is there something else going on that I'm not seeing?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Dave

[POVC]

Dave,

Two questions:
1. Have you run a BoosterNet cable between the command station and the booster?
2. Have you run a ground cable between the two?

Sounds to me like the "booster" side is not seeing a command signal, so the locomotives are either interpreting power as straight DC (runaway) or as DCC with no signal (unresponsive).

Also, did you add an LNRP's to your system, and if so what are they showing?

Tim

[dclyde]

Tim,

Thanks for the response.

I do have a loconet cable and a ground wire between the two units.  I do not have any LNRP's in the system...yet.

Dave

[mmyers]

Dave,
I'm assuming tha you have each DCS200 connected directly to the PS2012's two output connections. If they are powered from only one connection, you will need the special Y cable. I believe there's a little more in that cable than just a circuit breaker. Some type of isolation if I'm not mistaken.

Before doing the stuff below, disconnect the front plug from the DCS200 booster and any loconet cables.
Reset the DCS200 to defaults by closing OPSW 39. Cycle power after closing the OPSW 39 by turning the toggle to sleep then all the way up to Run. Then set OPSW 2 to C to make it a booster again.
Reconnect the cables and plug and give it a try.

If you want the booster to come up in the same state as when it was shut down...
Close OPSW 33 and OPSW 34.
That way if track power was on when shut down, it will come up on.
If track power was off, it will come up Off.

If none of the above works, check your loconet cables between the Command station and the booster. Like Tim said, it appears that somewhere along the line, the command signal (pins 1 and 6) is being lost.

Martin

[dclyde]

Thanks Martin...I'll give it all a try.  I didn't use the included Y cords as they have a 5amp limiter.  I guess it won't make much difference on an 8 amp system unless I start stressing the DCS200's.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Dave

[mmyers]

Dave, As long as the DCS200's are connected to different outputs on the PS2012, they will be OK. The same type protection that's in the Y-cords is inside the box between the two output connections.
You should also make sure that both boosters are connected to the power supply in the same polarity. Red+ and Black- go to the same input terminals on each booster. Same is true with all other loconet devices, especially PM42's and BDL168's.

Martin

[dclyde]

Thanks again, Martin.  You are right, I do have both units off of on set of posts.  I'll make the necessary changes and let you know how it goes.

Dave