LUGNET News : ~330/FAQ/Trains/twofer


Cary Clark / FAQ / Trains / twofer

Can I have two controllers on one line?

From Ben Fleskes: !

I recomend one controller on each loop, with a pair (or more) or switches connecting the two loops. With this sort of layout you can move your trains between loops easily. It takes a little practice to understand how the switches impact things. In summary:

It’s possible, and sometimes desirable, to control both loops with only one controller.
Running both trains with two controllers may cause a short if you have your switches set wrong or running your trains in opposite directions.
If you short things out, everything shuts down until you find the fault.
You can switch your trains between loops without stopping anything and do it real time. This is a good source of train crashes, so have fun with it.

From Simon Robinson: !

I used a multimeter to discover that the voltage on the track is the larger of the two voltages that the two controllers puts out, if they have the same polarity. If they have opposite polarities, then they always short out and there’s a small residual voltage (about 0.3V) on the track.

There isn’t any noticable effect on the speed of the train if you put an extra controller on the track.

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