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The following review of the DCC Specialties DCC circuit breakers
was published in the August 2007 issue of Model Railroader.
DCC Specialties PSX circuit breaker
Though you'd probably not think of using the word
"cool" to describe a circuit breaker, the term definitely applies to
the new PSX series of Power Shield Digital Command Control circuit
breakers from DCC Specialties. The PSX models have a wealth of new
programmable features, such as occupancy detection and adjustable trip
current, making them much more than simple circuit breakers. And, with a
feature called Adaptive Load Reset, the PSX breaker can tell the
difference between a short circuit and power-hungry sound decoder
capacitors, which should be a welcomed relief for many sound-frustrated
model railroaders.
For those already familiar with earlier versions of the
Power Shield breakers, the PSX series has the same, reliable operating
features that protect model railroad equipment and wiring from damage
during a short circuit, including fast-acting, solid-state electronics.
The Power Shields are available in 1, 2, 3, and 4 circuit-breaker
models, allowing you to divide the output of a single booster into
independent power districts.
The advantage of using power districts is that should a
short circuit occur in one district, it will trip only that district's
breaker. This way the rest of the districts on the layout continue to
function without interruption.
Our sample unit from DCC Specialties was a single-breaker
PSX-1. To test it, I installed the breaker on one of our HO scale
project railroads, which is powered by a Model Rectifier Corp. Prodigy
Advance DCC system. I began my test with the quick-start instructions
(requiring no programming), included in the instruction booklet.
The Power Shield's circuit board is wired between the DCC
system's booster and the track bus, and the PSX-1 includes screw
terminals for easy connections. There is also an extra pair of
terminals for linking the booster input wires to addi-tional PSX
breakers, should you decide to add extra breaker-protected power
districts later. Once I'd connected the breaker, I powered up the DCC
system and checked that the correct operation light-emitting diodes
(LEDs) were lit. Getting started was that easy.
Next I tried out the Adaptive Load Reset feature. A PSX
circuit breaker can determine if an overload is a real short circuit or
due to the in-rush current needed to charge the capacitors found in
sound-equipped locomotives.
I tested this feature with 10 sound-equipped engines
(most with QSI decoders) all on the same power district. Once
everything was functioning, I short-circuited the track with a
screwdriver and then waited to see if the PSX would bring the track
power back on line. Every time I conducted the test, the PSX properly
reset the track power - all 10 sound decoders included.
I was impressed.
The PSX-1 also offers a lot of great advanced features.
Some of these, such as panel-mounted LED indicator lights and switches
for resetting the breakers manually just involve connecting wires and
components to the PSX-1.
Other features require programming, which can be done by
con-necting jumper wires to the PSX-1's circuit board or by using a DCC
system. To program the PSX-1 using a DCC system, connect the J1-3 and
J1-4 pins to the DCC system's track output. You also need to move the
blue programming jumper (J3) from pins 2 and 3 to pins 1 and 2.
There's some variation in procedures for programming the
PSX-1's CVs with the various DCC systems on the market. To program the
PSX-1 using MRC's Prodigy Advance system (what I used for the test),
you must use ops mode programming. The instruction booklet provides
information for working with other DCC systems.
Once you're ready to program, there are a number of
features you can adjust - one of which is the trip current. As
delivered from the factory, the PSX-1's trip current is 3.81 amps,
though you can adjust it from 1.27 amps to 17.8 amps.
You can also program the PSX-1 to be used as an occupancy
detector, using either track current or a photocell to detect the
presence of a train. If wired with a photocell, the PSX-1 can be set to
turn off track power when the train is detected, which is useful for
staging yards.
DCC Specialties has taken its Power Shield circuit
breakers and made them even better by adding features most modelers
will want.
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