Adding Delay for PSX & PSX-AR
I have a small HO layout (11' X 11" with three levels) and recently converted to DCC with the MRC Prodigy Advance2 system. My main bus wire is 12g with 22g feeders every 3'. I have 3 reverse loops and initially used Digitrax AR-1 reversers which worked fine and I had no electrical problems.
A month ago I decided to add 4 PSX circuit breakers and quickly realized that I had to add manual switches for the shorts, otherwise, the other circuit breakers pulsed and temporarily shut off for a second (probably due to the low amps of the prodigy system). The manual switches work fine (I also added sound buzzers), but when I added the PSX-R reversers (my original Digitrax AR-1’s were too slow) I got a hesitation when the loco emerged from the reverser. After reading the manual I added a jumper to provide more amps to the PSX, but all three reversing sections still have a hesitation emerging from the reverse section. The PSX-AR units seem to work fine.
I did buy the PSX, PSX-AR units and recently a RRampmeter from your website. It seems like I don't have enough amps for this system to work properly. After trying different solutions for a week, I'm stuck and need advice.
I used my new RRampmeter to check amps and voltage. With a load of 2 amps (light bulb) the PSXs short out. When I bypass the PSXs by wiring directly to the rails the RRampmeter reads 2.1 amps and 11.4 volts. Apparently I need to reset the settings on the PSX units. Thanks, John McHugh
Hi John,
You may be on the edge of not enough current to run all of the systems you have installed. However, the first thing is to add a delay to the PSX breakers so that they won't conflict with the PSX-ARs. Do the following to any PSX breaker that touches a reverse loop with a PSX-AR: Follow the programming directions and set CV55 to 1. This will enable a delay in the breaker response. The default delay works for most layouts, but if you still have some hesitation with some engines, then set CV65 to 40. You can continue to increase CV65 by 8 until you have no hesitation. This will solve the problem as long as the hesitation is not caused by a lack of current from the booster. if you get to a value of 80 without fixing the problem, there is probably an issue with the available current.
PSX-AR Shown