The Hare™ Review

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Updated 5/17/2005.
Thanks to Don Fiehmann for keeping us posted!

The Tortoise™, the Tortoise™ Logo and the Tortoise™ graphic are trademarks of Circuitron, Inc. of Romeoville, Il. They and all photos of the Tortoise™ are used with permission. The Hare™ is a product of DCC Specialties, which is in no way affiliated with Circuitron, Inc.

DCC systems and decoders have made dramatic improvements in the last few years.

The Hare™, the first in a new line of smart accessory decoders from DCC Specialties.Com is an example The Hare™ is an accessory decoder that drives a Tortoise™ switch motor. What makes the Hare™ different from other accessory decoders is its Plug n Play connection to the Tortoise™ and the unique array of added smart features. The Hare™’s small size allows it to fit under the Tortoise™ and plugs directly into the Tortoise™ connector. The 10 position terminal strip is used for connections like power, LED indicators and a remote push button switch.

The Hare™ plugs into the Tortoise™

The Hare™ has an impressive number of smart features. One thing for sure, it is no dummy bunny! Along with its primary accessory address there are 13 added addresses that can be used in conjunction with other Hare™s to set up routes. This feature is called Smart Routes™. Also, the position of the switch on power up can be programmed for either a default position or return to the position it was when last powered down (Smart Default Ops™). The Auto Throw™ is an impressive feature that has the ability to align the switch points set the wrong way as a train approaches, preventing a short or derailment. Auto Throw is also ideal for automating Reverse Loop Turnouts.

I had an opportunity to check out one of the first “Hares™”. For me is was a good chance to replace one more of my old twin coil switch machines with a Tortoise™. The location I selected was at the end of a passing siding that seems to have the turnout frequently left set in the wrong position with a resulting short or derailment. The old twin coil machine was removed and a Tortoise™ was mounted using a hot glue gun. (This mounting hint was from NCE.) I find this the fastest way to mount the Tortoise™. The turnout was an old Tru-Scale with a single piece for the points that were pivoted by the switch machine. Electrically the switch is like a solid or electro-frog turnout. The auto throw feature on the Hare™ is designed to work with either an insulated frog or the solid frog. To implement the Auto Throw feature the rail leading to the turnout needed to be gapped back about 2 feet on each rail leading to the frog. This gives time for the Tortoise™ to throw the switch points when the Hare™ senses they are in the wrong position. Two feet is about 2 seconds at 60 SMPH in HO. The isolated sections of track called Trigger Rails are wired to the Hare™.

A chart in the instructions guides you through the program settings and shows how setup the programming for your layout. The Hare™ is programmed by moving the program jumper over one pin. Programming is done directly off mainline power, not the program track. Programming can be changed any time by moving the jumper to the program position. There is even a way to restore the Hare™ to factory settings. The default address is accessory address “1". The Hare™ was programmed by simply connecting it to the mainline with a couple of jumpers. A red LED on the Hare™ flashes each time the Hare™ accepts a command. Once programmed the program jumper was moved back and the Hare™ was plugged onto a Tortoise™ and tested using the programmed addresses. Typical of most accessory decoders there is no way of reading back the CV values in the Hare™.

The instructions refer to the two switch positions as clear and throw. I prefer the railroad terms Normal and Reverse. As it turned out the curved route was my mainline and the straight was the siding. This was easy to resolve with Hare™ programming.

The Hare™ was plugged into the Tortoise™ on the layout and the addresses rechecked. They all worked as I had set them up. There is also a setting for the points to return to a programmed setting when the power is turned on. The Hare™ was tested using both a Digitrax Zephyr and the NCE Systems. I also programmed the Hare™ address into a macro that I have that resets all turnouts to the normal position. This all worked OK. The Zephyr has no way of setting up routes, but can operate accessory decoders. With the number of addresses available on each Hare™, 13 routes can be setup that are activated with a single switch command from the Zephyr.

A dwarf two-color signal with a green and red LED was installed on the mainline to show the switch settings. The signal was connected to the LED output of the Hare™. This gave a visible indication of the switch position. Also it is neat to watch the signal change as the engine approaches with the switch set the wrong way.

I was very interested in checking out the Auto Throw feature. With
the switch setting in the reverse position of the mainline. I moved an engine toward the turnout, the Turnout was activated by the Tortoise™ and moved the points. No short or derailment occurred. With the points set for the mainline I move a switcher from the siding to the turnout and the Hare™ again aligned it correctly. With an engine coming down the mainline and the switcher setting in the 2 ft section the Hare™ correctly lined the points. I did a lot of testing of the Auto Throw feature to see how fool proof it was.

Turnout lined for a siding with a red signal

Hare™ automatically throws the switch
as locomotive approaches on mainline.

As switcher comes up to the turnout
it is lined up for the siding.

The only problem I had with Auto Throw feature was when there were two trains that activated both Trigger Rails simultaneously by approaching the Clear and Throw routes at the same time The Auto Throw did not operate correctly and oscillated. This is predictable by the design assumption that you still have to operate your train.

There was initially a problem with my block detection for signals. I made a change in the wiring and solved it.

The power for the Hare™ needs to come from a source before the block detector so the current feeding the Hare™ and Tortoise™ will not trip the detector. I plan to put out a “Hint and Tips” on using the Hare™ with block detectors and a few other ideas.

The Hare™ can automate reversing loops and turning wyes. The Hare™ can be used as an automatic switch at the throat of a reversing loop. It would line the switch as a train exited the loop. The Hare™ would be perfect for the three switches in turning wye. Just select the direction going into the wye and the other switch would line up as the locomotive goes through the wye.

I have slowly been converting the turnouts on my layout to DCC control. There are a number of turnouts now scheduled for conversion where the Hare™ would fit in very nicely.

The Hare™ is a new product that can perform some complex functions. So far the Hare™ is off to a good start. I’m looking forward to the next addition to this line of accessory controllers.

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