TT Scale. The Ideal Scale.

I picked up a power supply today and things appear to work (so far only tested with two old non chipped locos). However, at 0 throttle the locomotives' lights are on and also there is a strange humming / buzzing coming from the motors. When the throttle is increased they moved as expected. Is this normal for analog locos on a DCC line?

ConducTTor wrote: However, at 0 throttle the locomotives' lights are on and also there is a strange humming / buzzing coming from the motors. When the throttle is increased they moved as expected. Is this normal for analog locos on a DCC line?

Yes. DCC applies an AC waveform to the tracks. The humming you hear is the motor moving back and forth very quickly. To run the locomotives, address 0 actually applies a DC offset to the waveform to get the motor to spin. You will find that all the lights will be on at the same time, which is also normal. It is advisable that you not leave your non chipped locomotives on DCC powered tracks if not in use.

Thx!

i was under the impression that unless you had an older dcc system capable of running analog equipment you could burn out the motor on an analog loco trying to run it on a new dcc system.at least i think i remember reading a warning with my prodigy advanced system.

I guess I'll do a bit more research just to be on the safe side. Thanks guys.

I read the same warning on Roco's Multimaus - it said that you should never try to run DC locos on DCC track...

NMRA standard DCC systems will allow you to run a single DC locomotive on address 0. It can cause excess heating of the motor so moderate use and isolation from the power signal when not in use is advisable. The Roco system is not the same as the NMRA standard. I guess the thing to do is consult your individual manufacturers specifications. Also, some DC locomotive (such as out of the box Tillig) will not run on DCC and can cause short circuits. The short answer to the question... Yes and no.