Check out www.wiringfordcc.com before proceeding further.
For power capacity, you will need a Ph5-R as your starting point, then add multiple Pb105A boosters. Both include power supplies.
Each Pb105A five-amp booster, including Ph5, can support 10 locos running simultaneously.
Divide the layout up based on loco traffic and capacity needs, not track length.
The number of tracks and the track length influence bus wire size, not the number of boosters.
All yards should be on separate boosters with breakers.
To avoid downtime, I highly recommend keeping a spare booster on hand for redundancy. Perhaps even an extra Ph5 system box.
For programming and working on locos, get a Power Cab. Do NOT connect this to the main layout, electrically or physically.
I would also run a dedicated DCC accessory booster for anything that needs DCC track power or DCC data, like stationary DCC switch decoders.
Each booster requires at least one EB1 circuit breaker. If a Booster is serving multiple power districts, each section needs its own EB1 breaker.
The breakers are preset to 1.5 amps. Set them to 4.1 before installing them.
For reversing loops. Each loop will need an AR10. The AR10 gets installed exactly like an EB1.
An AR10 is never placed inline before or after an EB1. It requires its own bus line right from the booster.
To monitor your booster's capacity usage, I recommend getting a DCC meter for each booster.
https://tonystrains.com/product/nce-5240326-dcc-meter-analyzer or https://tonystrains.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=rrampmeter
More boosters if needed- 5240056 PB105a 5 Amp booster including (P519) power supply
Circuit breakers for power districts - need a minimum of 1 per booster
5240225 EB1 V1.1 – Configurable Electronic Circuit Breaker
cab panel 5240207 UTP Panel Cab Bus fascia panel w/RJ12 connectors
cab for the operator – 5240039 Cab06 w/4-digit LED display, digital encoder, recall capability.
Procab 5240010
Wireless Pro Cab R 5240011
RJ12-7 seven ft six wire flat cable cab bus with RJ12 connectors 5240213
RJ12-12 twelve ft six wire flat cable cab bus with RJ12 connectors 5240214
RJ12-40 forty ft six wire flat cable cab bus with RJ12 connectors 5240220
Other things to consider:
Tortoise switch machine accessory controllers
5240151 Switch8-MK2 Accessory decoder for 8 Tortoise switch machines
5240152 Button Board Add-on for Switch8-Mk2 to add local pushbutton control
5240154 SwitchIt-Mk2 Accessory decoder for two stall motor switch machines
Automation, Routing, and Block Detection
5240230 Mini Panel used for task automation, build turnout, or CTC control panels
5240205 BD20 Block detector for DCC, .01 to 20 Amps
5240200 AIU01 Auxiliary Input Unit – Cab Bus Interface for detection.
What is a large layout? Go here: What is a large Layout?
By planning ahead and taking an engineering point of view to the wiring design as well as an operation point of view, you will know the large layout will work reliably from the start and maintain a high level of reliability over its entire operating life. This applies to both large fixed layouts and modular layouts
Many DCC list always have people often citing "anecdotal evidence" that DCC wiring can be done this way or that way. This leads to layout design decisions that are Anecdotal Engineering based. "Hey I wired my layout this way and it worked!" The hidden assumption is that DCC wiring is a go or no-go situation and since this wiring worked it must be a go. The ends justified the wiring means thinking. Collectively the wide range of different anecdotal comments comes across to the other listeners like it does not matter how you wire you layout. At the same time it does not help them because the person who may be asking how to do the layout wiring is not given a clear answer that will give the best results. Instead they must choose among opinions and use their own experience to guide them.
Anecdotal comments in layout wiring are easily believed because with have lots of experience with DC layouts where the wiring was not so critical. It also turns out to be true for small DCC layouts, the 4'x8' plywood layout is the most common, simply because there is not enough wire length or poor wiring quality to really get yourself into any type of electrical trouble. Collectively the wide range of different anecdotal comments comes across to the other listeners like it does not matter how you wire you layout. Indirectly supporting that is the DCC industry does not want to talk about layout wiring too simply because they do not want to scare away the customer. It is not in their interest to talk about wiring especially since MOST of the customers will not have any problems....the small layout customers. However this type of belief thinking starts to fall apart with large layouts using DCC. Some DCC vendors have started to recognize this and added comments about the layout wiring in the manuals.
Why?
Because no two layout are the same size nor wired exactly the same. The wiring is as unique as a finger print. Wire type, wire gauge, wire routing, wire bundling, wire connection quality. The same is true about the engines running on the layout, the power levels involved and the different DCC systems involved. Hence even the operations level expected of the layout is also as unique as a finger print. In other words there are way to many variable involved such that there is no way one can guarantee the anecdotal suggested wiring system will work for your large layout.
Just like a house, a layout is only as strong as the foundation that it is built upon. In this case we are talking about the electrical foundation of the layout...the DCC wiring. The wiring a large layout has a lot more design considerations that need to be taken into account than that of a small layout. The quality and consistency of the wiring needs to be raised to account for the potential problems that one can encounter up front in the wiring design process.
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