Mainline Railways was a British model railway brand that operated between 1976 and 1983, introduced by Palitoy, the...
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What was the Mainline Railways company?Read more -
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Avoiding the "Toy Train Look": Realistic Track ArrangementsRead moreA well-designed model railway is more than just a collection of tracks and trains: it’s a miniature world that...
In DCC, what is a programming track?
A programming track is used to read or program a DCC locomotive's decoder. It comprises a short section of track that's completely isolated from the main layout and connects to the controller via a dedicated programming port.
Using a programming track offers both protection and convenience. It is convenient because to read a locomotive's decoder while sited on the main layout, you would first have to remove all other decoder-operated locomotives and accessories. A programming track also offers protection because there's less risk of accidentally resetting, corrupting or otherwise upsetting any other decoders on the layout. That may sound like an unlikely eventuality, but it only takes a mistyped command to cause you problems.
Another advantage of a dedicated programming track is the current protection it offers. Controllers with the facility to operate a dedicated programming track produce less current to that particular circuit. That means extra protection and assurance when interacting with vulnerable decoders.
Posted in: Tracks
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