Going Wireless

The Mt Windeatt section of the layout in 2009 in England

When I decided to change to DCC, the NCE Powercab was a good choice and I haven't regretted the purchase. However, when I made the changeover, I was living in England with only a portion of Philip's Creek residing in the attic.The 2m cable between the controller and the socket that came with the Powercab didn't pose any problem, but the limitations soon became apparent when we returned to Australia and Philip's Creek was reconstituted as a single layout.

As it is currently constructed, Philip's Creek almost fills a single car garage, around 5.5m x 1.8m with several aisles to facilitate access. I bought a longer cable but was warned that its length (3m) was about the maximum before electrical losses would impact on the efficiency of the system.  While it did allow greater reach, areas of the layout, particularly the two staging areas, were still well beyond the reach of the tethered controller.

The antenna can be seen in the middle of the window

With ambitions of further extensions and the prospect of retirement potentially providing time to achieve these ambitions, it was time to resolve the problem. The declining Aussie dollar added a further imperative. Some research on the internet and a couple of chats at the Modelling the Railways of NSW Convention at Loftus indicated that the best solution for me was a wireless arrangement and an additional cab controller.

Installation was fairly simple, apart from me putting one of the batteries around the wrong way in the supplementary controller. Otherwise, it was very much a 'plug and play' arrangement and. I can now use a controller at any point of the layout.

The supplementary cab is very basic and easy to use. However, I have noticed a delay between when a  locomotive has been selected and it is ready to operate. In reality, the pause is probably no more than a second or two but in this day and age, it seems like a very long time. There was one instance when it took three attempts to select a locomotive. I'm still learning and I don't know if that is normal.



As I mentioned earlier, this purchase is an 'enabler' that will facilitate the the expansion plans, so roll on retirement! Maybe then, I'll also get around to covering the white styrofoam with a fascia.