Tony’s Tips, News & Videos
How-tos, troubleshooting and product news from the DCC bench at Tony’s Train Exchange.
A Beginner’s Guide to Programming Your Locomotives: Understanding DCC Configuration Variables (CVs)
Learn how to change locomotive addresses, adjust acceleration and braking, and customize your DCC-equipped locomotives. One of the biggest…
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What Is the Best Track Cleaning Fluid for Your CMX Clean Machine?
Lacquer thinner, mineral spirits, or DeOxit? Understanding what really keeps your model railroad running reliably. Every model railroader knows…
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Why Does My DCC Layout Keep Shorting Out?
A Practical Guide to Finding and Fixing Model Railroad Short Circuits Few things are more frustrating than powering up…
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Choosing Your First DCC System
NCE Power Cab, Digitrax Zephyr, TCS LT-50, NCE PH5 or Digitrax EVOX? One of the most common questions we…
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Introducing SoundTraxx Blunami
Bluetooth Control, Realistic Sound, and DCC Compatibility Imagine selecting your locomotive on a phone, sounding the whistle, switching on…
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PSXX-AR Troubleshooting Case Study: When a Reverse Loop Shorts and Stays Shorted
Reverse-loop problems can be deceptive. A wiring mistake may actually make a layout appear to work correctly, masking the…
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NCE DCC Booster & Command Station Compatibility Guide
NCE offers several command stations, boosters, and combination units that can be used to build or expand a DCC…
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DCC Specialties Wabbit Auto Throw Installation and Troubleshooting
A practical guide to trigger rails, Tortoise contacts, and Wabbit connections The Wabbit is a dual DCC accessory decoder…
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Broadway Limited Paragon vs. ESU LokSound: Is BLI Stealth the Better Choice?
A customer recently contacted Tony’s Train Exchange with a question we suspect many model railroaders have considered. He is…
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How to Wire Multiple Reverse Loops on a DCC Layout: Using Frog-AR Quad and PSXX
Reverse loops are one of the most common sources of confusion when wiring a DCC layout. A track plan…
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RRampMeter + PSXX — The Complete Guide to DCC Power Management
Protect It. Measure It. Know What Your Layout Is Really Doing. How much current is your DCC layout actually…
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How Many Locomotives Can a 5 Amp Booster Really Run?
The Answer Isn’t the Number of Locomotives… It’s the Amps. For many model railroaders, one of the most common…
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Add Block Detection to Your Digitrax DCC Layout Using the Jack ADS
If you’re running a Digitrax DCC system, chances are you’ve considered adding block occupancy detection for JMRI, signaling, dispatcher…
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Do You Really Need a Stay Alive?
When They Help—And When They Don’t If you’ve spent any time on model railroad forums or YouTube, you’ve probably…
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What DCC Track Voltage Should I Use? HO, N, O, S & Large Scale Explained
One of the most common questions we receive is: “What track voltage should I use for my DCC system?”…
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Kato UP #1943 EMD SD70ACe In Stock
The Spirit of the Union Pacific! UP #1943 Commemorative EMD SD70ACe DCC, Standard DC, and ESU LokSound DCC/Sound versions available!…
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Kato Abraham Lincoln SD70M In Stock
Fresh In Stock N Scale Locomotives from KatoAbraham Lincoln Commemorative SD70M Standard DC and ESU LokSound DCC/Sound versions available!…
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Bowser HO Scale America 250 ALCo RS-3 First Come First Served! Pre-Order Now!
Celebrate The Semiquincentennial! Bowser is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with this fully customized RS-3! This Bowser-exclusive model wears a…
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Rapido HO Scale End of Train EOT Flasher Devices
Multiple Wheel Sizes, Multiple Colors! Pre-Order Now! Add Some Flash And Flare! Rapido have just announced a line of End…
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Why Athearn Preorders Matter More Than Ever
If you have recently tried to purchase an Athearn locomotive or piece of rolling stock after it arrived, you…
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Rapido HO GE 44-Tonner Headlight Fix: SoundTraxx TSU-N18 and ESU Decoder Solution
Mystery Solved: Why the Headlights Don’t Work Normally We’ve recently had several customers install the SoundTraxx TSU-N18 (885027) and…
Read moreNew Trinity 5239 3-Bay Covered Hoppers From Jackson Railcar!
HO & N Scale Models Available! Distinctive Horizontal Ribs! Beginning production in 2021, over 3,500 Trinity 5239s now roam the…
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Walthers HO EMD GP9 Chop-nose Diesels
Chop Shop! Now available for Pre Order! After years of service, many railroads opted to rebuilt their aging GP9…
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Why PSXX Circuit Breakers May Trip at Booster Boundaries
When using multiple boosters with DCC Specialties PSXX circuit breakers, you may notice an important difference between: Understanding why…
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Video Review Athearn Genesis GP9 with Loksound V5
This is a Tony’s custom installation using the following components: The TDS SuperMini Speakers require…
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Video Kato N Scale DCC Layout
DCC control at the time this video was shot was via an NCE Power Cab coupled with an SB5…
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Evaluation of ESU ECoS System
Over the past week, I tried many of the functions of the ECoS DCC control system, model number 50210. Here are some of my…
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DCC Specialties PSX Circuit Breaker Trip Speed and DCC Inductance
The PSX series of circuit breakers and Auto Reversers [PSX-AR] will trip within about 200us by default (CV55=0) of the current exceeding the set trip…
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Video Part 2 HO Scale Proto 2000 ESU Loksound Select Direct & PowerPack
DCC Sound Installation using an ESU Loksound Select Direct, PowerPack Stay Alive capacitor and TDS SuperSonic Mini…
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Video Part 1 HO Scale Proto 2000 ESU Loksound Select Direct & PowerPack with SuperSonic Speaker
DCC Sound Installation using an ESU Loksound Select Direct, PowerPack Stay Alive capacitor and TDS SuperSonic Min…
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