Piko 35013 switch decoder with Trix mobile station

It's autumn already. The outside temperature went down by a lot and there's no denying, the garden season is over. It's time to go back to indoor activities. In my case this means working on my new N-scale layout inside a coffee table.

I haven't made much progress so far on this project, but this is going to change now. I've decided the first step would be to finalize my DCC wiring. In particular - I want all my turnouts to be controlled digitally. Previously I would use Digitrax DS64 decoders for that purpose but my experience with those was not good at all. So this time I'm giving Piko decoder a try. And since my new layout will be driven by a Trix central station, some validation of the setup is needed.

Today I'm going to check the compatibility between Trix 66955 mobile station and the Piko 35013 switch decoder. This is going to be similar to my previous tests involving Roco z21.

My first test involves the mobile station, the decoder and a dummy target. This target is just an electrical circuit featuring some LEDs and resistors. I do not want to use the real turnouts right away, since they draw a lot of power and I'm just testing digital compatibility here.

The results are very promising - by invoking functions on the Trix device I'm able to light up all of my LEDs. All four outputs work and their polarization is correct. The digital compatibility is confirmed.

Let's try with some real turnouts now. The challenge here is with the electrical current that is required to flip the switches. Digitrax DS64 decoder features a big capacitor that is discharged whenever an action is needed. This in turn ensures a short but large electrical current.

Piko 35013 is different. It simply takes the power directly from the main DCC signal. Will the Trix mobile station provide enough current the re-route the turnout? Let's see...

I'm going all the way, and I'm connecting two Kato N-scale turnouts to one output of the decoder. This basically means I will use double the power that is normally required. I press the button and... it works!

Yes, the Trix mobile station was able to provide enough of a charge. This device is rated 1.9A, so - from an electrical standpoint - it was actually expected to work, as each turnout is a 20Ohm load. Well, I'm certainly glad it did!

Here's a short video documenting my test:

One thing that I struggled with previously during my Roco z21 compatibility tests was the "LED constant output" mode of the Piko 35013 decoder. I could not make it work at all. I assumed the Roco central station had a difficulty programming the decoder, and I hoped this functionality could still be enabled with a controller from a different manufacturer.

Unfortunately I have to report that the mentioned mode does not work with the Trix mobile station, either. The Trix unit does not seem to have any difficulty programming the decoder, so I'm pretty confident I'm enabling the "LED constant output" mode correctly. But it still does not work and I do not know why. Perhaps it's implemented in a non-standard way and will operate only when triggered from a Piko DCC station.

But overall the tests are still a success. Piko 35013 can be used for N-scale turnouts and it can be driven from a Trix mobile station. This will be my solution for the coffee table layout. And I'm very happy I do not have to deal with any Digitrax equipment anymore... :)

Piko 38835, G-scale Santa Fe covered hopper car

I'm trying to grow my collection of trains without spending a fortune. I can't really say I'm very successful at that, but I definitely wait for good moments before making new purchases. That's how I got a new American freight car, which - by the way - is a twin brother of a model I reviewed previously. Piko 38835 is almost the same as Piko 38847, so in this article I'll focus only on the differences and new findings.

The main distinction between the two products is of course the livery. Previously I got a Southern Pacific version, and this here is Santa Fe. That implies these two should not really go on one train, but I think I'll just ignore this fact.

When I was opening my first Piko hopper car, I've encountered some issues with unfolding the cardboard frame. To my surprise, this time there was no issue at all, even though the packaging is identical.

Since it got out so easily, let's take a loot at some photos.

It is definitely the very same piece of rolling stock as Piko 38847. The logos and labels are of course different, but everything else is a perfect match. The small size, the shortage of sophisticated details, the lack of interactive features, the solid feel - it's all still here.

I have noticed however something new. As it turns out, the roof can be removed on this model and it can be transformed into an open hopper car. That's actually pretty cool and it definitely adds some value. It is however not specific to Piko 38835, as the twin product also offers this functionality and I have simply failed to notice it before.

The two cars look pretty good together. Perhaps those models are indeed a good and cheap way to assemble a longer American freight train? We will see if the future "special offers" take me into this direction :)