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16V Track Cleaners
Blain asks:
“Just wondering, would there be any issues using DC 16V AC track cleaners for DCC engines? Would I be best to split the track between DC and DCC?”
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This type of track cleaner is not suitable for use on DCC, they generate a very high voltage which will damage a DCC chip.
AC track cleaners will definitely interfere with the DCC signals, and at worst destroy your decoders.
Not quite sure what you mean here – are you thinking about those high frequency track cleaners that zap the dirt when they detect poor contact:
https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/magento/gaugemaster-gmc-hf1.html
If so, they can’t be used with DCC so you’d need to segregate different parts of your layout for different control types and just use the zapper on the DC part.
Under normal circumstances, modern nickel silver track only ever needs an occasional wide to remove dust.
The high voltage track cleaners are TOTALLY NOT to be used with DCC systems or locos !.