I recommended this to a customer. After he used it, he eMailed me,
        
        
          “That’s the best DCC tester I’ve ever seen.” So, I had to share it with
        
        
          my readers.
        
        
          It doesn’t come from a hobby store.
        
        
          Look at your auto parts store
        
        
          or online for an “automotive
        
        
          12 volt tester”. The one my
        
        
          customer bought was about
        
        
          $3 from Harbor Freight, as
        
        
          shown in the photo. I’ve even
        
        
          found them at “dollar” stores.
        
        
          They are the cat’s pajamas
        
        
          for sorting out dead frogs and
        
        
          track wiring errors. Clip to one
        
        
          track and probe the opposite
        
        
          track for power.
        
        
          Checking out power district or auto-reverse section wiring? Just
        
        
          clip to one rail at the district boundary and probe the two rails on
        
        
          the other side of the boundary. It will light when you have opposite
        
        
          polarity between the two sections.
        
        
          Want a quick check of a function output on a decoder? Clip this
        
        
          between the blue lead and the white (or whatever function you are
        
        
          testing) lead.
        
        
          
        
        
          
            From Mr. DCC’s workbench
          
        
        
          
            – The best DCC tester
          
        
        
          
            8
          
        
        
          DCC Impulses Column - 9
        
        
        
        
          MRH-Mar 2013