| Another technical question | |
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mikeyh
Location : Dordogne France
| Subject: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 4:11 pm | |
| Up until now i have been powering my railway with my old hornby transformer (12v). suits me fine because all the trains run nice and slow. I have just bought on ebay france a 24 volt LGB transformer. Now i know that with careful adjustment the locos will still run slow but they are either 12 or 22 volt motors. The motor I am fitting in the Railcar is only 4 volts. Question is will it still run on track with power turned right down, or, is there always a more powerful current present with 24v at any level. I dont want to burn out motor straight away!!
Mikey | |
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Carl Hibbs Admin
Location : Haute Normandie - visitors welcome
| Subject: Re: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 5:59 pm | |
| You can still run them Mikey.
A 4 volt motor will draw as much current (amps) as it needs.
Although there is a relationship between current, voltage, and resistance (Ohms law) the supplied voltage and current can be 2 different things.
You can have a 24volt supply at 1 amp or 5 amps for example. Because you have 5 amps available it doesn't mean the motor will draw that.
If you turn the voltage down to 4 volts the probable current supply will also be proportionately reduced on many (but not all) controllers. Some power units I have made have separate voltage and current regulation.
If you turn the voltage up too much beyond its designed limit there will be too much power and the motor will thus burn out.
You could add a voltage cut-off to the motor off like a relay or a simple zener diode circuit. | |
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fm12
Location : 87210 Haute Vienne, France
| Subject: Re: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 6:03 pm | |
| I know nothing about electrics Mikey other than switching on and off,but 24v supply even turned down and a 4 volt motor does not seem a good idea to me especially if you turn up the power to quick.If when you mention a more powerful current,I think you might be refering to amps and thats right over my head.
Van clueless on electrics but likes to have his say | |
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fm12
Location : 87210 Haute Vienne, France
| Subject: Re: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 6:07 pm | |
| Posted while Carl was also posting. Having read Carls post I`ll stick to analogue and switching lights on and off Van ( wheres the light switch ) | |
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GWhizz
Location : Charente, France
| Subject: Re: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 6:12 pm | |
| - fm12 wrote:
- Posted while Carl was also posting.
Having read Carls post I`ll stick to analogue and switching lights on and off
Van ( wheres the light switch ) Van honestly you'll need more expertise wiring an Analogue layout than a Digital one! unless you only ever want to run one loco at a time! | |
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mikeyh
Location : Dordogne France
| Subject: Re: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 6:14 pm | |
| Thanks Carl that makes it a lot clearer. now that i've got three ways of power for loco i didnt want to lose one straight away!! Van i know just what you mean but you've gotta give it a go.
mikey | |
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fm12
Location : 87210 Haute Vienne, France
| Subject: Re: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 6:32 pm | |
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Carl Hibbs Admin
Location : Haute Normandie - visitors welcome
| Subject: Re: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:00 pm | |
| I spent 3 solid weeks once doing just a 'relay adjusting course' in the the good old days of electro-mechanical telecommunications.
If I can see it moving, making contact or it has a wiring diagram I'm happy. Analogue is a lot of work but it was a work of art once.
If you are in any doubt please ask. No question is dumb when it comes to electrics. | |
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GWhizz
Location : Charente, France
| Subject: Re: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:30 pm | |
| Guys please, I don't want this to go the way of digital vs analogue thread.
But I have experienced both. I had a complex N gauge layout with diode matrix switch systems, variously powered sectors, with a triple feedback controller from Gaugemaster. It was fun but a nightmare to wire.
When I moved up to OO I had digital loco's but analogue switches again.
O Gauge I went back to analogue and manual switches.
G Gauge an MTS total digital system.
Easiest to wire - LGB MTS
Best control - LGB MTS
Most crashes - All of them, always operator error or poor programming!
Each to their own - Van you are absolutely right to start with a simple analogue system - can't go wrong - but when you want to develop ?????? | |
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Carl Hibbs Admin
Location : Haute Normandie - visitors welcome
| Subject: Re: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:40 pm | |
| Yes. I don't think we need another debate about digital versus analogue because I don't think we/us here are in the market for such debates. Leave all that to other forums eh....
If anyone is going analogue (or battery power) and wants straighforward electrical/electronic assistance then I am happy to help. My Father was an electronic engineer for Racal and Ferranti for over 4 decades and passed on much of his knowledge.
If however you're going digital there are others who are far more clued than me. | |
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fm12
Location : 87210 Haute Vienne, France
| Subject: Re: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:52 pm | |
| Quite right Carl.Just out of interest though someone has just started a thread about voice command DCC on Golf Sierra Mike.
Van ducking as he types | |
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GWhizz
Location : Charente, France
| Subject: Re: Another technical question Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:33 pm | |
| - mikeyh wrote:
- Up until now i have been powering my railway with my old hornby transformer (12v). suits me fine because all the trains run nice and slow. I have just bought on ebay france a 24 volt LGB transformer. Now i know that with careful adjustment the locos will still run slow but they are either 12 or 22 volt motors. The motor I am fitting in the Railcar is only 4 volts. Question is will it still run on track with power turned right down, or, is there always a more powerful current present with 24v at any level. I dont want to burn out motor straight away!!
Mikey Another possibly cheaper solution Mike, if you have a multimeter is to set it in DC Voltage mode and connect it across your transformer output and monitor it so that you don't exceed 4 volts maximum. Carl's suggestion of a voltage limiter or relay in the loco is obviously better if you are going to run other higher voltage loco's at the same time otherwise they are going to be very slow! | |
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