NSlover92 wrote:I have all the wiring done but I still have track to lay, I want to test my wring to see if it works right and the connections are good before soldering to tack, is there a way to test this
by the way I have one of the things with the two clamps for measuring electric stuff, cant think of the name
NSlover92 wrote:Hey, I am building my layout, and I have all the wiring done but I still have track to lay, I want to test my wring to see if it works right and the connections are good before soldering to tack, is there a way to test this, by the way I have one of the things with the two clamps for measuring electric stuff, cant think of the name lol. Thanks Mike
Obviously I'm missing something here. How do you have all the wiring done, but still have track to lay? It sounds like you're doing it backwards.
TomDiehl wrote: NSlover92 wrote:Hey, I am building my layout, and I have all the wiring done but I still have track to lay, I want to test my wring to see if it works right and the connections are good before soldering to tack, is there a way to test this, by the way I have one of the things with the two clamps for measuring electric stuff, cant think of the name lol. Thanks MikeObviously I'm missing something here. How do you have all the wiring done, but still have track to lay? It sounds like you're doing it backwards.
I lay my cork first, then drill holes for wires, run wires lay track, solder to track, I normally lay track then run wires but i dont have money for track tright now so I am doing what I can.
Go to Radio Shack and buy an inexpensive multi meter (unless, of course, that is the measure electric stuff thingy that you already have).
Remove all rolling stock from the layout. Disconnect the power supply or boosters from the layout. Use the ohms setting on the meter to check from one rail to the other in each block. There should be no connection. The reading should be "open" or "infinite".
Now that you know you don't have any shorts, connect the booster, and measure the voltage using the volts setting of the meter. It should match the voltage at the booster.
To check for cross wiring in isolated blocks, use the volts setting to measure from one rail in the block to the same rail in the next block. It should show zero volts. If it shows track voltage then one of the two blocks is wired backwards.
Reversing sections is more complicated and should be done separately.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
What they said except that (after checking for shorts) you should make the voltage check at the far ends with an automotive taillight light bulb across the feeders. This will draw about 2 amps and ANY loose/corroded connection will cause a voltage drop. The voltage at the bulb should be nominally equal to the voltage at the output of the power source. Anything less and there is a problem.
Karl
The mind is like a parachute. It works better when it's open. www.stremy.net
Phoebe Vet wrote: Go to Radio Shack and buy an inexpensive multi meter (unless, of course, that is the measure electric stuff thingy that you already have).
Thats what I was talking about sorry about the dumb sounding description I will do that as soon as I get home, I'm at school right now in Vo-Ag. Mike
NSlover92 wrote: Phoebe Vet wrote: Go to Radio Shack and buy an inexpensive multi meter (unless, of course, that is the measure electric stuff thingy that you already have).Thats what I was talking about sorry about the dumb sounding description I will do that as soon as I get home, I'm at school right now in Vo-Ag. Mike
Mike:
I was not mocking you. I myself use many technical terms that I learned in Navy Electronics School, that seem to be unknown to other people such as:
Doohinkus, Hobenitus, thingamajig, whatchamacallit, Oh that red thing over there, etc.
I was simply amused by your description, and wasn't absolutely positive what it described. I assume that since you have one, you know at least superficially how to use it.
Phoebe Vet wrote: NSlover92 wrote: Phoebe Vet wrote: Go to Radio Shack and buy an inexpensive multi meter (unless, of course, that is the measure electric stuff thingy that you already have).Thats what I was talking about sorry about the dumb sounding description I will do that as soon as I get home, I'm at school right now in Vo-Ag. MikeMike:I was not mocking you. I myself use many technical terms that I learned in Navy Electronics School, that seem to be unknown to other people such as:Doohinkus, Hobenitus, thingamajig, whatchamacallit, Oh that red thing over there, etc.I was simply amused by your description, and wasn't absolutely positive what it described. I assume that since you have one, you know at least superficially how to use it.
Whoops, dont worry I wasnt offended, Thanks anyways though, I forgot to put :) after the Mike
I have a son who is an EM3 in the Navy. I don't know what his technical jargon consists of, but I certainly hope that the electrical devices between the bulkheads include: stuffamajigs, duumaflitties, nimplefarkiams, low-voltage boxes that do things, and that thing that gets really hot and melts stuff; not to mention the occasional BGZZZHHHHHTTT-POP! - followed by a little smoke and the smell of a fried little dinky capsule-type thing with colored stripes on it.
chicochip wrote: I have a son who is an EM3 in the Navy. I don't know what his technical jargon consists of, but I certainly hope that the electrical devices between the bulkheads include: stuffamajigs, duumaflitties, nimplefarkiams, low-voltage boxes that do things, and that thing that gets really hot and melts stuff; not to mention the occasional BGZZZHHHHHTTT-POP! - followed by a little smoke and the smell of a fried little dinky capsule-type thing with colored stripes on it.
Oh them?? I use them all the time to unclog the tub drain!
The most useful thing I learned in Navy Electronics School was:
"...and if all else fails and you just can't fix it, put 220 across the antenna and tell them lightning struck it."
Are you running DC or DCC? Testing is different for these.
On a DC system, you will want to measure DC volts. On DCC, you measure AC volts. They should both be somewhere around 12-16 volts, but different flavors. Remember that DC voltage is "polarized," so if you put the meter probes on the track backwards, the needle will move down and peg on the bottom. You'll only get the right reading if you put the probes on the right way. With AC voltage, this doesn't matter. There's a knob on the meter to select AC/DC, and also to select the right voltage range.
I think the "clamp thing" is actually one of those gizmos, unless it's a widget, that indirectly measures current flow by sensing the electromagnetic field around an AC line. It is plastic-coated, so you don't actually need to even make contact with the conducting wires. I've seen them advertised, but never used one. I think they're really only suitable for checking house wiring, 120 volt AC.
A cheap multimeter is a good investment for any model railroader.
One day, I did something stupid with my meter (like testing house wiring with the meter set to measure 1 volt DC) and the meter stopped working. I thought I'd fried it, but when I opened it up, I found a small fuse inside. I picked up a fuse and the meter is still working fine. This is something to check if you think you've fried your meter. The instructions didn't give any clue that it was fused.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Weighmaster wrote:I tested house wiring when we were building a house (age 16-17) with a 1" spade bit and electric drill. Went through the front side of a 2x4 stud, on the back side was a 3/10 cable for cooktop, already in service. Gave new meaning to the term "quick-release", and served as an introduction to the concept of welding steel to copper. Gary
That system is good for testing for the "presence" of power, but not very usefull for actually quanitfying it... Unless, of course, you consider @#$@@$^*&^% to be a "quantity".
I personally prefer non destructive testing because while I am pretty good at running wire, I am not very good at tearing out and rebuilding walls.
On the other hand, I'd love to see the video...........
Hi,
Having been playing with trains for 55 years (I'm 63), I've made most of the mistakes one can make in the wiring department. Hopefully I've learned a bit from those experiences.
Anyway, my current layout is fairly large and complicated and wired for DC. One of my most useful tools is a simple line tester. Basically its a pen like tube with a small bulb and a battery inside, with a nail like point on one end and a wire with an alligator clip on the other. Most hardware and electronics stores sell them for about $5 or so.
I use this to test polarity, to make sure that (in my case) the outside tracks are all wired as positive and the inside all wired as negative (or verse vicsa). When laying new track, simply touch a known negative/positive track to the newly wired section and if it lights, they are the same polarity. Of course this tool does not measure signal strength, but it could save you a lot of troubleshooting time and frankly it is handy for other things like loco testing, etc.
OK, this is all fine and good - BUT there are two caveats......
- First, don't have any locos on the track as the tester has enough power to put juice from one track thru the locos wheels/motor and down to the other track.
- Second, do NOT have any track power turned on. It will instantly pop the line tester bulb and/or fuse.
Sounds like I've been there, done that!
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
chicochip wrote:I have a son who is an EM3 in the Navy. I don't know what his technical jargon consists of, but I certainly hope that the electrical devices between the bulkheads include: stuffamajigs, duumaflitties, nimplefarkiams, low-voltage boxes that do things, and that thing that gets really hot and melts stuff; not to mention the occasional BGZZZHHHHHTTT-POP! - followed by a little smoke and the smell of a fried little dinky capsule-type thing with colored stripes on it.
Talk about snap crackle and pop.
I was knocking wall down inside the old Carling brewerey. The plans showed a 10,200 volt line inside. I asked the electrichien "Are you sure it's dead?" absolutly he said. I pushed on the wall with a 988 CAT loader, as it started to buckle an explosion! I tucked my arms in my arm pits and picked me feet up off the floor of the loader. Was blinded and closed my eyes. When it was all over after an air breaker outside tripped we saw the loaders bucket had some steel missing. An arc about a two foot radius was melted, gone. Your talking 3" thick cutting edge here.
Another time I was running a loco in a tunnel job. We used to mount a transformer every mile with taps for 660, 440, 230, 120 volts etc The line comming in was 10,200 volt 3 phase ungrounded Delta system. After pushing it out on a flatcar and it was mounted the electricians helper was about to connect the cable, (the electrician was out that day.), I told him to use wipe the water off and do it again using starter fluid to get any remaining moisture out of it. He told me to mind my own business. I said OK and backed my loco away. He made the connectin wet. When they turned the power on up above the connection exploded and you could see the cable melt like detonator cord all the way back up the tunnel. Needless to say he is no longer an electrician. He cost em two transformers and a mile of cable with 4 conductors, don't recall how many circular mills the conductors were. But it was BIG stuff.
Jules
Jules:
That sounds like enough gigawatts to power the time circuits............
Phoebe Vet wrote:Jules:That sounds like enough gigawatts to power the time circuits............
The tunnel boring machine was 880 tons heavy, it used a lot of power. Plus there was all kinds of machinery on the trailing gear which was 600 feet long. At the tail end there was a ramp so we Loco engineers could push flat cars up onto the trailing gear. The 32' sections of rail were inserted between the tunnel borer and the trailing gear on rails. Also bag lines, 10,2KV cable, hydraulic oil and other supplies.The clearence between the loco and sides was only 6".One poor guy got crushed and killed. They put new LOUD air horns on the Loco's and we had to follow rail road rules. 3 blasts before backing etc.
We had to replace the cutter head bearing on the boring machine. Picture a wheel bearing 12' in dia, Took 3 monthes, 3 shifts, 7 days a week.