i have question on power station. i was looking through the Lenz website an came up to 3 power stations that are good im assuming . the LV100 the LV101 an the LV102 . my question is which one to pick or is best for what i want. my layout consist of a 3 level with a helix . im in ho scale an my DCC System is the Lenz LZV100 Command / Power Station which im using to control the staging yard that is at the bottom of the layout thanks for the help
The LV102 appears to be the current model. The others have their manuals listed in the "Obsolete" section of the Lenz site.
First, though, how big is your layout? The Lenz Set-90 and Set-100 systems are 5-amp systems out of the box. That will easily run 8-10 sound engines, probably more.
Although Lenz calls the LV102 a "power station," I think it's more commonly referred to as a "booster." Boosters are one of those components that are more-or-less interchangeable between DCC systems. They will work on Lenz, Digitrax, NCE, MRC and others. There are other booster manufacturers, too, so you are not limited to Lenz for these.
In general, 5 amps is sufficient for all but the largest home layouts, and even then, the need for boosters is based on distance, not power. If your base station is more than 30 or 40 linear feet from parts of your layout, then yes, perhaps a booster is called for to service the more distant track. The far end of my own layout is about 25 feet from the base, and I use undersized #18 wire for my track power bus. Still, I have no problems at all with this arrangement.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
my layout looks like this but just started this is the bottom staging yard area
after this goes the other two level
Cool. Will you be using the right side of the room, or will the layout only be on the left side? Not sure I've ever seen a layout big enough that you needed a bicycle to get around it.
You're probably borderline for needing a booster, based mostly on the size of the layout. I would wire it with the levels isolated, but then connect them all to the same base station. If you do need boosters, that way they would be easy enough to add later. Mount the base station near the center of the layout, so the extremes are only half the length of the layout, rather than at the ends which would put the far end much further away. If you decide you don't need a booster, then it would be a good idea to use individual circuit breakers to protect sections of the layout independently.
ok know im confuse so i dont need to add boosters or do i . i read big layouts use them to better have power it or not put to much stress on only one . i was thinkin of adding 4 ( 1 for helix , 1 for staging yard , 1 for first level an 1 for top level ) i was going to use the command/power station i have know on the staging yard since it will have more traffic
There are two factors that decide the need for extra boosters. How many trains (and other things that draw track power, like lighted cars that connect to the track) will be running all at the same time, and overall layout size is a secondary concern.
You cna have a small layout that supports 10 peopel runnign trains - in such a case you might need additional power to run them all. You cna also have a HUGE layout where you run only 1 or two traisn at a time ever - this may not need any extra power.
Where size can be a factor is in the length of the power bus runs. It gets unwieldy and expensive to use wire much heavier than #12, and even #12 will have voltage drop when it gets too long. The solution here is to add an additional booster or two and split the bus run so none of them is ever excessively long.
A dedicated booster for a helix may be overkill, however it is definitely a good idea to at least use circuit breakers so a short in another part of the layout doesn't kill the helix - sudden stops and starts to a train wrapped around a long curving grade is not particualrly conducive to keeping said train on the rails.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
These units are about $150 each. At most, you would need one more, based on the picture, even with 3 levels. There is nothing wrong with having additional units, but at that price, I would first wire the layout and then get some experience to see if you need more power. If you provided isolated zones while doing the wiring and trackwork, then it would be easy to add a booster if necessary.
thanks rrinker
so all i need is circuit breakers an if so how many an were do i put them also what are good ones but cheap lol thanks again guys an sorry for asking so much i just down wanna go throught to much headaches
thanks MisterBeasley
i think i go with circuit breakers same as rrinker said an you said but like i asked him what are some good ones but ( CHEAP ) also were to put them an im assuming one on each level an one for helix right well thanks again an sorry for so many questions
I use the PSX circuit breakers. These are available from Tony's Trains, www.tonystrains.com, under their brand name DCC Specialties.
They aren't what you would call cheap, but they're not outrageous, either. I'm recommending them because I have them, use them and am happy with them.
ok thanks im on that ....