So, I have an econami sound decoder in an athear rtr f7, and I was wondering if you can install more than one keep alive? I have 2 220 uf capacitors, and one is installed, with the other waiting until I decide if it is a good idea to wire it in too. Anyone have any ideas?
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
Well, it depends on what the particular loco needs are.
I have a Genesis Tsunami sound (ovel speaker) GP9 that I converted to a LokSound Select and dual micro speakers. The primary reason was to improve the sound. But to your point, this was the most finecky diesel I had in terms of sound interruption, particularly at my less than perfect triple 90 degree crossings, so I decided to try capacitor boost to preclude the sound hiccups. The Select manual shows several capacitor installation options, including the conventional type with a diode & resistor that manages the charging rate.
I simply added a Radio Shack capacitor (and resistor / diode) in the classic configuration. I think (I'm not at home) it was a 2200 micro Farad that was the largest that would fit in the cab area. The next size down (1000?) did not help enough, but the 2200 did the trick. I have doubts that a 220 or two of those will accomplish much. It was a nice experiment but a far cry from the smallest retail supercapacitor types.
So, if you need more capacitance for that loco, and you are using the typical large capacitors, and you have room, you can try it but I'm not sure how you are evaluating it.
But note that the super-capacitors (name brand Keep Alive, Current Keeper, etc.) have much more capacitance for the used space. See the following chart. So, I have switched to using the various sizes of Keep Alives or Current Keepers. I now keep one of most types of the retail items on hand, so I can have one available that is good for the current space on a project where I decide to add the feature. But I only use them on locos that more tend to have the sound hiccup tendencies, perhaps 10 percent of my locos.
https://sites.google.com/site/markgurries/home/decoders/keep-alive-compatibility
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
The true keep-alives, power-packs, or whatever, use supercapacitors, MUCH higher values than 220uF. You won;t get much run time is anything noticeable out of 220uF. And if you put a second 220uF in parallel, you will indeed have double the capacitance, but the voltage rating will be halved. So unless these are 50 volt or better capacitors, don't bother. If they are 35 volt, it might squeak by (as that would be 17.5 volts) but that's pushing it.
If you truly need keep alive functionality, you'd be better off with using one of the actual ones. If there is no room for a larger keep alive, then your next best bet is to fix the actual problem. The only place I've ever had an issue where a keep alive might help me (because there is no other solution) is on the club layout, where the older sections use short pieces of fitter track to connect them. Even with new-ish joiners, these fitter pieces can lose power. Newer sections are more precision buiilt so the rails just butt at the end and there are no issues. I didn;t even have problems with unpowered frogs on #6 turnouts 2 layouts ago, or unpowered #4's on the last layout.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker And if you put a second 220uF in parallel, you will indeed have double the capacitance, but the voltage rating will be halved.
voltage is halved ?
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
Never mind, brain fart