Voltage and current meters

[Leonard P. Thusdog]

Can anyone provide info/ideas on what they are using to monitor DCC  voltage/amperage in each individual power district? I'm building my power distribution and circuit breakers panel and would like to have seperate LED(?) displays for my three power districts. My layout is powered by a Digitrax EVOXD. Any input would be appreciated.

[richhotrain]

I have two booster districts and each is controlled by a RRampMeter. The RRampMeter has readouts for voltage and amps.

Within each booster distric, power is further subdivided into four power districts, each controlled by PSX circuit breakers, but there is no readout of voltage and amps.

RRampMeters are specifically designed      for DCC, but they are expensive, so I don't have one for each power district.

Rich

 

[gregc]

i've been helping sort out some problems at a club.   they model the Western Maryland and B&O near Cumberland.   each is a double track mainline, each mainline track is broken into blocks, each with a PSX (~20) connected to a booster with a DPST knife switch

while the knife switch is not shown, it provides a convenient place to attach the alligator clips of the rrampMeter when trying to measure the draw of a train or investigate problems

the PSX also has a block detector output.  we're adding signals using that feature

[jjdamnit]

Hello All,

Funny you should ask...

Yesterday I installed A DCC Concepts Alpha Meter AVA.1 that measures both Voltage and Amperage on my 4'x8' pike.

It is wired between the NCE Power Pro Command Station/Booster and the terminal strip that feeds four (4) NCE EB1 Circuit Breakers and an AR10 Auto Reverse (with a built-in circuit breaker) that protect the five power districts.

With this configuration, the entire output of the booster is measured, upstream of the power district's circuit protection and not each power district.

After installing the unit I noticed a fluctuation in Amps as locomotives negotiated the "mainline" power district.

I don't use a power bus, but rather a star pattern of feeders emanating from a central point.

The section of track that has the most fluctuation is 6-feet in length with feeders on each end.

I'm planning on adding a feeder to the middle of this run in hopes of stabilizing the power.

When locomotive(s) pass through this section; either single or a consist, they don't lurch or buck, but the meter shows a fluctuation in Amps.

Thanks for asking!

Hope this helps.

[Leonard P. Thusdog]

Good info. Thanks to each of you for your input. I'm noticing a common thread in all your replies. Stick with just one RRampmeter at the booster and don't waste money on buying one for every district.

[richhotrain]

Leonard P. Thusdog

Good info. Thanks to each of you for your input. I'm noticing a common thread in all your replies. Stick with just one RRampmeter at the booster and don't waste money on buying one for every district. 

Yes, that is the practice that I follow.

If each power district is protected by its own circuit breaker, then one RRampMeter per booster district is sufficient. That way, if the amps in a given power district exceed the setting on the circuit breaker, the circuit breaker will shut down that power district without shutting down the entire booster district.

The setting on the circuit breaker for each power district should always be set to trip at lower amps than the amps capacity of the booster itself. For example, if the booster is 5 amps, each circuit breaker in that booster district should be set to trip at something like 3 amps or 4 amps.

Rich

[PC101]

RRampMeter used here also.

[gmpullman]

PC101

RRampMeter used here also.

Same here.    Two "semi-permanent"ones that I hope to incorporate in the fascia soon and another portable one in a case for spot checking.

I have additional banana plugs so that I can easily incorporate the housed meter into my test-track setup.

Power_Digitrax-meters by Edmund, on Flickr

Thank you, Ed

[richhotrain]

gmpullman

 

PC101

RRampMeter used here also. 

Same here.    Two "semi-permanent"ones that I hope to incorporate in the fascia soon and another portable one in a case for spot checking.

I have additional banana plugs so that I can easily incorporate the housed meter into my test-track setup.

Power_Digitrax-meters by Edmund, on Flickr

Thank you, Ed 

Ed, I have the same setup, including a third RRampMeter that I use portably to troubleshoot specific locations on the layout.

Rich

[PC101]

With the RRampmeter, it will let you know when you turn on and off a Engine's headlight, showing Amp draw.

[richhotrain]

PC101

With the RRampmeter, it will let you know when you turn on and off a Engine's headlight, showing Amp draw.

That's a great point. You can see the difference in current draw between a non-sound decoder and a sound decoder as you call up a locomotive. Indeed, it is somewhere around 0.25 amps for non-sound and 0.50 amps for sound.

Rich

[jjdamnit]

Hello All,

PC101

With the RRampmeter, it will let you know when you turn on and off a(n) Engine's headlight, showing Amp draw.

richhotrain

That's a great point. You can see the difference in current draw...

Indeed a volt/amp meter can help in troubleshooting electrical problems too.

After I installed the volt/amp meter I ran a 4-unit consist that I re-motored all the units last year.

I noticed two (2) of the units were running hot to the touch.

The consist was broken up and each unit was run separately under their own road numbers.

Sure enough, the ones that were running hot were also pulling more amperage than the other two (2) by almost double!

To eliminate any variables I reset all the decoders; CV8=V8, and tested them again, with the same results.

After I replaced the two (2) faulty motors I could immediately see the difference in the amperage draw on the meter and the motors were cool to the touch.

Another advantage to installing a volt/amp meter.

Hope this helps.