The UP5's have 3 possible power sources, plus the battery in the trottle. The circuitry is designed such that the highest voltage wins. The 3 options are: Loconet, via the Loconet cable, track power, if you hook track power to the two screws on the back, or the PS12/PS14 if you plug one in. THe UR90/91/92 are similar. Since the PS12/14 is 12-14 volts, it will win over the 9V battery, so as long as the power is applie,d the battery won't drain. It will have only the natural drain of a battery just sitting there in the package.
Me, I don't like to leave ANYTHING powered up in the train room when I'm not there. Silly I guess because I have other things always powered on like my cable modem and wireless router, but force of habit I always turn everything off when leaving the room.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I use rechargeable batteries.
Since you borrowed one to try, you know the answer to your other question.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
AfricangreyDoes this mean if I plug the throttle back to UR92 and leave the battery as it is after a operating session, the throttle will use power via UR92 instead of battery. I will give that a try and see, the only problem is that I will have to pay electricity either way. Wondering how many watts it consume/hr.
Does this mean if I plug the throttle back to UR92 and leave the battery as it is after a operating session, the throttle will use power via UR92 instead of battery. I will give that a try and see, the only problem is that I will have to pay electricity either way. Wondering how many watts it consume/hr.
Yes it's true as long as you leave the PS14 that's powering the UR92 on. The display on your microwave or digital clock probably uses about the same amount of electricity.
Martin Myers
locoworksAfricangreyDoes this mean if I plug the throttle back to UR92 and leave the battery as it is after a operating session, the throttle will use power via UR92 instead of battery. I will give that a try and see, the only problem is that I will have to pay electricity either way. Wondering how many watts it consume/hr. as i understand it when the throtle is plugged in and receiving power the battery is not used at all, maybe rinker will chirp in with a diffinitive answer, but i'm fairly sure plugged in means no battery drain..
as i understand it when the throtle is plugged in and receiving power the battery is not used at all, maybe rinker will chirp in with a diffinitive answer, but i'm fairly sure plugged in means no battery drain..
I don't know if that's true for the UR92, but it certainly is for the UPx's (which is what locoworks posted).
If the voltage available at the UPx is greater than the battery voltage, the "keep alive" circuitry will direct that higher voltage to the throttle. That in effect cuts off any drain from the battery.
Steve
locoworks or just plug them in to UP5's that have the 12 volt 'keep alive' wall wart power supply switched on 24/7
or just plug them in to UP5's that have the 12 volt 'keep alive' wall wart power supply switched on 24/7
OR just tape a little card sign near your shut off switch on your power/control unit. There are also threads online (maybe even in this forum's archives) that show you how to install your own battery on/off switch.>P
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
rrinker I have no desire to get a UT4, if I want to use a potentiometer throttle I have my Zephyr console. The encoder in the DT402 fives a finer control, easy click to reverse, control of two trains at the same time, and you can easily switch between runnign locos with no problems of one speedign up or slowing down to match the knob position.
i see the UT's as a throttle you assign to a single loco to let an operator have just that loco from stopped till its stopped again, so the potentiometer aspect doesn't really matter regarding matching it with a loco's speed for swapping. i wish they still did the BT2's, they appeared to be much more useful than the UT's looking like a DT100 with 2 loco control and no programming opotions..
Just have to remember to either remove the battery or roll it over - the DT400/402 has a diode in the battery circuit so you can put it in 'backwards' (plus to the minus terminal and vice-versa) with no harm to the throttle. Do NOT flip the battery end for end - the spring that presses the battery against the contacts will cause a dead short across the battery, causing it to heat up and possibly leak, damaging the throttle.
I have no desire to get a UT4, if I want to use a potentiometer throttle I have my Zephyr console. The encoder in the DT402 fives a finer control, easy click to reverse, control of two trains at the same time, and you can easily switch between runnign locos with no problems of one speedign up or slowing down to match the knob position.
so how does battery life in the UT4 compare to the the DT402D?? obviously NO display cuts out some, but what power does the radio part use up?? also you can get better battery life with the 402D by reducing the back light brightness on the disply.
I happen to love the DT400's and 402's because of the dual knob control allowing me to have direct control over 2 locos at once. I have both 402's and UT4's and will use the 402's every time over the UT.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
On a 3'x5' n scale layout! I would like to follow the trains around even in such a small layout. I borrowed one from my friend along with a UR92 and it's awesome, the only issue is the performance of the 9V battery which will drain if leave unattended, and being so forgetful I've burn 3 so far in a week.
So with that question in mind do you think I should spend $310 for the whole radio enable thing or save $70 on a UT4D and UR92, thanks.