I have a question about the Digitrax PS2012 power supply. I have the super extra chief and it will support 8amps but the PS2012 has 5amp fuses. How do you get the full 8amps out of the Super Extra Chief?
Digitrax offers the PS514 for the Super Chief Extra but is a little hazy on it's amp capacity. You could look for an 8 amp power supply from an electronics supplier.
Joe
Edit: Tony's says that the PS514 outputs 5.6 Amps at 12 volts
I have the PS514 and Digitrax said that in order to get the full 8 amps I needed a larger supply. I looked at the PS2012 but I dont understand why they have such a big supply and limit the fuses to 5amps.
It's designed for multiple 5 amp boosters on layouts that have power districts with high power needs such as clubs running many trains with mu'd sound locos. By the way, why do you need 8 amps?
I dont right now but in the near future I will.
You have to get 8 amp resettable fuses and make up your own wiring harnesses. Depending on the voltage settings you may not actually be able to even drive 2 8 amp boosters fromt he PS2012 - hence the 5 amp fuses. At 12V, ok for N scale setting, you can drive 4 of the 5 amp boosters. You could run 2 of the 8 amp units at that voltage, but crank up to 15V for HO use and you will be right at the limit for a pair of 8 amp boosters.
I've said it before - 8 amp boosters are a false economy. Yes they are only a few dollars more, but the power supply is where they get you. 14-15V 5 amp power supplies are a dime a dozen, they are used all over (witness the new PS514, basically a laptop power supply). 15V 8amp power supplies are NOT common. Thus the cost isn;t shared with some other industry that uses a thousand times more of them than model railroaders use.
Despite claims on Tony's, the MagnaForce power supply is NOT suitable for an 8 amp booster. It's good to about 6 amps. Their own testing shows the voltage dropoff at higher loads.
--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 15V 8amp power supplies are NOT common. Thus the cost isn;t shared with some other industry that uses a thousand times more of them than model railroaders use.
Maybe not common, but they ARE available at a reasonable cost if you know where to look. Take a look at the RS-150-15 available here for $40.99 (click on "Datasheet" for a PDF with the specs).
Disclaimer: I have no interest in this company except as a satisfied customer.
I'm as curious as Joe, Why do you need 8amps? That's quite a lot of power there. Care to share your plans?
Not me. Ask D&HRR
No Joe, I said I'm as curious as you.
To the OP we are still curious as to why the 8amps
Sorry. I guess he may have a welding project on tap
UPinCTI'm as curious as Joe, Why do you need 8amps? That's quite a lot of power there. Care to share your plans?
Not to speak for the OP, but I can think of a couple reasons off the top of my head:
O scale;
Large HO layout with four, two-amp power districts;
etc.
Thanks Steve, I can think of a few reasons as well.
The reason I am curious as to the OP's plans is I have had 2 people swear that they needed 8 amps and 5 amps when 3 amps will do in their respective cases. Modern Sound equipped engines draw so little amperage these days.
We run 8 amp boosters on our NTRAK layout. Each one is set up to power up to 8 subdistricts. Do we actually need 8 amps? probably not. But to run 8 subdistricts, we'd need to purchase two 5 amp boosters and power supplies. Would also need to run extension cords to those additional power supplies.
There are reasons for 8 amp boosters, they can be obscure.
Martin Myers