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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by MESSING Ok where do i get this amp meter[/quote] Hi Larry! [url="http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=385&item=PMD-30A&type=store"]ALL ELECTRONICS[/url] has them. Electronic and auto parts stores usually have them. You want one that can read more than what your power supply is rated for. 0-10 amps is good. [quote]QUOTE: how do i use it [/quote] You connect it in series with the track. In other words, remove one wire between the power supply and track. Connect one wire from the power supply to one post on the meter. The other post on the meter connects to the track. [quote]QUOTE: and then how do i use it with the resistor to test output [/quote] I don't know. It wasn't my idea. My idea is to find out how much power the locos are drawing. [quote]QUOTE: as far as pushing it beyond max i had 8 locos on it at one time and it did not do this to me so i think the problem is track wiring but where..[/quote] Maybe one or more locomotives is drawing more power than it should. If it is the track, possibly a minor short like water or something on the tracks. Do you have a cat? If so, maybe he has a urinary infection and he peed on the layout. Do you have feeders on every 3' sections or do some sections connect with only joiners? Is the layout divided into blocks? If so, what is the condition of the switches that control the blocks? What type of turnouts do you have? Insulated frog, powered frog or power routing? But since you have a volt meter on hand, remove all the locomotives, and turn the throttle to full power. Measure the voltage at different points of the layout to see if there is a voltage drop. Also I see Nigel has responded (Hi Nigel). He is highly qualified to answer your question. He is correct. If the [url="http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=760&item=DMM-9202&type=store"]multi-meter[/url] reads infinity that means there is no short in the track
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