Choosing a Decoder

[Anonymous]

I removed the trucks so I could put new couplers on them. Would it do the same thing if I grabbed the motor link thing than goes to the truck?

[Anonymous]

There are only a couple of HO scale locomotives that I have found to draw enough stall current to worry about. The old Life like PA/PB units would draw as much as 4 amps and some of the real old Athearn's would draw about 2.3 amps. The majority of the HO scale locomotives will not get past 2 amps.

The DZ143 will take about 2 amps but how many folks stall their locomotives when operating them? Not too many. Usually I just run them and not grab them to stall them for the fun of it. [^]

[Fergmiester]

If you need more info try these two sites.

www.loystoys.com

www.tonystrains.com

Both have a good Q&A page.

Fergie

[Anonymous]

I'm doing HO scale. It is an older engine. I'm planning on using the Digitrax DZ143. I don't have a lot of room in my engine. No Ditch lights. Flasher and headlights and motor.

[Anonymous]

Wire an AMP meter in series with the buss wire or feeder to the section of track on which you are going to test the locomotive.

Make certain you have the voltage set at maximum while holding the locomotive.
Wheel spin IS NOT going to give you maximum AMPS. Press down on the engine until the wheels stop spinning. Quickly note the reading on the AMP METER.

Do not keep the engine stalled for very long, just a couple seconds.

I recommend you do this under DC conditions only. This is probably why you need to know the maximum current for the locomotive in the first place as you may be interested in converting to DCC and need this info for the decoder specs.

[Fergmiester]

The simple way is the "stall" the engine and measure the amperage (current draw) between the engine and the throttle.

How do you define stall? Is it when the throttle is full and the wheels are slipping or the power is full and the wheels are stopped. The latter is how you would peak your amperage but be warned it can fry things like motors and such in short order.

If your looking to decide on a decoder your best bet is to get a one rated for the scale you're using and if I'm not mistaken one rated at over 1 amp, which is fairly standard.

If you plan on controlling things such as ditch lights and other auxillary functions then this is another considerationwhen deciding. I use a Digitrax HD123 for the majority of my non-sound engines which vary in size between a 2-6-0 and my 2-6-6-6, which is about as big as they come.

Fergie

[Anonymous]

How do you check the stall current and all that stuff on an engine[?]
thanks