JDawg Actualy, my progect involves that teeny little Switcher. I know that i will need some sort of power capacitor for the model, it's just that the KA2 takes up valuable space in the unit. Could I just sub out the 220uf for, say, a 10k+ uf? I can't think of a reason that wouldn't work. It would take some time to charge up, but other than that...
Actualy, my progect involves that teeny little Switcher. I know that i will need some sort of power capacitor for the model, it's just that the KA2 takes up valuable space in the unit. Could I just sub out the 220uf for, say, a 10k+ uf? I can't think of a reason that wouldn't work. It would take some time to charge up, but other than that...
Here's the loco I'm talking about:
Then I guess you got the DC version. I think you're up a crick. My best advice is to find a DCC version, and buy it. It comes with "keep alive" already installed.
Ed
7j43k JDawg Could I just use a larger capacitor? It comes with a 220 UF, would a larger capacity device harm the decoder? My *ahem* Limited electrical knowledge informs me that I can swap out, but my self doubt argues otherwise. The small ESU Power Pack (capacitor) has 1,000,000 uF. Quite a bit bigger than 220, I would say. I think "keep alives" are great. I've put them in a couple of locomotives and a couple of passenger cars. I will definitely do more. The positives are self-evident (if not, see Walthers teeny little switcher crawl over paper towels). The negatives are: You have to pay money to get one. You have to know how to install it. You have to have room to fit it in. Ed
JDawg Could I just use a larger capacitor? It comes with a 220 UF, would a larger capacity device harm the decoder? My *ahem* Limited electrical knowledge informs me that I can swap out, but my self doubt argues otherwise.
Could I just use a larger capacitor? It comes with a 220 UF, would a larger capacity device harm the decoder? My *ahem* Limited electrical knowledge informs me that I can swap out, but my self doubt argues otherwise.
The small ESU Power Pack (capacitor) has 1,000,000 uF. Quite a bit bigger than 220, I would say.
I think "keep alives" are great. I've put them in a couple of locomotives and a couple of passenger cars. I will definitely do more.
The positives are self-evident (if not, see Walthers teeny little switcher crawl over paper towels).
The negatives are:
You have to pay money to get one.
You have to know how to install it.
You have to have room to fit it in.
JJF
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I believe the original Soundtraxx decoders came with the small cap that was to "buffer" the sound amplifier only.
"Keep Alive" provides a small amount of power capacity for the entire decoder, sound, lights and motor in order to provide a bit of "standby" power to bridge a short power interruption from the power supplied by the rails/wheels.
I generally resort to keep alive as a last resort if I have a particular locomotive that has been showing stuttering and I'm sure that all the other options have been exhausted (read, powered frogs, good points, clean wheels, suitable current collection on the locomotive).
Some of my brass engines benefit from keep alive due to the fact that even the longer ones pickup the one rail from the engine and the other rail through the tender.
There's a tradeoff with the length of keep alive time available vs. size of capacitor and total current draw of the motor, amp and lights, if applicable. In most cases it will cure an interruption of two or three seconds — sometimes a bit longer.
Good Luck, Ed
Soundtraxx decoders come with an optional capacitor. I've always included it on installs, but on my most recent project, I'm considering swapping it out for a keep alive. Is it worth it? How much power will the included capacitor provide vs the KA. I'm not going for any records, only 2-3 seconds, just enough to cross a switch frog. Thoughts?