Here is a photo of my setup.
Rich
Alton Junction
hbgatsf OK. You touched on the next question I had. You have two that are panel mounted and one with the case? Can you remove the case from that model and panel mount it? Rick
OK. You touched on the next question I had. You have two that are panel mounted and one with the case? Can you remove the case from that model and panel mount it?
Rick
richhotrain Buy the RRampMeter! Yeah, there is an expense associated with it, but it is designed to measure voltage and amps (current draw) under DCC power. It is more accurate for this purpose than a multimeter that measures pure AC power. I own three RRampMeters, one in-line for each booster, and one that is portable, permitting me to measure voltage and current draw under load. The two in-line RRampMeters permit me to see voltage and amps at a glance and at all times while the layout is powered up. Rich
Buy the RRampMeter! Yeah, there is an expense associated with it, but it is designed to measure voltage and amps (current draw) under DCC power. It is more accurate for this purpose than a multimeter that measures pure AC power.
I own three RRampMeters, one in-line for each booster, and one that is portable, permitting me to measure voltage and current draw under load.
The two in-line RRampMeters permit me to see voltage and amps at a glance and at all times while the layout is powered up.
A good quality True RMS DMM will work, as long as you unerstand its limits. For comparison purposes, like checking one rail's voltage to the common terminal on the booster to the other other, it works great.
It is good for measuring current. Again, the DCC waveform and it's frequency will impact the accuracy of the readings.
If you need an accurate measurement of current draw, inserting the meter into the power feed for the command station/booster would give much more accurate readings. Just measure the amount of current with track power off, and subtract that from what is measured with track power on.
The advantage the RRAmpmeter has: It was designed to measure the DCC signal, so it was optimized for the waveform and the frequencies it would see.
More on Multimeters and DCC.
Put me in that group with a lack of understanding of electronics. I won't even call myself a plumber in that I don't know how to completely use all the tools that I have (read multimeter.) Before Al Gore invented the internet I bought a book titled Understanding Solid State Electronics. I didn't get very far in it before my eyes glazed over. I find this annoying because at one time I designed fluid power systems but I can't make the jump to electronics.
As my fleet of locomotives has grown I have become worried about exceeding the capacity of my DCS100. While I don't run all that many locomotives at one time many are sitting on sidings with power. I have done some research and found that I am "probably" OK. I started putting in toggle switches to kill power in yards and industries when not in use.
It is not in my nature to leave it at that and hope for the best so I decided to get more scientific about it. I found the RRampMeter but before I buy that I wanted to see if my multimeter could do the job. I tried to read the manual and most of it was like a foreign language. Same with the RRampMeter.
So my basic question is can my true RMS (whatever that means) multimeter tell me what I want to know or should I buy the RRampMeter?