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needed ac/dc power supply for tech 6

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needed ac/dc power supply for tech 6
Posted by ESAERR on Sunday, October 22, 2023 4:31 PM

needed ac/dc power supply for tech 6

 

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Posted by Steven Otte on Monday, October 23, 2023 8:43 AM

Reminder: It's OK to tell this poster where he can find and buy the item he needs. Buying and selling items, however, is not allowed on the Forums.

--
Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editor
sotte@kalmbach.com

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Posted by ESAERR on Monday, October 23, 2023 11:28 AM

just want to know what ac/dc power is compatable w/ unsaid product.  I don't want to inadvertantly fry something

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Posted by BigDaddy on Monday, October 23, 2023 2:18 PM

The old plug should have the specs printed right on the part that plugs in the wall.

then search google, ebay for switching power supply.

Henry

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, October 23, 2023 3:39 PM

Mel Perry started a thread involving the 6A supply to the Tech 6 in 2015.  Detailed electrical information on replacement or 'aftermarket' supplies may be in there.

Base unit that comes with it is 15V  2A  ring negative, tip (center) positive.  All you'd need to find is a higher-current-rated switching power supply with those characteristics.

In a pinch, reuse the plug and cord from the old one and splice with above polarity to the new one.

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Posted by ESAERR on Monday, October 23, 2023 4:19 PM

this comes closest to my question.  So I understand that a higher current output will not cause harm. I have no old supply to replace, just need one from scratch.

Thank you

previous 2 post were bush 

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Posted by Track fiddler on Monday, October 23, 2023 4:36 PM

Call the company.  They will help you.  They'll send you what you need, maybe for a few dollars more.

But then you'll know you got the right one.

TF

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, October 23, 2023 4:48 PM

The 'higher current' only concerns the ability to supply current without overheating.  The Tech 6 itself is only going to draw the number of amps it's loaded with -- the voltage (pressure) is the thing you have to match.

So almost all the time, a 'higher-wattage' supply will work with any lower load.  An Apple 85W MagSafe works just fine on smaller devices that originally shipped with a 45W or 65W unit...

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Posted by Track fiddler on Monday, October 23, 2023 5:27 PM

Go to the Source and ask the Horse, so you don't have to fry crapWink

 

TF

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Posted by BigDaddy on Monday, October 23, 2023 5:44 PM

ESAERR
So I understand that a higher current output will not cause harm.

A higher (3 amp or more) power supply doesn't automatically push 3 amps into your controller, but too many trains on the track will suck those 3 amps out of the plug and through your controller, which could let magic smoke out.

Henry

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Posted by ESAERR on Monday, October 23, 2023 7:08 PM

OK then basically, a unit with dc24V & 5A output will work .  There are a lot like those out there.

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Posted by BigDaddy on Monday, October 23, 2023 7:28 PM

Where did 24 V come from? 

RR_Mel, back when he was only running DC, asked about using a 6 amp power supply.  If this is the thread, there is not much there.

I don't think you can just go up on the volts over the original power supply.  We used to have an electrical guru, Randy, who passed during Covid.  He could make electricity simple so anyone could understand it.  I am not a Randy.

Henry

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Posted by ESAERR on Monday, October 23, 2023 7:45 PM

My bad, a 12V DC not 24.  Is that somehow too low?  Unit takes 15VDC

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Posted by BigDaddy on Monday, October 23, 2023 7:52 PM

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by ESAERR on Monday, October 23, 2023 8:14 PM

Yes, that should work just fine.  Assume higher DC output as well as amps are Ok with the draw being controlled by the device.  Could not find a perfect 15/2 match.

You have been very helpful.  Thanks. 

 

 

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Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 4:34 AM

ESAERR

Yes, that should work just fine.  Assume higher DC output as well as amps are Ok with the draw being controlled by the device.  Could not find a perfect 15/2 match.

No!  The 15 volt output has to be 15 volts -- that's going to be a requirement.  If you meant that you can get higher DC output current in amperes from the track terminals on the Tech 6 itself... perhaps, but not more than the Tech 6 is rated to provide.  You'd need to improve heatsinking and perhaps some other things in the Tech 6, which is a much more intensive and risky thing, if you want it to do more than the 'factory' designed it to do.

Volts are like pressure - the power supply forces them into the device.  Amps are like volume -- the flow is determined by the load and no more than that 'goes through'.

You do not want to 'overpressure' the Tech 6 with a higher voltage.  "Any" switching power supply that is rated 15V and over 2A will work.  The actual number of safe output amps will be a limit of the Tech 6 circuitry, not the power supply, in that case, but even a humongous 15V supply will not run more current through the Tech 6 than the device draws.

But it HAS to be rated 15V for a 15-volt application, unless you know in detail that your device is tolerant of a different voltage -- and do not assume that it is.

I looked at eBay and they have all sorts of 15V 4A and 5A bricks listed.  I also note multiple listings for 15V 2A units nominally for the "iHome iH8" which might even be plug-compatible.

Now, the 'factory' supply was rated 1000mA (which of course is 1 amp) INPUT current -- that's what it would draw from the wall if you loaded it with a 2-amp full load at the output.  Most of the iHome compatible adapters I see are nominally more efficient -- they only draw about 300mA from the wall to source the 15V 2A.  That may mean they use more modern electronics to do the rectification and filtering from AC to DC more efficiently.

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