Goodbye wall warts! Think it’s about time?
This is something I should have done 2 years ago, but better late than never, as the saying goes. Now this, race fans, is a definite GAME CHANGER!
I finally got a variable DC power supply! It’s a small one, of course, and it should be, since I don’t want to overclock my cars and burn them up: it puts out from 0-30 Volts and up to 5 Amps, so it’s nothing that’s going to blow up the world; but oh man, did it ever make my racing events explode! Initially I had it set to 22.25V, just a quarter of a volt more than the wall wart was rated at. I then bumped it up just a little to 23. And since “electricity 101” dictates the cars won’t pull more amps than they need, and since a track as long as mine should have at least an amp per lane, I bumped that up to around 3.5. The meter touches 0.6 A with both cars running full bore but it more often oscillates between 0.2 and 0.45; perfect!
Because it’s not just more power, but better and cleaner power: better distribution makes for more predictable racing, and the voltage drop that affected one lane of the track in a particular area is now almost undetectable!
This power supply, combined with my new DS Basic-3 variable resistance controllers along with tighter fitting connectors and sturdier hook-ups for everything has all made a night and day difference in the performance of my cars…and in the fun I’m having!
In fact, I think it’s time to gear up for another tournament!
What do you think?!
I haven’t followed you for very long so I don’t know exactly how big your layout is, but when you mentioned voltage drops that made me curious. How many power taps do you have on your layout? Don’t they have a tendency to help with voltage drops or is there still enough distance between taps that you get some voltage drop anyway? (This is all pre-new power supply, of course.) 🙂
What a timely question! See my post on 3/6 for the answer!
This is great news and really good to hear about the improved performance. I know you have to be careful with those cars and I’ve burned up some circuit panels on my trains. I have that same problem with consistent power especially on the bigger track. I’m going to have to invest in some quality controls and learn about electrics, especially when I add lights and crossing gates and all. I’m glad this is working out for you and is awesome to hear!