Do I need a power booster ?

[roythegrass]

My layout is exactly as per Chrissaf’s ‘Guide ...Track Extension Packs’ up to and including track pack F.

I am now in the process of building a single track extension as shown in green on the drawing. My controller is the Select and only controls locos, no accessories. Will I require a power booster?

Roy/media/tinymce_upload/e4b8948fd61fc1c1867e766f1033f3f3.jpg

[Rog RJ]

No, probably not. It's the number of trains which are running and point and accessory decoders and other items which are drawing power from the track that determines whether a booster is needed. The standard 1amp Select power supply should be able to run up to about 3 or 4 trains at the same time - can you control 3 to 4 trains at the same time?

 

Why do you show 2 controllers on your drawing?  With digital controllers you can only have 1 controller connected to the track.  If you intend to have 2 select controllers in use then only one of them is connected to the track and the second is linked to the first by a data cable only and must not have a power supply connected to it.

 

[Yelrow]

Roy, if your layout totally filled a double garage, it would still not need a power booster. As hfm says, save the money towards an Elite. john

[Chrissaf]

None of the layouts in my guide are big enough to require a Power Booster. Very few layouts are. The times when a 'Booster' is required is a very niche requirement. I won't digress into them here as there are numerous posts on the subject elsewhere on the forum.

.

Roy, regarding my Fig 16 drawing you have shown in the post. I shall probably make an amendment in the posted downloadable document to make a slight change relating to the 'R8201 link wire' I have shown bridging the point (turnout) at the top. The wires on a R8201 are short, and would need extending to fit in the positions shown on the drawing.

.

I'm sure you are using my Fig 16 drawing purely as reference material for the track design, but it should be noted that the Fig 16 drawing in your post is for a DC Analogue controlled layout. A 'Booster' would only be used (if at all) on a DCC controlled layout. In DCC, there is no need for the R8201 link wires to be fitted. The function of them is performed by the DCC point clips fitted to the points.

.

Fig 17 in my document would have been the better drawing to use as reference material, as it is drawn for a DCC layout.

[96RAF]

I think Rog RJ has hit the nail on the head in saying that the booster required is not a separate power district booster but simply the uprated power supply from 1-amp to the 4-amp unit.

Rob

[roythegrass]

Thanks folks, so it's a unanimous no!

Sorry about the wrong layout image - I just copied the first layout I saw that matched mine on which to draw the proposed extension overlooking that it was DC.

Roy

[Chrissaf]

Roy, because of previous forum dialogue I knew what you meant in using Fig 16 as the source material. Others here take posts at face value as shown. Thus, this shows how important it is to give consideration to what one posts and what one presents in them.

[ModelerXYZ]

Simple answer: No.

As all the others have said, the layout is too small to require a booster.

XYZ