Captain_Francisco. Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I have purchased an Hornby R8239 Power Booster. In the pictorial instructions, (there are, in essence, no written ones,) the power from the transformer (PSU I see, in modern parlance,) to the controller, is dispensed with. Is this correct, once a booster is used, the controller itself must no longer be powered? If, by any mischance, the controller and the booster are both fed power from a PSU, will any serious damage be done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Hi Capt F, not true, you have a PSU connected to both. Think about it, if only 1 PSU then you wouldn't get any additional power from the booster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Francisco. Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 Thanks Fishmaoz. What is bothering me, is that I have read somewhere, that when using multiple boosters, they each have to boost isolated sections of track. The wiring from the 1st powered section, to the booster, I presume, carries the loco instructions, which are then transferred to the 2nd section, along with the boosters power, via the wiring from the appropriate ports. Easy for me to grasp: 3 Amps on the 1st section from one PSU, and 3 Amps on the second section, from the second PSU, via the booster, instructions carried from one section to the other, again 'per kind favour' of the booster. My understanding is then, that one could, with the 'Elite,' run & control say, 50 loco's, but in groups of 10 per boosted, isolated, section, not all 50 on one section. At no point have I read that one connects multiple boosters to only one section of track: surely there is overload there. If then the 'Elite' controller and the booster were powering the same section of track we would end up with a problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I think a better name for the 'booster' would be 'repeater' because that's essentialy what it does. The Elite is powered by it's usual PSU and each 'booster' has it's own PSU. The track output from each must be to electrically isolated sections. The 'booster' gets it's instructions from the Elite, the track, or another 'booster'as shown in the manual. Only one Elite can be used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2e0dtoeric Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Try to visualise it as wiring up your Christmas tree lights, when you only have one wall socket. Plug into your wall socket (the Elite) an ((imaginary)) extension lead with four sockets, (ie a choc block connector). Into the first extension, you plug in one set of lights (one booster and part of the railway, isolated from all the others). Into the next socket goes another set of lights (booster 2), and so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashbang Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Hi Do you have such a large layout that it needs more than one Booster? Most layouts run happily fed directly from the main consoles (Elite) 3.0Amp 'Track' output power. without any added Boosters. A Booster feeds a totally electrical separated area (Zone) of track. If your layout needs sectioning (Zones) the consider using an Electronic circuit breaker (Not produced by Hornby) to prevent an overload in one zone effecting another zone or the main consoles area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashbang Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Hornby Boosters each have their own dedicated power supply derived from a mains plug-in transformer. Each Hornby Booster is connect to the next booster or initially from the Elite via a dedicated data cable or from the Elite fed rails via a DCC power clip connecting to the rails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Francisco. Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 Thanks all. I have the idea; 'Elite' powers initial section of track, each subsequent booster powers is own isolated section, but repeats the instructions from the 'Elite' to its own section. I only have the one booster, but I was just getting the "theory" correctly sorted out in my brain. Comments reference the circuit breaker appreciated Flashbang. Thanks again for a lovely, helpful, Forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregd99 Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Captain_Francisco. said: I was just getting the theory correctly sorted out in my brain. There has been a bit of discussion about what booster can and can't do. I tried to make a very brief summary a few weeks back. They seem to be an expensive bit of kit with some very specific application. https://www.hornby.com/forums/hornby-forums/hornby-digital/3831/?page=2#post44255 Has the booster fulfiled the needs that you thought it would when you purchased it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Francisco. Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Hello Greg99. Read the thread, thanks. In answer, yes, I think it has. I have a fairly large layout in what used to be the childrens' bedrooms, with the intervening wall removed. The booster has effectively "divorced" the termini & attendant goods and marshalling yards at either end from each other's 'hiccups'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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