Howbi Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 How do I measure a loco motor milliamp requirement using a multimeter? Need so I can choose correct decoder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 How old are your locos howbiman? All DCC Ready locos should be fine to use with any decoder.Brian Lambert shows how to do a stall current test on his website.http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC.html#NORMALWith my multimeter I have the dial switch pointing to 10A and the leads, one in the common and the other in the 10A socket, as most motors stall at half an amp on n gauge and 1 Amp on 00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 How old are your locos howbiman? All DCC Ready locos should be fine to use with any decoder.Brian Lambert shows how to do a stall current test on his website.http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC.html#NORMALWith my multimeter I have the dial switch pointing to 10A and the leads, one in the common and the other in the 10A socket, as most motors stall at half an amp on n gauge and 1 Amp on 00.Thanks, Poliss. The loco in question is a Dublo 2-6-4T that I am converting to DCC. The decoder I have is rated for 700ma motors and I'm concerned that this may be too small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooped Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Further to poliss, to measure stall current hold the loco gently so it doesn't move, but the wheels spin then gently press down until the wheels stop moving (the loco stalls) and note the current draw at that point. You may need 4 arms to do this. Make sure you do all this at a suitable voltage. I suspect Brian Lambert's site poliss pointed you too will explain it better than me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Converting that loco is not straightforward. Here's a guide on how to do it.http://rastall.com/railway/mr-vert-dcc.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Many thanks poliss & cooped. You've solved all my queries. I have already removed the rear brush tube and drilled out ready to refit duly insulated and have just used multimeter as described. Result is that I think my BB 36-553 decoder will be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooped Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 That's a great link poliis had. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Conversion to DCC successfully completed. Locomotive runs like a new one. Thanks for Forum advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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