Power requirements

[anthony_cousins]

Hi Guys,

Im building a DCC layout using e-link and railmaster. I intend to have 3 accesory decoders with 12 sets of points and several locos. Im guessing the 1amp the e-link has isnt enough to work it (I could be wrong). Whats the best way of upping the amps to get and keep my railway empire running - allowing for future expansion (wife permitting).

Thanks

Tony

[Chrissaf]

Hornby's own 4 amp power supply, part number P9300 is a direct compatible replacement for the original 1 amp power supply supplied with the e-link.

 

https://www.hornby.com/digital-15v-4-amp-transformer.html

[RDS]

Hi Guys,

Im building a DCC layout using e-link and railmaster. I intend to have 3 accesory decoders with 12 sets of points and several locos. Im guessing the 1amp the e-link has isnt enough to work it (I could be wrong). Whats the best way of upping the amps to get and keep my railway empire running - allowing for future expansion (wife permitting).

Thanks

Tony

Hi Tony and welcome to the forum,

I agree with chrissaf regarding the 4 Amp PSU.

I note that you are intending to use 3 decoders for your 12 points.  Obviously it depends on your layout but I am just adding point motors to my layout and I have calculated that I only need a total of 4 decoders for my 28 sets of points.  This is because only 4 of my points will be operated on their own.  Surprisingly, the other 24 points will be switched in pairs, where the point is back to back with another point and each of these pairs can be wired to the same decoder port.  This gives me 12 ports that are required for my paired points and 4 more for the individual ones, making a total of 16 ports.

Just a thought!

[Chrissaf]

And I agree with RDS, I have 17 points operated by 3 four port decoders (12 ports total) as 5 point locations are dual point crossovers. Most decoders support switching two (solenoid type) point motors wired in parallel.

[Yelrow]

Anthony, hi, i have a four amp power supply, for 15 points, but hornby will tell you that on their own layout, 1 amp works fine. Guess its how it works for you. I initially added the 4 amp to help my elink, but now, they appear   to be fine on 1 amp as provided. Picked up my 4 amp on ebay.  john

[Chrissaf]

Anthony, with regard the unasked question do you need the 4 amp PSU. The number of points you are deploying is in all probability largely immaterial. All you stated was "several loco's". You might for example own 10 loco's, but because of your track layout constraints would only have 2 or 3 at most on the layout at any one time, you might be intending more I don't know. The number of loco's you intend to power up and/or run simultaneously is really the deciding factor as to whether you need more than a 1 amp supply as they're the items that are going to take the most current out of your PSU.

 

Someone else will come back I'm sure and give some recommendations as to the maximum (somewhat subjective view) number of locos to expect to run on a 1 amp supply. I can't comment on that personally as I use the Elite with the 4 amp power supply. But to the best of my recollection, and if I recall correctly, the Elite manual talks about a maximum of 10 locos with the Elite's 4 amp PSU. I've never put that figure to the test as I have only six (all sound) and rarely run more than three at a time. However, all six locos are mounted on the track and I have 8 passenger coaches that have internal lights permanently on whether running or not. So bear in mind that passenger coach lighting (if power taken from the track) will impact on your power requirement calculations too.

[Fishmanoz]

Anthony, to add to the replies above, an accessory decoder draws I think around 100mA for a few seconds while recharging, a modern loco up to 250mA running flat out, and a 30 yr old loco somewhat more than that. So, as said above, you can largely ignore the points and you still have 1 Amp that will run 4 locos at the same time, actually moving, not just sitting there.  Lighted coaches etc also draw minimal current.

 

And as john says, HRMS report that they run their extensive test layout on 1 Amp with no problem.

 

So if I were you, I'd be looking to run for some time before having to buy the 4 Amp supply.  Wait until you see problems like some locos slowing when you run others or throw points.  For now, you should be fine.