C8434S ARC Air kit power supply

[Robert-380902]

Hi,

I'm considering the "C8434S ARC AIR Powerbase & Wireless Controllers Upgrade Kit" and have a few questions.

From what I can see the included power supply is an unregulated (?) 15V 1.2A wall wart. Which seems a little lite on current capacity even for only two cars.

Do the the ARC Air/One powerbases regulate the supply to each lane? Or to put it another way ... when one car de-slots, is there a 'speed surge' as the other car takes up the now greater available amperage?

I think there must be some regulation going on because the app can set maximum speeds ...

Would substituting a higher rated power supply, high enough amps so the cars aren't competing for the available power, prevent any surge? (and having the second car off track too :(

What would be a safe amount of current to draw through one of these power bases?

For everybody's/anybody's amusement, as a kid I once took one of my father's K&B (?) cars to race on a schoolmates set. As soon as I pushed the plunger the other car almost stopped ... no power for you ... not good!!!

Thanks in advance for your replies,

Robert K, N.Z.

[Andy P.]

Hi,

I'm considering the "C8434S ARC AIR Powerbase & Wireless Controllers Upgrade Kit" and have a few questions.

From what I can see the included power supply is an unregulated (?) 15V 1.2A wall wart. Which seems a little lite on current capacity even for only two cars.

***I have run multiple cars with ARC AIR or layout of up to 10 meters with no problems of power drops. Granted I have not used high powered, non-Hornby cars, mostly Hornby, Carrera and scratchbuilt cars with a 13D can motor... ---

Do the the ARC Air/One powerbases regulate the supply to each lane? Or to put it another way ... when one car de-slots, is there a 'speed surge' as the other car takes up the now greater available amperage?

*** ARC One is does not have "brakes" and does not regulate the lanes heavily. There is some circuitry to smooth the power out but it is not as good as lane-dedicated power that isolates power to avoid power surges. Because of this and the lack of brakes many use the older Sport powerbase and open up the ARC ONE and pull the middle plug to the rails and use ARC ONE for pitting, lap counting and timing only and use the old, split (or other brand) powerbase for controlling the cars.

I have not noticed a rush with ARC AIR. I usually have the cars regulated to match speed (performance parity) and don't ever remember experiencing the other car getting faster when a car de-slots. The same goes for ARC PRO in analog mode. I can't guarantee it though.....

I think there must be some regulation going on because the app can set maximum speeds ...

*** The beauty of ARC AIR and ARC PRO is using the app to match cars and better control acceleration. You can get two very different cars very close in performance with the APP---

Would substituting a higher rated power supply, high enough amps so the cars aren't competing for the available power, prevent any surge? (and having the second car off track too :(

*** I think I read that if you go up to 3 amps (there are laptop power supplies with the same barrel connector) you should be OK. This will help power hungry motors but as I said, I don't think ARC AIR suffers from this problems. Also as I noted with ARC ONE I would simply use a completely different powerbase (see above)---

What would be a safe amount of current to draw through one of these power bases?

*** I only saw a statement sanctioned by Hornby for 3 amps on ARC AIR. ARC ONE I would circumvent the power base totally. ARC PRO allows for 2 power packs so the problem is also negated... ---

For everybody's/anybody's amusement, as a kid I once took one of my father's K&B (?) cars to race on a schoolmates set. As soon as I pushed the plunger the other car almost stopped ... no power for you ... not good!!!

Thanks in advance for your replies,

Robert K, N.Z.

 

 

My responses above are preceded by *** and ante ceded by ---

Good luck!