Johnfromoz Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Hi, I know I am not the only one who has been lured into building a small O gauge shunting layout by Dapol's brilliant 08. I have been happily running three of these with dcc and sound for the last few months with my basic Powercab controller with no problems at all. I have now succombed to a new Heljan class 37 which I know is a bigger beast power-wise. Does anyone know if the powercab has enough oomph to operate the Heljans twin motors in the 37, without having to upgrade to the 5A booster? I am running only one loco at a time on this small layout. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Hi, I know I am not the only one who has been lured into building a small O gauge shunting layout by Dapol's brilliant 08. I have been happily running three of these with dcc and sound for the last few months with my basic Powercab controller with no problems at all. I have now succombed to a new Heljan class 37 which I know is a bigger beast power-wise. Does anyone know if the powercab has enough oomph to operate the Heljans twin motors in the 37, without having to upgrade to the 5A booster? I am running only one loco at a time on this small layout. Cheers Hi John You should be OK with one Heljan - typically up to 1 amp on the level with a short train.For a class 37 say pulling a good length train in the garden maybe up to 2amps and stalled up to 3+ amps. Where you will run into difficulty on a small layout is trying to run several Heljans together where the power use is cumulative of course. Norman Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 I read somewhere on here that sound decoders take somewhat more power than standard DCC. I intend to have all sound equipped locos and a 20' x 9' layout. My decision was to get myself the SB5 Smart Booster 5A power supply. This may be overkill. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted March 6, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 6, 2017 The only Heljan 7mm loco with sound I have that needs a booster with my Powercab is my old Hymek - the new 25 is fine without. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnfromoz Posted March 6, 2017 Author Share Posted March 6, 2017 Thanks guys for your help. Looks like I can wing it with the 2A powercab. Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold traction Posted March 6, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 6, 2017 Thanks guys for your help. Looks like I can wing it with the 2A powercab. Cheers John Why don't you try it and see what the current draw is? You could always see what the current draw is of your other locos to give you an idea of what they are drawing. You can do this with the Powercab as it has it's own built in ammeter. Cheers Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted March 6, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 6, 2017 If you do need a booster I got this from Digitrains http://www.digitrains.co.uk/ecommerce/search/dab002-booster-board.aspx Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard carr Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 One way to ease the problem with Heljan locos is to remove one of the motors. It's easy to do there are 2 screws in the side of the bogie near the motor (you need to remove the body first) just loosen them and the motor will pull out. It also means that you can use a much cheaper decoder (sound or non sound) I have done it to my Heljan 37 and it still pulls 10 bogie wagons and 5 four wheel wagons with ease. It has a zimo MX645 decoder fitted rated at 1.2 amps continous. It draws about half an amp or less a moderate speeds with that load. Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdseyecircus Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 One way to ease the problem with Heljan locos is to remove one of the motors. It's easy to do there are 2 screws in the side of the bogie near the motor (you need to remove the body first) just loosen them and the motor will pull out. It also means that you can use a much cheaper decoder (sound or non sound) I have done it to my Heljan 37 and it still pulls 10 bogie wagons and 5 four wheel wagons with ease. It has a zimo MX645 decoder fitted rated at 1.2 amps continous. It draws about half an amp or less a moderate speeds with that load. Richard I will try that later. I bought a loksound v4L which I have yet to fit in my 37.Sounds easy enough and will cut down on a bit of wiring. I just have a shunting layout so should be no problems. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.