John ks Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 I see no major problems, others may disagree Example, say you have 5 power districts each with a 2.5Amp breaker fed from a 5Amp booster If any individual district draws more than 2.5Amp then that breaker will trip If the average load for each district is greater than 1Amp then the total for the layout will be more than 5Amps & the overload protection in the booster will kick in & turn off the whole layout When choosing a booster the total load of the layout needs to be considered This will include locos, lighted coaches, DCC accessories etc. if this load comes to 7Amps ( for example ) then 2 by 4 Amp Boosters would be adequate But you get no room for expansion You would have to plan your power districts very carefully so you don't end up with 1 booster supplying 5A & the other supplying 2A. in this case one booster would be overloaded In this case 2 or possibly 3 5Amp boosters would be better. You then have room for expansion(i.e. adding more trains, not a larger layout) Hope this helps John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted April 7, 2018 Author Share Posted April 7, 2018 Thanks. Was hoping someone would say that! I’ll be designing the bus and wiring so I can add in additional boosters if required, I’m hoping I don’t have to. With regards to train lights etc, I only have 2, a Hornby vep and an APT-E, so not a huge demand. Sound isn’t something I’m massively interested in yet either. No accessories will be dcc powered either, the system is purely for track power Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 (edited) While the SB5 is a recognised upgrade path for the PowerCab, it does have some limitations compared with the standard NCE command station and boosters. Taken from the NCE website.... The SB5 does not have a program track mode, or a program track output. The Power Cab has built in overload for basic self-protection that will continuously try to reset until destroyed if left uncorrected. The Power Cab does not have circuit breakers that will trip or fuses that will blow. Use a **** to protect the Power Cab against short circuits and divide the layout into as many as 6 sections. The SB5 and Power Cab have built in overcurrent sensing for basic self-protection that will continuously try to reset until destroyed if left uncorrected. They do not have circuit breakers that will trip or fuses that will blow. . Edited April 7, 2018 by Ron Ron Ron Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted April 7, 2018 Author Share Posted April 7, 2018 Plenty of circuit breakers will be used. Thinking 1 big one rated at 5amp then 1 for each section with a lower rating Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grovenor Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 You don't need the big one, that is built into the booster or command station. Regards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted April 7, 2018 Author Share Posted April 7, 2018 Will the built in one shut down of the draw is too big rather than a short? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted April 7, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2018 The OP seems to think he will have substantial power demands, implying he proposes to run lots and lots of trains at once. The cost of all those trains will run well into four figures. Skimping on the control sytem to make it all happen looks to be something of a false economy. My DCC system has elements now 20 years old, and the newer bits are upgrades, not replacements, so this is a lasting investment. Buy wisely and reap decades of reward. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted April 7, 2018 Author Share Posted April 7, 2018 I’m hoping to build something that won’t need constant upgrades, or cool something really expensive! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted April 7, 2018 Author Share Posted April 7, 2018 And as for running lots of trains, probably not at the same time, but I have 126 operational locos and the layout is designed to take them all-so the potential is there with 50 plus fiddle yard roads Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 (edited) Ok, here's where I'm at with the planning. After reading so much about getting the power supplies close to the areas and loads, signal degradation and all the other flannel. Each sub district will be run through a circuit breaker, to stop any of the boosters frying. NCE 5 amp smart booster - TMD, split into 2 sections. Potentially 50 static locos. 1 or 2 sound, maybe. Tam Valley 3 amp (5 peak) - Up and Down main running line, 1 sub district Relief, freight, branch running lines, 1 sub district Tam Valley 3 amp (5 peak) - Up and Down main fiddle yard, 1 sub district, 23 static trains Relief yard, 1 sub district 16 static trains Tam Valley 3 amp (5 peak) - Freight fiddle L/H, 1 sub district, 16 static trains Freight fiddle R/H, 1 sub district, 16 static trains I'm finding it difficult to work this bit out and that's the best I can think of. A large majority of my locos are Lima, and I may double head 1 or 2 Heljans from time to time, which have a large draw. This over kill? Not enough? The most I'll have running on the layout at any one time will be 6 trains, which could be 8 locos if 2 are double headed. The layout can't really move that much more due to its long open running lines. It's the 'idling' engines in the fiddle yards that's getting me in a twist. Again, the DCC is for train movement only, all accessories and point control will be analogue. I'm also removing all grain of wheat bulbs from everything and replacing it with LED's. No trains other than a couple of units from factories have interior lights. Edited April 24, 2018 by Marcyg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eveannessant Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 (edited) On 07/04/2018 at 12:01, Oldddudders said: Edited August 17, 2021 by Eveannessant Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasatcopthorne Posted August 18, 2021 Share Posted August 18, 2021 On 03/04/2018 at 14:21, John ks said: Just remembered talk on other threads regarding problems connecting extra throttles to the powercab Is it possible to use 1 SB & 1 DB & feed your depot from one of these Or the depot from 1 booster & the rest from the other booster Consider that a depot especially a loco depot could have 10 or more sound locos & 5amps might not be an overkill Whereas the main lines may only have 4 or 5 trains at an one time & then 5amps could be more than adequate. I think I would start with a SB & a DB, try it out and if more power is required the an extra booster could be added later More stuff to ponder John Are you saying that you would have upto 10 locos in a yard making sound at the same time? Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasatcopthorne Posted August 18, 2021 Share Posted August 18, 2021 If your layout is more of the size of most UK layouts then 5amps is probably enough. How many sound locos would you have moving st a time? Power the yard and the main through their own cut-outs from the 5amp supply. Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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