Lokprogrammer Power Supply

[luke_stevens]

Hi,

 

A while ago before I moved house I packed away my programmer. Yesterday, needing a sound file that Zimo don't do, I unpacked the Lokprogrammer and found I hadn't packed away the power supply...

 

I have several "spare" power supplies but none of them say ESU or Loksound. The Lokprogrammer say "Max 20v" the online manual says "500mA" (though not if that is a min, max or recommended value) but no where can I find what voltage / which power supply I should be using. I've seen a reference to 14v being more effective than 12v. I've checked the ESU website without luck.

 

Could someone with a working Lokprogrammer let me know what the provided / ideal power supply is?

 

Thanks,

 

Luke

 

 

[55020]

The supplied power supply is 12V, 500mA, with the adapter being centre positive.

If you'd like a photo of the adapter decal let me know.

 

[luke_stevens]

Hi 55020,

 

Thanks for the info. That's what I thought it would be...

 

Now I know what I'm looking for I'll keep looking. I've found one at 400mA, one at 100mA and one at 1.2A...

 

Yours

 

Luke

[pheaton]

Luke, the 1.2a one will be fine as long as its 12v

[Hamburger]

If you are patient enough to wait a whole minute after a short has occurred, you can even use a nineteen Volts Laptop power supply with 4.7 amps. I do so since 2009.

[Neils WRX]

Happened to break the cable on my Lokprogrammer power supply. Looked online but couldn’t see any ESU power supplies for sale so had a hunt round the house for a jack that fitted.

In the end a Jessops photoframe lead with a 12v supply with a 3amp output did the job and enabled me to change CV1 on a decoder.

Any idea of a better long term solution as not keen on a 3amp output, there seem to be loads on Amazon / Ebay just not sure which one to go for.

 

Stay safe everyone,

 

Neil

[pheaton]

The output currant is the maximum that can be drawn not what it will throw out regardless.... 

 

Amperage is a problem when the device draws more that the supply can provide, so in the case of a lokprogrammer whuch draws 500milliamps you need a minimum of a 500ma supply..... A 3 amp supply will only provide what is drawn from it so when using it with a lokprogrammer it will only provide 500ma not 3amps.... You can use a 10 amp supply and be ok as long as the voltage is correct. 

 

There is no long term issue using a 3 amp power supply. 

 

Yes its best practice to use a matched power supply but theres no harm in using one thats more capable. 

Edited May 27, 2020 by pheaton

[smokebox]

A possible problem of using an over rated power supply with any piece of equipment is under fault conditions.

 

Let's say there is a component failure inside the equipment, a Lokprogrammer in this case, that causes a short circuit.  The correct (500mA) power supply either shuts itself down if it designed to, or just keeps on supplying 500ma happily until it is unplugged from the mains and no further harm is caused to the powered equipment.  There may be an internal fuse which will blow under a short circuit fault condition, sometimes there is an area of PCB track designed to rupture instead of a replaceable fuse, or there may be no fuse at all. 

 

In the case of an over rated power supply (let's say 3Amps) the full fault current could easily cause a PCB track to burn out, rendering the Lokprogrammer safe, but now the unit needs repair- if possible.  If it doesn't burn out a PCB track the unit may overheat and melt or even catch fire.  The power supply may not shut down or be harmed by the fault condition.

 

We don't know how the Lokprogrammer is designed internally (unless someone has the details) so simply stating that a 3Amp power supply is a safe alternative to the correct 500mA is quite wrong IMHO and alternatives should be used with caution.

Edited May 27, 2020 by smokebox
typos

[pheaton]

3 minutes ago, smokebox said:

A possible problem of using an over rated power supply with any piece of equipment is under fault conditions.

 

Let's say there is a component failure inside the equipment, a Lokprogrammer in this case, that causes a short circuit.  The correct (500mA) power supply either shuts itself down if it designed to, or just keeps on supplying 500ma happily until it is unplugged from the mains and no further harm is caused to the powered equipment.  There may be an internal fuse which will blow under a short circuit fault condition, sometimes there is an area of PCB track designed to rupture instead of a replaceable fuse, or there may be no fuse at all. 

 

In the case of an over rated power supply (let's say 3Amps) the full fault current could easily cause a PCB track to burn out, rendering the Lokprogrammer safe, but now the unit needs repair- if possible.  If it doesn't burn out a PCB track the unit may overheat and catch fire.  The power supply may not shut down or be harmed by the fault condition.

 

We don't know how the Lokprogrammer is designed internally (unless someone has the details) so simply stating that a 3Amp power supply is a safe alternative to the correct 500mA is quite wrong IMHO and alternatives should be used with caution.

Thats why I said best practice is a matched power supply...but I think you will find a 500ma power supply will provide upwards of 5 amps for a short period under a fault condition..

 

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by pheaton