Prodigy express power control

[LTechG]

hi,

Wondered if there is any way of creating power districts using the prodigy controller. Want to protect against possible shorts shutting the whole layout down rather than the bit of the layout involved. Digitrax has a system using "power districts" using a hardware device. Is there a way of doing this with prodigy?

Thanks in anticipation,

Stephen

[Ron Ron Ron]

If you don’t need more track power than the Prodigy Express provides, then you can use a power management circuit breaker device, to protect separate sections of the layout. 
You would still have the one “power district” ( a section of the layout, powered by its own booster) , but this device would allow the creation of “sub-districts “.

These work as you say, by only shutting down the affected section of the layout, in the event of a short, while other sections remain powered.

Circuit breakers are available from several manufacturers and can provide one, or multiple outputs, depending on how many sub-districts you wish to create.

 

If you wish to increase the available track power, from the PE’s meagre 1.6 to 2.0 amp output, then by adding an extra booster, you can create 2 separate “power districts”  ( note: add more boosters to create more power districts).
One power district is fed by the PE’s track output and the other by the booster, each with their own on-board circuit breaker protection.

Again, if needed, each of these can be split into further sub-districts by adding circuit breaker modules.

 

I hope that’s not too complicated?

 

Ron

 

 

.

[Nigelcliffe]

8 hours ago, LTechG said:

hi,

Wondered if there is any way of creating power districts using the prodigy controller. Want to protect against possible shorts shutting the whole layout down rather than the bit of the layout involved. Digitrax has a system using "power districts" using a hardware device. Is there a way of doing this with prodigy?

Thanks in anticipation,

Stephen

 

Yes, buy one or more "power district breaker" devices.   There are several manufacturers, perhaps the best known is the PowerShield range.    Your choice should have a lower cut-out than the maximum power from your system, and also higher than the max current during normal running of all locos and devices within your "district".   

 

There are assemble-your-own designs, one of which is sold by MERG.  

 

- Nigel