TEAMYAKIMA Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 My MERG helper has asked me to clarify that he is not a senior member of MERG as I had suggested, merely a general member like any of the other 2,500 members. I apologise for that error which was my mistake - he is a senior member in another totally unrelated railway organisation and I got the two mixed up and made my post without checking. He has read the comments here and has sent me a full page document outlining changes he plans to make based on the comments made. I will not go through all of them, but it does involve removing the plywood and improving the air flow. I am confident that the changes will address the issues raised here and so AFIAC this part of the discussion is at an end - thank you all for your input. The DCC-Concepts meter is ordered and measures are in place to fit it. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Trawling back though this thread, you mentioned DS64 connected to the track power. Are these on the same districts powered from the DCS? If so you can run into several known issues. Best practice has long been to isolate DS64 from the track power and only run them with an external power supply and connect them to Loconet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIMorrison Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 1 hour ago, TEAMYAKIMA said: The DCC-Concepts meter is ordered and measures are in place to fit it. Because you are using boosters and have the track split into several power districts you will need a Alpha meter for each booster/district also. A single Alpha meter on the command station will not provide the information needed to see the power consumption across the layout. it might also be worth looking at the RRampmeter which has the advantage that it is portable and has flying leads which means you could get away with a single RRampmeter as you could swap it between boosters/districts - and also use it for fault finding. https://www.digitrains.co.uk/rrampmeter-v2.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted May 10, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 10, 2022 The DCS100 has a three-position output switch, marked O/G, N, HO (yes in that order). I recall the handbook suggested using the N setting, even for HO, and I have always done so. Which setting is Paul using? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said: My MERG helper has asked me to clarify that he is not a senior member of MERG as I had suggested, merely a general member like any of the other 2,500 members. I apologise for that error which was my mistake - he is a senior member in another totally unrelated railway organisation and I got the two mixed up and made my post without checking. He has read the comments here and has sent me a full page document outlining changes he plans to make based on the comments made. I will not go through all of them, but it does involve removing the plywood and improving the air flow. I am confident that the changes will address the issues raised here and so AFIAC this part of the discussion is at an end - thank you all for your input. The DCC-Concepts meter is ordered and measures are in place to fit it. im glad that the power supply is being addressed, but I still have concerns building it in what is a tool box I think is still concerning. Going from your reply it has not been clarified to remove the dcs100 and db210 from above the power supply. Fans need to blow directly onto the cooling fins of the dcs100 and db210 placed around 2 inches from the fins. This is what I do, indirect cooling won’t resolve the overheating as I found by experience. Edited May 10, 2022 by Andymsa 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 An issue that hasn’t been covered is the loconet cable between the dcs100 and the db210, and may have relevance to the original post. That this cable needs to be modified as possible ground loops can occur if not modified. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEAMYAKIMA Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 7 minutes ago, Andymsa said: An issue that hasn’t been covered is the loconet cable between the dcs100 and the db210, and may have relevance to the original post. That this cable needs to be modified as possible ground loops can occur if not modified. Thanks for that, but I regret that I have no idea what a ground loop is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 2 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said: Thanks for that, but I regret that I have no idea what a ground loop is. A ground loop is a condition in an electrical system that contains multiple conductive paths for the flow of electrical current between two nodes. Multiple paths are usually associated with the ground or 0 V-potential point of the circuit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEAMYAKIMA Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 3 hours ago, AndrewC said: Trawling back though this thread, you mentioned DS64 connected to the track power. Are these on the same districts powered from the DCS? If so you can run into several known issues. Best practice has long been to isolate DS64 from the track power and only run them with an external power supply and connect them to Loconet. The DS64 in question is connected to one of the two tracks connected to the DCS100 for power and is also connected to Loconet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 25 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said: The DS64 in question is connected to one of the two tracks connected to the DCS100 for power and is also connected to Loconet They should never be connected to both. Either track or loconet + separate power. Preferably loconet + 14v. It is a known issue that was finally resolved after 12 years when the DS74 came out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEAMYAKIMA Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 On 10/05/2022 at 14:46, AndrewC said: They should never be connected to both. Either track or loconet + separate power. Preferably loconet + 14v. It is a known issue that was finally resolved after 12 years when the DS74 came out. Thank you for that - done this morning and all others will be checked during the day. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEAMYAKIMA Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 On 10/05/2022 at 13:02, Andymsa said: A ground loop is a condition in an electrical system that contains multiple conductive paths for the flow of electrical current between two nodes. Multiple paths are usually associated with the ground or 0 V-potential point of the circuit. I had no idea about this, but my team have now done research and plans are in place - thanks for the input. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEAMYAKIMA Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 On 10/05/2022 at 12:24, Andymsa said: im glad that the power supply is being addressed, but I still have concerns building it in what is a tool box I think is still concerning. Going from your reply it has not been clarified to remove the dcs100 and db210 from above the power supply. Fans need to blow directly onto the cooling fins of the dcs100 and db210 placed around 2 inches from the fins. This is what I do, indirect cooling won’t resolve the overheating as I found by experience. The original fan has now been turned through 180 degrees so that the air flow over the transformers is now IN one end and OUT the other. Fans have been bought to blow cold air over the Digitrax units and they will be fitted at a work day in June. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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