skyliner
Well-Known Member
Hello all, let me see if I can take a long story and make it shorter-- HO 13' x 18' layout, DCC using NCE's Powercab, roughly 200' of code 83 track. I recently came to the realization that this is now a "temporary" layout, as I will (probably) be moving in the next couple years. Thus, my plan is to use the next year or so to learn some more construction techniques for the next layout, but not go overboard with features that will have to be disassembled in the near future.
The current layout is on a temporary power setup; my next step is to put in and learn how to use a more robust power network. To those ends, I recently picked up an NCE SB5 booster. The plan here is to learn how to wire power districts and use the booster. I'm aiming for 4 power districts (2 mainline, 1 yard, 1 industry loop and sidings). My questions are related to the circuit protection for such a setup. On my next layout, I'll probably go with circuit breakers, but for this one, I'm leaning towards something like the CP6 circuit protector (mostly for cost purposes, I can use just one CP6 versus a breaker for each district). I have a somewhat basic understanding of electricity.
The CP6 uses 1 amp bulbs for each output as protectors. My understanding is that if there is a short, or current approaches 1 amp, the bulb will light, in essence limiting current to 1 amp and converting the rest to heat and light (yes?). So--
1) I mostly run locos with sound, which I understand average about 1/2 amp draw. Does this mean that with a 1 amp bulb, you are basically limited to running 2 sound locos per district? What happens if you run locomotives that draw total amperage over 1 amp? I'm curious because I do sometimes run trains with 3 sound locos.
2) I've read you can increase the amp limit by either installing higher amp bulbs, or by wiring more than one bulb to a power district. On that second option, how would that be done with something like the CP6? It has one input and six outputs-- if you wanted two bulbs on a district, would you connect two outputs together, and run that to the desired district? Would that now give you a 2 amp limit (assuming two 1 amp bulbs)?
Thanks in advance all,
Eric
The current layout is on a temporary power setup; my next step is to put in and learn how to use a more robust power network. To those ends, I recently picked up an NCE SB5 booster. The plan here is to learn how to wire power districts and use the booster. I'm aiming for 4 power districts (2 mainline, 1 yard, 1 industry loop and sidings). My questions are related to the circuit protection for such a setup. On my next layout, I'll probably go with circuit breakers, but for this one, I'm leaning towards something like the CP6 circuit protector (mostly for cost purposes, I can use just one CP6 versus a breaker for each district). I have a somewhat basic understanding of electricity.
The CP6 uses 1 amp bulbs for each output as protectors. My understanding is that if there is a short, or current approaches 1 amp, the bulb will light, in essence limiting current to 1 amp and converting the rest to heat and light (yes?). So--
1) I mostly run locos with sound, which I understand average about 1/2 amp draw. Does this mean that with a 1 amp bulb, you are basically limited to running 2 sound locos per district? What happens if you run locomotives that draw total amperage over 1 amp? I'm curious because I do sometimes run trains with 3 sound locos.
2) I've read you can increase the amp limit by either installing higher amp bulbs, or by wiring more than one bulb to a power district. On that second option, how would that be done with something like the CP6? It has one input and six outputs-- if you wanted two bulbs on a district, would you connect two outputs together, and run that to the desired district? Would that now give you a 2 amp limit (assuming two 1 amp bulbs)?
Thanks in advance all,
Eric
