i have the Power (or at least my dynamis does)

*** Excellent test!

Some comments/questions if U have the time and inclination...

(re the "test")

are they all ESU sound decoders - I ask as US ones have higher current needs normally.

A standing still sound loco should draw between 150 and 300mA max, depending on sound decoder brand & lights that are on. How many can be on the track and active when U turn the set on? After you establish this, also short the layout and see if it will recover with the same amount of loco's on it.

(re the layout)

Overall, a good reason to have areas that can be turned off....

The turn on current will drop when the sound decoders and system stabilise. Therefore as U found, once its "on" it will support more locos than it will start up with - or recover from a short with. Therefore its a good idea to have an ability to turn off chunks/sections of the layout - engine, stabling sidings, fiddleyard etc.... It'll not only mean U don't have to remve loco's, it'll make any possible troubleshooting easier too....

Thanks for the "power test" on the dynamis - so far, most interesting

Richard
DCCconcepts

QUOTE (Richard Johnson @ 16 Jan 2008, 03:39) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>*** Excellent test!

Some comments/questions if U have the time and inclination...

(re the "test")

are they all ESU sound decoders - I ask as US ones have higher current needs normally.

Yes, all esu sound chips

A standing still sound loco should draw between 150 and 300mA max, depending on sound decoder brand & lights that are on. How many can be on the track and active when U turn the set on? After you establish this, also short the layout and see if it will recover with the same amount of loco's on it.

It would not re-start with 1ll the locos on, if i removed the heljan duff (47) and say another 2-3 locos, it started.

(re the layout)

Overall, a good reason to have areas that can be turned off....

Suppose on a big layout, but mine is only a 10x 2 foot end-end. The dynamis was only baught as backup for my Lenz, should that ever go down at a show. I have looked at the e=z power booster, its £80 in the uk. Not sure at the moment if its worth upgrading as at shows, I normally only have 1 or 2 locos in motion on the main layout, though i can have any number sitting ideling on the tracks. Dont fancy doing more wiring (Dead sections) on this layout so if anything it would be upgrade to 5 amps. My Lenz 100 is powered with the 5 amp booster and has no probs.

The turn on current will drop when the sound decoders and system stabilise. Therefore as U found, once its "on" it will support more locos than it will start up with - or recover from a short with. Therefore its a good idea to have an ability to turn off chunks/sections of the layout - engine, stabling sidings, fiddleyard etc.... It'll not only mean U don't have to remve loco's, it'll make any possible troubleshooting easier too....

Thanks for the "power test" on the dynamis - so far, most interesting

Your welcome. Do you stock the e-z booster? Are they country specific? i.e. would one from anywhere in the world (Aus) work in the uk 240v?

Richard
DCCconcepts

QUOTE (Richard Johnson @ 16 Jan 2008, 12:33) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>***No I don't stock the EZ booster - in fact until the Pro pack is available I won't stock the dynamis either - Nothing wrong with the Dynamis as such - I just prefer to be able to offer all options to my customers....

Actually you should theoretically be able to use any brand of booster with any brand of system.... its amatter of finding out the pin configuration of the connection on the Dynamis. Of course you'd then not get the added functionality that is supposedly in the Pro....

Boosters all need a separate power supply / take a low voltage input so they are not country specific at all...

regards

Richard

I was wondering about the booster. i have the lenz 5 amp boost to wich you attach the two wires. I will have to look further into it to see if it could be a booster for the dynamos, though saying that it would not be much help if it were the booster that went bang!

No wonder I dont use this forum much!

What happened to the sounds on the idling locos when you chose to drive one ?

I'm only asking becaseu i am tempted by the NCE power cab, and have received (from a friend) an email with a thread from an unknown forum on it. Someone is complaining that....."on ALL my locos that are DCC equipped (sound and non-sound) when I have 2 or more locos on the same siding all with lights on and switch from one loco to another, the loco I am switching to defaults to lights off as soon as I select it, so I then have to switch the lights on again before driving the loco which rather defeats the object of having DCC and the ability to permanently illuminate loco lights! This sort of niggling problem is starting to drive me round the bend! Is this a CV or CV's that I need to set in each loco? Or does this point towards a fault in my Powercab and/or all four of my decoders? Answers on a postcard please!""

Now then, this "resetting" of locos is something I find unwelcome, if it is a "real"problem and not a RTFM one ! Does the Dynamis do this too ? Elite ? or is this a "feature" of the Power cab ?

QUOTE (dieselweasel @ 16 Jan 2008, 14:06) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>What happened to the sounds on the idling locos when you chose to drive one ?

I'm only asking becaseu i am tempted by the NCE power cab, and have received (from a friend) an email with a thread from an unknown forum on it. Someone is complaining that....."on ALL my locos that are DCC equipped (sound and non-sound) when I have 2 or more locos on the same siding all with lights on and switch from one loco to another, the loco I am switching to defaults to lights off as soon as I select it, so I then have to switch the lights on again before driving the loco which rather defeats the object of having DCC and the ability to permanently illuminate loco lights! This sort of niggling problem is starting to drive me round the bend! Is this a CV or CV's that I need to set in each loco? Or does this point towards a fault in my Powercab and/or all four of my decoders? Answers on a postcard please!""

Now then, this "resetting" of locos is something I find unwelcome, if it is a "real"problem and not a RTFM one ! Does the Dynamis do this too ? Elite ? or is this a "feature" of the Power cab ?

When i drove a loco, or 6, the ones left ideling just sit there idleing.

Only on a full system re-set, where i had to remove some of the 18 locos to get it back to life did the chips reset and in effect switch off. The lesson for me is, if I do use the dynamis in "show" conditions, watch which way the points are set.

I often short the layout on purpose (thats my excuse) at shows to get the mass start ups, its like tennis as peoples heads turn back and fourth as each loco / class starts up again!

QUOTE (dieselweasel @ 16 Jan 2008, 14:06) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>What happened to the sounds on the idling locos when you chose to drive one ?

I'm only asking becaseu i am tempted by the NCE power cab, and have received (from a friend) an email with a thread from an unknown forum on it. Someone is complaining that....."on ALL my locos that are DCC equipped (sound and non-sound) when I have 2 or more locos on the same siding all with lights on and switch from one loco to another, the loco I am switching to defaults to lights off as soon as I select it, so I then have to switch the lights on again before driving the loco which rather defeats the object of having DCC and the ability to permanently illuminate loco lights! This sort of niggling problem is starting to drive me round the bend! Is this a CV or CV's that I need to set in each loco? Or does this point towards a fault in my Powercab and/or all four of my decoders? Answers on a postcard please!""

Now then, this "resetting" of locos is something I find unwelcome, if it is a "real"problem and not a RTFM one ! Does the Dynamis do this too ? Elite ? or is this a "feature" of the Power cab ?

When i drove a loco, or 6, the ones left ideling just sit there idleing.

Only on a full system re-set, where i had to remove some of the 18 locos to get it back to life did the chips reset and in effect switch off. The lesson for me is, if I do use the dynamis in "show" conditions, watch which way the points are set.

I often short the layout on purpose (thats my excuse) at shows to get the mass start ups, its like tennis as peoples heads turn back and fourth as each loco / class starts up again!

Dear All,

Bachmann do produce a 5 amp booster (part no. 36-520) for the E-Z system. I have seen it advertised for 79 quid at T*t*lly Tr**ns (asterisks used, so I do not offend the moderator with commercial references!). It should work with any NMRA compliant system, but you might want to check with Bachmann that there is no problem using this with the Dynamis before buying it. Since these are both Bachmann products you should get a quick answer, which is the advantage of using products from the same manufacturer.

This booster could be used to supply power to the MPD area and then you have a separate power district for the running lines connected to the base station of the Dynamis. All you need is insulated connections between the 2 areas, which you probably have already. Then you can have lots of loco with lights on and idling away in the MPD with no problem up to 5 amps worth, and if you have a temporary short out on the running lines, they will not be affected.

There can be a problem on start-up, as the so-called in-rush current often exceeds the current used while idling, especially with sound decoders. There are some circuit breakers on the market that deal with this issue. As we put more and more sound decoders into our locos, this may become more necessary than before. There is a very nice article on circuit breakers here.

This report on your experiment is fascinating and helps us all understand DCC better, so keep on experimenting!

QUOTE (John)Dear All,
Bachmann do produce a 5 amp booster (part no. 36-520) for the E-Z system. I have seen it advertised for 79 quid ......It should work with any NMRA compliant system, but you might want to check with Bachmann that there is no problem using this with the Dynamis before buying it.

QUOTE (Nigel2001 @ 28 Jan 2008, 22:25) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>As Backmann UK were using the E-Z booster on their Warley demonstration stand of Dynamis, with the booster clearly visible and part of the demo (ie. illustrating how easy to connect for higher current requirements), I think its safe to assume it works !
It clearly states on the Bachmann Dynamis website, in the 2007 catalogue and in the Dynamis instuction book, that the EZ Booster is suitable for use with Dynamis.
Bachmann have made this absolutely clear since day one, when they first announced the Dynamis system.

QUOTE (Oakydoke @ 31 Jan 2008, 21:32) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>It clearly states on the Bachmann Dynamis website, in the 2007 catalogue and in the Dynamis instuction book, that the EZ Booster is suitable for use with Dynamis.
Bachmann have made this absolutely clear since day one, when they first announced the Dynamis system.



*** Yep, its 100% OK but its actually better than that for anyone that wants extra boosters.

Any DCC compatible booster is usable with almsot any dcc compatible DCC system - The caution is that they should have similar track voltage outputs or be adjustable to match (so running is steady across boundaries) and the only other proviso is that the base unit has terminals to connect one in the first place.

So.... almost any booster with almost any system is OK as long as you take care to follow the wiring and make up the correct patch cable using termination as advised by both booster and base station Mfr....

Richard
DCCconcepts