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Just received my first MTH RailKing building and need to know what the power requirements are.

No instructions included, but there are 2 clips on the bottom with 2 small wires. While I know how this works, what's the voltage requirement? Can I connect it to my transformer and if I apply full power (up to 18 volts) will that be too much? If too much, how much?

In the future I will have the Z-1000 connected to the TIU and AIU so I'm sure doing it that way will all be correct.

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If you want to have some fun with your MTH building, turn it upside down and start taking the screws out. Work your way up to the top and hot glue in a portion of a LED strip. Then start putting it back together (run the wire down a wall) and when you get to the floor portion, hot glue in some people. Easy to do and a huge improvement. And just run it on 12VDC. No drain on your transformer. They are great buildings. Particularly the 2 or 3 story ones.

The ones below aren't lit because the layout was "in progress".

Gerry

52nd Street 9-27-2020 [Medium)

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Last edited by gmorlitz
@MartyE posted:

They'll operate on 18 volts but I suspect they'll look to bright for you.  Typically 14 volts is plenty for a lighted building.

So using some quick math says 14 volts should be throttle at about 77 (14 / 18 * 100).

Are the instructions in the CW-80 - as they pertain to how to set the accessories terminals - accurate. I see it says the factory setting is 12 volts. Is that enough or should I go to 14 volts?

@gmorlitz posted:

If you want to have some fun with your MTH building, turn it upside down and start taking the screws out. Work your way up to the top and hot glue in a portion of a LED strip. Then start putting it back together (run the wire down a wall) and when you get to the floor portion, hot glue in some people. Easy to do and a huge improvement. And just run it on 12VDC. No drain on your transformer.They are great buildings. Particularly the 2 or 3 story ones.

The ones below aren't lit because the layout was "in progress".

Gerry

52nd Street 9-27-2020 [Medium)

That would be a challenge for me as I've never done hot gluing.

Try double sided sticky stuff (or tape). I haven't used it for this, but the stuff can be very useful on a layout.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/pr...00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

BTW, the "smile" on Amazon allows you to contribute to a charity at no cost to you. Amazon contributes a small portion of every sale. My charity is the NJHR (technically, the Northwest Jersey Hi-Railers, Inc.). We gladly welcome anyone who would like to contribute to our club at no cost.

Gerry

Last edited by gmorlitz
@paulp575 posted:

So using some quick math says 14 volts should be throttle at about 77 (14 / 18 * 100).

Are the instructions in the CW-80 - as they pertain to how to set the accessories terminals - accurate. I see it says the factory setting is 12 volts. Is that enough or should I go to 14 volts?

I would try it at the factory 12 volt setting and see how you like it. If you need brighter lighting, then set it to 14 volts by following the procedure described in the manual - the procedure is accurate.

"1. Bring the throttle all the way back to turn off the power. 2. Press and hold down the DIRECTION, WHISTLE/HORN, and BELL buttons on the Controller. Refer to Figure 4 for the location of these buttons. The green light on the Transformer will flash and track power will turn off. 3. With all three buttons held down, raise the throttle slowly until you reach your desired accessory voltage. 4. Release the buttons once you have reached your desired voltage. The accessory turns off, and the solid green light indicates that you have set the accessory voltage. 5. Bring the throttle all the way back to turn off the power. The voltage will momentarily increase, briefly causing the lights to shine brighter or the motors to operate faster, before returning to the set level. At this point, increasing the throttle again will control track power."

If you connect a DVM (digital volt meter) set to the "20 ac scale" to the accessory terminal outputs while you are going through the procedure, you can get a very accurate reading as to what voltage you are setting it at.

@paulp575 posted:

Just received my first MTH RailKing building and need to know what the power requirements are.

No instructions included, but there are 2 clips on the bottom with 2 small wires. While I know how this works, what's the voltage requirement? Can I connect it to my transformer and if I apply full power (up to 18 volts) will that be too much? If too much, how much?

In the future I will have the Z-1000 connected to the TIU and AIU so I'm sure doing it that way will all be correct.

If using the Z-1000, simply wire to the "14v Accessory port". 

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