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Hi Folks,

Normally I have a MTH power supply with its own breaker but I was running DC for some MTH ho trains and one just got back from the repair shop and I wanted to try it out but I believe it shorted out the track.  I heard a clip noise from the TIU and power was off.  Tried restarting a few times but no power to the track.   Since the DC power supply doesn't have its own breaker switch did I blow the internal fuse and if so is there a way to be sure?

 

 

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Hey guys,

 

Been out of town so this is the first chance I've had to look at this and since I'm famous for breaking stuff I wanted to be sure I'm doing it right.

 

So do you  just grab one of these little yellow guys and yank or are they clipped down somehow and what am I looking for to tell if the fuse is blown?

 

I'll be honest I haven't messed with fuses since my 77 deville.

 

 

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Last edited by texmaster

I'm out! You're asking the wrong guy here from my standpoint. Talking to me will cost you extra! I like extra power.

I have Bridgewerks DC packs powering my G scale. I have 25 and 30 amp supplies outside for the 2 mainlines. I have a smaller one inside for G scale that's maybe 20 amps?

My O scale 2 rail runs with 4 Lionel PH180 bricks AC and a MTH Z4000 AC on the upper 3 rail loop.

I don't run HO scale. If I did, the way I like to run big, long consists, I'd have extra power. I'd figure at least 2 trains with five engines each. I'd have to figure out what each engine with smoke on draws and multiply by 12 for spare power. At that point I'd be using at least 2 channels so each pack would have around 8 amps? ( rough guesswork here)

Last edited by Engineer-Joe

I believe you're stretching the use of that small pack. It can power a single engine. If you're powering the track thru the TIU, you could/should get more power. Most everyone on this forum runs AC packs with their 3 rail trains in O scale. I believe the HO side of this forum will continue to grow. 

If you got the small MTH DC wall wort from Ray's site, here's a description of it's designed use:

The ZDC24 is a small wall outlet DC power supply designed to plug into the M.T.H. DCS Remote Commander for users looking to utilize the DCS Remote Commander on HO DC model railroads or into the M.T.H. TIU auxiliary power port for those looking to power up the TIU electronics.

The CSA-approved power supply plugs into any standard AC wall outlet. The barrel jack connector snuggly plugs into the DCS Remote Commander receiver and outputs 16 constant voltage DC volts to the track.

 

I wasn't talking to you...…..  GRJ. 

I thought that's the original power supply he had. I wouldn't use it to power the trains. My TIU aux power alone, is larger than that one.

Here's what he posted:

 

 

"I'll have to grab it and do a screenshot.  I know its an 18v DC.   Bought it from a reputable guy (rayselectrictrains)"

 

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Last edited by Engineer-Joe

That certainly has enough power (13.8V DC x 5 Amps = 70 Watts) but for $55, it is somewhat spendy at about 75 cents per Watt

Here's a 90 Watt DC adapter with selectable output voltage for about $10 of eBay (free shipping from US seller).  If you don't do eBay, these universal laptop charger replacements are widely available.  For these widget I expect to pay about 10 cents per Watt.

90w dc output adapter us seller on ebay

Obviously, if you have a spare Z-500 (50 Watts) or the like sitting in the garage gathering dust then by all means use that as GRJ suggests.  But if you are buying a new power source for TIU AUX, I suggest a DC-output adapter.  Here's a photo from an earlier thread.   As i recall, the AC-output brick will also set you back ~75 cents per Watt. 

ac dc brick comparison with inset

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It was advised to run MTH HO trains on DC power. If that is correct, we need to recommend DC packs.

The first release of MTH HO engines, were DC only. So maybe that's where the recommendation stays?

DCC would be a different animal.

“HO Trains That Do More,” including sound-equipped locomotives compatible with all HO operating systems: analog DC, NMRA- standard DCC, and M.T.H.’s Digital Command System (DCS). M.T.H.'s HO items are identified with item numbers that begin with "80" "81" or "85".  Learn More.

Last edited by Engineer-Joe

If I pick up the one off ebay I can use the z1000 pin adapter.   I'm assuming the TIU is smart enough to deliver the correct amount of power?  Just being cautious since this thing says its for laptops with a wide voltage range.   Appreciate the advice.

 

I'd  rather have the DC run the TIU and trains because the warden doesn't like a lot of cords around the pond.

Last edited by texmaster

I had to go back to the beginning.  I was thinking your problem was how to power the TIU itself via the AUX PWR jack.  Now I see this is an HO DC application.  OK - now I'm onboard!

Being the consummate cheap-skate I cringe at the cost of the MTH pin adapter!    For less than $1 you can get a coax plug to screw-terminal adapter...albeit you'd have to wait for Asia shipping.  So it would be something like this:

18V DC to screw terminal adapter

In this example, the DC-output laptop adapter is shown set to 18V DC.  The TIU itself will steal about 5-10 Watts of power to do its thing (unless you provide external TIU power via the AUX PWR jack).  That leaves ~80 Watts of motive power which is generous for most HO layouts even driving multiple engines.

Note that Joe mentions G-gauge power.  This really is a case of apples-oranges.  The Bridgewerks supplies are DC beasts (in the positive sense of the word) but overkill for your application.

bridgewerks apples and oranges

As for the TIU being "smart enough" to deliver the correct amount of power, it's actually the engines that only draw as much power as they need.  Think of it like your house wall outlets.  You can plug in a 1 Watt nite-lite or a 1000 Watt hair-dryer.  Hope that makes sense.

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