Just starting and need a good used power supply, if you have one you have thought of moving, let me know of cost, appreciate anything you have, Bruce in southern Ohio [email protected]
Dear Bruce,
To an electronics person, the word “Power Supply” implies “DC” of some sort, yet you ask for 60 VA, which is AC.
What would you supply power to with it? Perhaps you meant “power pack”.
Are you looking for a throttle with 0 to 24VDC output? Need 12-16VAC accessories?
Is there a specific make/model that would be ideal for your use?
Thanks.
Sincerely,
Joe Satnik
Edit: added “power pack”.
MRC Train Power 6200. Has Power Monitor…Power…Direction and Mode switches. Has Full Power 60 VA
Thanks Bruce
( as always thanks JIM T. )
60 VA means AT SOME POINT volts times amps equals 60.
Realize that this is mostly a gimmick to make the power rating look larger. Most people assume that you can get max amps at the max rated voltage.
Unfortunately, that is not true (that’s the reason for the caps in the first line).
I had a MRC 6200 and gave it away, it did not put out enough current at higher voltages. Run your trains slow, it won’t matter, but it would not even budge my LGB track cleaning loco, which needs close to 24 volts.
Unfortunately there is an additional misleading specification, the 60 VA is for BOTH outputs, not the track power output. The track output is 35VA at 18.5 volts max. Even if it DID put out full 35VA at 18.5 volts, that makes the output less than 2 amps.
Also, many locomotive need more than 18.5 volts at higher speeds.
http://www.modelrectifier.com/resources/trainsound/AA222.pdf
I would pass on this, and buy a power supply that is rated in amps and volts.
Regards, Greg
Thanks, need your advice, what do you recommend, Bruce in southern Ohio ( like to run several engines some day )
I’m a battery guy, but I have been to a huge track-powered layout, with several lokies out on the double mainline running at once, controlled by a honking Bridgwerks unit.
No prollems atoll.
Bruce I run a MRC Power G. I have run two SD70 at the same time and lighted (from track) pass cars with no trouble. Also as John said the Bridgwerks stuff is good as well.
Could I trouble you both for sites to visit or model numbers of your units, maybe a photo or two, thanks Bruce
For a cost effective, 10 amp supply with throttle, I like the MRC Power G also, I have one for the rare times I run DC (I’m a DCC guy).
The Bridgewerks are the Mercedes of the throttles, they are expensive, but good. Do you need a Mercedes? It’s a matter of personal preference. Is it the most cost effective? No. Will it last longer than other units? Yep. The analogy is very good in my opinion.
Regards, Greg
I was running my switching layout at a local event a week ago and had a guy come up to tell me we were running the club layout with MRC Power Gs. He also made a point of telling me he used Bridgeworks on his home layout. Now I’ve helped set up the club layout for many years and many times set up the power supplies, so I was aware of what we used. I guess he was impressed with his Bridgeworks and wanted to make sure I knew that. Overall, it was a strange conversation.
With either alternating or direct current E (volts) times I (amps) equals P (watts). I remember the pie formula; P/IE.
So VA = Volts times Amps is Watts of output.
Quote:
Watts are Volts x Amps?Watts, Volts and Amperes are basic units of measure for a DC (Direct current) power supply. A battery, for example, is a direct current power supply and the combined measure Volts x Amps = Watts.
Watts are important because watts represent the electrical energy spent by a battery (power generator) and used by an electrical device. Watts in effect is the measure of the amount of work done by a certain amperage (amount) of electric current at a certain pressure or voltage.
Voltage is the amount of “pressure” of electrons as the electrons pass from a negative connector to a positive connector.
Amperes (commonly “Amps” ) is a measurement of quantity of the number of electrons passing through a given wire per second.
How many electrons are in an Ampere?
A lot: 62,000,000,000,000,000,000 electrons per second!
Until next time - Dan Hagopian, BatteryShip.com
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