The Right Potentiometer/Adjustable Braking

[sirslotsalot]

This is a shameless admission of my lack of knowledge. LOL!! I'm about to add adjustable braking to my power supplies and want to choose the right potentiometer for the job. A simple wire-wound rheostat/turn pot will do. Something from Radio Shack. I was reading up on this topic and one guy suggested having the "value" of the pot be as close to the resistance of the controller you are using, therefore use a 50-60ohm pot if your controller has a 60 ohm resistor. It sounds like a good "rule of thumb" but I need some 2nd opinions please. I plan to do a "sticky" on this and my track build as well. This braking feature will enhance performance options when hosting "Pronomag" proxy racing once I get the track all built.

Power supply specs:
24VDC @1 amp, adjustable voltage, amperage fixed. One each per lane.

Contoller: Parma Economy

[Dodgefarmer]

I'm not going to be of any help to you here, but I sure will be following every word of your posts. Your build could not have come at a better time for me,as I hope to be starting my track build in the next couple of months and this is all new to me. What power supply will you be using.

Randy

[Cjent]

[sirslotsalot]

Yes Chuck,

I'm hoping Phillipe catches this thread. He is definitely a "go to guy" for stuff like this.

Randy,

I'm not sure what your preference is on power supplies whether you choose a single source for all lanes or (1) supply per each lane. Either way works very well. It's just a question of budget and various installation methods. I chose (1) per each lane for redundancy's sake. It costs a little more than a good quality single supply but I'm most comfortable with this choice, regardless of expense. In round numbers my supply costs are:

(1) 24VDC @1 amp power supply= $20
(1) Adjustable voltage regulator w/turn pot= $20
(1) 0-30V analog volt meter(panel mount)= $10
(1) Turn Pot for adjustable braking= $2

Total= $52/lane

You could easily accomplish this for around $150 if you go with a single supply for all lanes. Pyramid is a very popular and reliable power supply.

Kihm

[Dodgefarmer]

Kihm,

I currently have an Astron SL-10 regulated power supply, 13.8VDC, 6.5Amp continuous, 10Amp @ 50% duty cycle. While this is probably more than sufficient, the thought of individual power and more voltage is very appealing. I'm trying to decide if I will see enough benefits from Individual power to justify the additional expense.
Thanks
Randy

[pfuetze]

Kihm, i would trust Philippe´s value every time!

Randy, your power supply sounds more than good. You could have individual controllable lane power with this power supply, too, just splice it to different driver stations. With 6.5 amps you can have 3 or 4 lanes running without power surge.

[sirslotsalot]

Randy,

I agree with Peter. You have a very good power supply already. I would not change what you have to incur any added expenses. It is different for me because I am starting from "scratch".

Kihm

[Dodgefarmer]

Thank you Peter, Thank you Kihm. That's what I was hoping to see.

Randy

[sirslotsalot]

Phillipe,

If you're out there, would like to hear from you. Hope you are doing well.

Kihm

[sirslotsalot]

Anybody know what's going on with Phillipe? Have not had any response to both this thread and emails. I hope he is okay.

[pfuetze]

according to his facebook status updates, he´s doing fine :)

[Cjent]

He is VERY busy with business.

[pmarchand]

25 Ohms, 5 Watts, wire wound potentiometer ...

Can be had at Digikey, Mouser or other electronic retailers.

Hope you guys are doing well !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!