power supply max for Carrera

[proxieken]

We have been running with 2 normal 124 power supplies wired in parallel. It works Ok but there were still drop offs with 6 cars running and it would also act strange with only 1 car running.

We now have this monster to use.

It seems ancient but it still works.

I tested it and if the dial on the front reads 22 it is actually showing 18.8 volts at the rails. Only tried it with one car so far but it seems to run OK.

I was wondering about turning it up a bit and seeing how it goes. I had read that 19 volts Is the max, but was wondering if anyone had knowledge of this?

Also, what does the high/low setting actually mean? I know it means you use the high or low readings on the dial, but is one better than the other?

It came with a 5 AMP fuse. From what I have read the control unit can handle 8. I am going to find a 7 amp fuse and then get ready for some mayhem on our next race night.

[dr fabio]

Im guessing that the hi/lo changes the range of the voltage. Whether its actually wired in and the switch actually does anything is impossible to tell. Just try it, you dont have to have a car on the track, just measure the rails with a multimeter, and flip the switch.

[HomeRacingWorld]

If you are having "drops" then seems you need more power taps as well.

Do you have any installed?

[dr fabio]

Measure the voltage across the track rails at the furthest point from your track. Now connect five 15 ohm 5W resistors in parallel and connect these across your track rails. This will load down the voltage. Remeasure the voltage across your track rails at the furthest point. How much did the voltage sag by? less than about 0.3-0.5V and you would be hard pressed noticing the difference. More than that, then do as Harry has suggested and add power taps.

[proxieken]

The track is 75 feet and I have 2 power taps. The drop off is directly around the one tap, so I have to check to ensure it is tucked in the rail. I thought this was strange. I was thinking it has more to do with running 6 cars with magnets instead of 4 as suggested by Carrera. We would also sometimes overload things if we all took off at the same time.

The plan is to work on some sort of season of racing in the fall and this power supply was going to solve one of the problems we have before things get started. I think I might actually try to get a pace car now so there will be 7 cars on the track for brief periods.

The high -low switch does work. You can use the upper or lower numbers on the dial by flipping the switch. I did not know if it altered the amps or anything. I am going to leave it on low and see how it works.

[proxieken]

Also, the drop off seems to be when 6 cars are running in a pack. Not sure if that makes a difference. I will run some more tests though using the multi-meter.

[TheRoadrunner]

We run 6 cars all the time with no issues at all, so I know it can be done, not sure what your problem is with your track though. Are all the connections super clean and tight?

[legrandnormand]

I'm trying right now that option of 2 power supplies 132 in parallel ! It's working great so far ! ;)
I have tried it with up to 6 cars programmed on the same "gun" (regular speed controller) and they run like hell !
I guess that having more AMPS helps the running of these cars.