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DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sat Mar 10, 2018 6:14 pm
by chappyman66
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sat Mar 10, 2018 6:22 pm
by Z-carfan
That’s Ian outstanding! Great tutorial.
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sat Mar 10, 2018 6:25 pm
by frank9129
Thank you,
Very nice work. Since I am OLD I would ask for part numbers.
Will this handle a four lane track? I can see a great benefit when I have 6-10 year olds racing.
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sat Mar 10, 2018 6:26 pm
by frank9129
Thank you,
Very nice work. Since I am OLD I would ask for part numbers.
Will this handle a four lane track? I can see a great benefit when I have 6-10 year olds racing.
Poo. I missed the part where this is at the drivers station. I'll need four for my existing track.
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sat Mar 10, 2018 7:42 pm
by chappyman66
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sat Mar 10, 2018 8:28 pm
by frank9129
Amazon takes me back to my orders. I tried to cheat, but it doesn't work.
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sat Mar 10, 2018 8:55 pm
by chappyman66
Ok, let's try this:
eboot 6 pack LM2596 DC to DC buck converters, $11.59
0-30V 0.36" digital voltmeter (two wires)
Hopefully that helps?
There are many buck converters, I just used these because they are cheap and I don't run cars that pull high (3+) Amps.
And yes...my 7 year old grandson was turned down to 8 volts tonight and enjoyed racing tonight.
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sat Mar 10, 2018 9:01 pm
by HomeRacingWorld
Real easy, just use that in your search from the main.

Thanks, this is a very good tutorial/info.
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sat Mar 10, 2018 10:22 pm
by chappyman66
One per lane allows the lanes to be balanced when they aren't equal length, as well as customization per driver. And a single power supply for the track (helpful if you use a battery).
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sat Mar 10, 2018 10:49 pm
by HomeRacingWorld
Well, you can get a good adjustable supply for less than $55 shipped. Just picked up a new 10 amp unit which is fine for 4 lanes using our regular motors. (Scaley, Carrera, Slot.it) on wood.
If you add these to it to have the “fine tuning” per lane as you mentioned, your still only around $75 invested.
Which is pretty inexpensive really. When you end up with this level of adjustability.
Going to save this one. It’s a keeper. Again thanks for the effort and sharing it.
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:36 am
by mattb
Nice job paul
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:58 am
by tjettom
What are the out put adjustment deviation limits from a given applied input voltage?
Thanks,
Tom
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sun Mar 11, 2018 2:53 pm
by chappyman66
The step down voltage is about 0.5V. My 13.6V transformer measures 13 V. Although it's claimed to drop 1.5V, I don't see that much.
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sun Mar 11, 2018 4:02 pm
by tjettom
No, I was asking "what are the out put ADJUSTMENT deviation limits from a given applied input voltage? " I am interested in the adjustable limits from an applied voltage. Example...If the applied voltage is say 12 volts, will the adjustable deviation ADJUST as low as ? 0 ? ...or how much will it deviate from the input with adjustment?
Thanks,
Tom
Re: DIY Adjustable Power

Posted:
Sun Mar 11, 2018 6:36 pm
by chappyman66
With 13V input, I have only turned it down as low as 5.5V.
I can try turning it down farther, but at 6V he can almost keep an NC-1 at full throttle so I haven't gone any lower. The readout is 3 digits so at 10V and above it reads one decimal; below 10V it shows two decimals.
I normally run at 10V, and it doesn't vary more than 0.2V when running. We have that much variation on separate power supplies at a different track. So it doesn't drop off much and I can turn it way down for the kids, which was my goal.
Hopefully this answers the question?