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DCC in a 2-6-0 Indy

Started by jpipkin, February 06, 2008, 10:27:25 PM

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jpipkin

I am in the process of finally working on a 2-6-0 I bought awhile back.  I checked an old Model Railroader review that stated it only drew .88 Amps stalled at 20 volts and .14 Amps running freely at 20 volts.  Has anyone had a chance to verify this; it will really help in decoder selection. 

Thanks,

Jim

Greg Elmassian

Locomotives may vary. Why not buy an inexpensive meter from Radio Shack and measure for yourself?

I'd go with at least a 2 amp continuous rated decoder. Never underestimate the lack of cooling of a board in a sealed tender or loco boiler.

Regards, Greg
Visit my site: lots of tips and techniques: http://www.elmassian.com

rperego

I've put NCE 1.3 cont./2.0 max decoders in a number of big haulers, two Porters, and a 2 truck Shay without any problems, including some brief stalls that didn't blow the decoders.  This is pulling 4-5 cars on flat track with a layout including 5' diam. curves.  That said, I have a master switch to the track I throw pretty quickly if I have a problem so I can't say whether the decoder would blow if I left a loco stalled for long.

The continuous draw per train is between .4 and .6 amps at 14V measured using the PowerCab built in ampmeter.   

I used these decoders based on measuring a stall current of less than 2 amps, but in retrospect my measurements may not have been correct because I think the voltage dropped with the power supply I was using.   But, at $16 a decoder, they're a good deal for flat track and a limited number of cars. 

I can't say whether my decoders are getting hot but I've run trains continuously for a couple of hours without any problems.  I did install them such that they're getting as much air as possible - e.g. didn't pack them in foam.