Best way to protect your pike from shorts and spikes.

superwarp1,

Where do you buy the product and how much? I don't see the information when I click on the links.

From the manual..."At a minimum, use, 12 Awg for O and G."

What size wire are you using? Can you show a picture of your connections?

I would like to see OGR review this product in their magazine.

Thank you.

These are the prices I found on the web site for these breakers..

PSX-1AC (AC 3 rail circuit breaker)

41.95
CALL
PSX-2AC (AC 3 rail circuit breaker)
1
79.90
CALL
PSX-3AC (AC 3 rail circuit breaker)
1
119.95
CALL
PSX-4AC (AC 3 rail circuit breaker)
1
159.80
CALL

I little pricey.

on AMhobby.com check the lists for dealers. You can get them a little cheaper than the prices listed.

I suspect the price is one reason.

I make my own cheap. About $2.50 per loop. Shown here

http://www.jcstudiosinc.com/Bl...d=486&categoryId=426

Dale H

The advantage of the PSX-xAC is that it monitors the AC cycle by cycle and cuts off power within a cycle or two of real short, ignoring current fluctuation of train running. Fuses and breakers depend upon continuing current to heat the breaker or fuse element that eventually opens the circuit after a given period of time. Meanwhile your electronics are enduring the spikes and possible high current damage.

At $39.95 cost per channel, its cheap insurance compared to a broken engine for which there is an expensive repair or worst, no boards available to repair (instant shelf queen).

Sam, do you have one installed on your layout? If so, can you answer some of the questions I posted earlier. Thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by Charlesp34:
Sam, do you have one installed on your layout? If so, can you answer some of the questions I posted earlier. Thank you.

Unfortunately no, but saving my pennies for four channel one for my ZW, as I believe it is the best way to protect the "delicate" electronics.
I have though about the Lionel powerhouse lockon but can't tell if I could get the electronics out of the house or how to attach wiring to put under layout (anyone doing this?).
Now I use fast blowing 5A fuses and TVS devices on each track section as well as the MTH TIU input and outputs (plus crossing my fingers ).

if you want protection from spikes for the locomotive, I suggest a TVS protection diode directly across the track pickups, I do that for any locomotive I have to open up for other issues.

They are aso available from www.tonystrainexchange.com for $36.00 plus shipping. I'm going to get one and try it out. since i have the TVS, I'll stick one on the output for the extra protection. Will post a review afterwards.

SW1,
Gary I have three sets of them, purchased from Scotts years ago, they get the job done.
Each of my old ZW & KW transformers has a set of them covering all the different track on my
FasTrack layout.
PCRR/Dave

You can see one set of them along side of the old KW in the photo, another Scotts Item.

quote:

Originally posted by Pine Creek Railroad:
SW1,
Gary I have three sets of them, purchased from Scotts years ago, they get the job done.
Each of my old ZW & KW transformers has a set of them covering all the different track on my
FasTrack layout.
PCRR/Dave

Dave,
Curious what you used/improvised to hold the MTH remote to the upright?

RRMan,
That is a real remote control holder, I bought two of them from Scotts I beleive long ago.
Don't know if they are still available or not, they are perfect for mounting the DCS remote control
units to most any layout, heck I though eveyone would have one by this time. As I remember they were not very much money, about $4.00 a piece.
PCRR/Dave

I discovered what I believe is an error in the PSX instructions (or maybe this information will be old news).

 

I added a set of reset buttons, and then discovered when testing nothing seemed to work right.  Studying the board copper traces, reading the instruction sheets (gasp!), and sluething with an ohmmeter showed J1-3 is a straight through dead short common to J2-1.  J1-4 to J2-2 has very high resistance as it should with the triac and other parts in series from J1-4 to J2-2. 

 

Since most layouts use outside rail as ground/common and isolated center hot rail for the blocks/power districts, the breaker(s) if wired as shown in the instructions, appears to be measuring the common outside rail current(s) rather than just center rail current.  If using several breakers as I do, weird things ocurred as breakers interacted with ground loop currents from other districts.

 

My remedy was to put the transformer common ground to J1-3 and then ran J2-1 to my outside rails.  I put my transformer hot lead to J1-4 and then ran J2-2 to my center rails of each block/power district (in other words, I simple reversed all J1 and J2 leads.)  Now each breaker promptly trips without affecting the others and resets as it should.

 

As an aside, I used J1-1 and J1-2 to power the AUX input to the DCS TIU box so TIU stays alive rather than resetting, so other trains will not go out of control because TIU is dead  (the TIU will re-send a watchdog signal when it senses channel voltage has returned.)  Polarity matters as the AUX connector outside barrel is common to the TIU black binding posts and TIU electronics is not isolated from track hot and common.  Thus, J1-1 is common to J1-3 that is defined as transformer common. Of course if you are using a stand alone transformer/wall wart supply, this this paragraph does not apply.