Lionel ZW Volt & Amp meter attachment

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Hard to know what degree the guys that build these had, but I suspect not much experience with model railroading!

 However, given the fact that the ZW-C puts out a sawtooth waveform, I wouldn't count on the voltage measurement being all that accurate.  Hard to believe they are doing a true-RMS measurement in that meter assembly, so getting accurate readings of the sawtooth waveform probably isn't in the cards.

Use one strictly for building lights.

So 10 Volts on the meter may not be 10 Volts at the stud? Would it display higher or lower than the output?

gunrunnerjohn posted:

I'm sure it was a cost driven decision, and probably ignorance of how the transformer is used.  If you had them on the ABCD side, you'd have to have true circuit isolation for each current measurement channel.  Having them on the common U terminal side, there was no extra isolation needed.  That just wasn't a workable solution for the way the transformer is used in 99.9% of the installations.

When placing the ammeter on the U common connection bar you get an idea of the total current draw on the transformer. I consider this somewhat useful as you could always turn on each channel one by one, run it separately and see the current draw.  Of course an ammeter on each channel is better but how many times do operators watch for current draw?

Dennis LaGrua posted:

Of course an ammeter on each channel is better but how many times do operators watch for current draw?

More often than I look at the voltage!  Current from the transformer is more important to me, that tells me a lot more than the fact that my PH180 brick is putting out 17.8 volts.

Hi everyone.  I just came across and Lionel volt/amp meter.    Does anyone know if you can use the modern amp/ volt meter (6-14002)  on an older zw before 1969.     Is it just a different mounting design?.   If that’s it I could find a way to mount it on my old zw.  Thanks advance for your help.  

It could be the program button rod protruding through the case to reach the ZW-C. They appear from the outside to be identical.

@romiller49 posted:

Put it back in the cart. Go for it. You’ll be glad you did. Great transformer.

Best transformer I have owned, I can push 6 trains with no issues. I love the fact that a fault will only drop the one channel cab reset. Just fantastic