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@Windy City

that would be my handy work for the PCB. It was made to hold the 22uh choke that has been recommended for DCS signal when the TIU is used in passive mode. Of course it’s all rated for a full 20A (welding power to some people)

417AC945-9DA6-43C4-80A6-33F2EB5D768C

This second Rev I wasn’t impressed with the banana jacks and found some through hole terminals for a decent price and then also soldered the 33.3V TVS diode to the PCB.

BCB8314B-4A4C-4A92-A757-C369BD11CFE8

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  • BCB8314B-4A4C-4A92-A757-C369BD11CFE8
  • 417AC945-9DA6-43C4-80A6-33F2EB5D768C

If you watch my video you will see when I short out the tracks no spark, no arching, no nothing other than the buzzer sounding. I have mine set to 12 amps due to the combo of passenger cars (since converted to LED) and EOB engines which draw lots of current at slow speeds, tends to trip the PSX are lower current settings. When I was using fuses, it would get arch welding all over the place.  With the PSX no more.

Also remember you can get these in one, two, three, or four channel outputs.

Last edited by superwarp1
@superwarp1 posted:

Well you are probably right for your situation but for us with home built power supplies or post war transformers this is the way to go

Even with store-bought power, I think some form of fast-acting protection makes sense, especially if you are running an MTH Z4K. The track power breakers on that transformer are very slow, not even close to the Lionel 180 bricks, which I don't understand since this is a "modern" transformer.

I'm encouraged by those who have installed a PSX-1 AC in their track power circuit(s).  I bought one, but haven't installed it yet because I'm figuring out how to "hide" it inside a trackside building.

To do that, I'll need to extend the LED indicators on the circuit board to an appropriate location on the trackside building within view of the control panel. I bought LEDs from TONY'S TRAINS; one is a steady ON to show that the device is ON, and the other one is a flashing red LED to show a short.  I'll need a reset button too. I'll "pass" on the add-on buzzer.

I intend to install the PSX-1 AC in the track power circuit of my MTH Z1000 "brick," which has a built-in fast-acting circuit breaker; however, I want the extra layer protection for the onboard circuit boards inside a MTH Aerotrain loco.

Has anyone already done this "hidden PSX-1 AC" project? If so, your advice welcome! My e-mail address is in my OGR FORUM profile.

With thanks in advance,
Mike Mottler   LCCA 12394

@rtr12 posted:

Mine are hidden, but on the back of my transformer cart and not on the layout.  But the LEDs and reset buttons are mounted in the fascia of my layout table, remotely from the PSX-ACs.

If you are using a TIU for your MTH Aerotrain you want the PSX-ACs before the TIU (between the Z-1000 and the TIU).

Excellent point. The PSX will not pass the DCS signal. Besides, you want this as close to the power source(s) as possible. Sort of takes care of the "hiding" part.

Are you sure it won't pass the DCS signal?  I have 4 of them (4 loops) installed between the track and the TIU and the DCS signal on each loop works perfectly: 10/10.  I installed them after past  derailments killed a TIU. :-(    Does anybody know for a fact that there is a choke or filter in the PSX-1AC design that should be killing the DCS signal?

Zhubl--rtr12 maintains a forum archive of board layouts and build info for the forum with lots of useful stuff in it. Is there any way that your board design could be added to the archive?

Don

I'd be happy to add this to the list. It's best if the project could be posted in it's own thread with details about it and a few pictures. Then let me know it's ok (preferably from the original poster) to share the information in the list and I'll add it. Please include a link to the thread so I can easily find it. Also, my email is in my profile.

With each project having it's own thread, any discussions, changes, updates, etc. to the project can be posted there and the list will link back to the original thread. That way the projects will always be current.

Hopefully some are getting some good from that list, thanks for the plug.

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