My instruction manual says to connect the power terminals to the AC portion of a power pack. To me, this means that DC will not work. I seem to recall in previous posts that either is OK. I don’t have an old power pack but I do have a 15VDC wall wart. I don’t want to blow an AC motor by putting DC across it but if the motor has a full wave bridge rectifier in series then it will work on AC or DC.
Anybody out there who knows for sure?
Why not err on the safe side and purchase a 10 dollar AC wall wort?
David B
Good idea David. All of mine came from no longer used equipment. Where could I get one new?
If memory serves me correct (being as the directions are at home) the DC is is t power the T/T dirve motor and the A/C is for track power if your running DCC. If your runnng straight analog you work strictly off the DC power supply. Remember the T/T is sort of an independant module from the rest of your pike. I would imagine you could use feeder wires off your main buss wiring but you need the DC power supply to turn the T/T so why bother? You can pick up an inexpensive DC power supply ofr around $25.00
Wost case scenerio just call the tech guys at Walthers they are very helpful
Walmart, Radio Shack…they will typically have one with variable AC or DC power.
David B
Actually, it should be a First case scenerio when dealing with something this expensive.
David B
Per the instruction sheet, AC or DC, your choice, and keep the voltage between 12 and 19 volts. Max avail amperage is to be 0.5 in either case.
OK, I finally found the place in the instructions that say AC or DC. The connection terminals on the control box are labeled “U” and “V”. Which one is positive if using DC? I cannot imagine what kind of circuit it could be if it doesn’t matter.
Bruce, your grey controller box has an obvious port for the large white cable. Beside it is a green box with four terminals and four small screws to retain wires. The feeder wires from your DCC wire network, the same wire system that powers your trains on the rails, go into the first pair next to the white cable receptacle. The order, which wire to which receptacle, doesn’t matter.
In the final pair of receptacles in that green box, place the bared ends of your power wart. The order in which they are inserted, left or right, doesn’t matter…just place one end in each receptacle and tighten the screw. Plug in the power, turn on the DCC system, and you are ready for setting up your indexing points.
Bruce,
I have the 130’ turntable installed on my layout, and I’m currently using a non-regulated 12VDC power pack (same source as if it was for a slot car setup) for turntable motion. It’s just a testing supply, as I will be using a layout-wide 12VDC regulated source for the permanent power. It works just fine.
The other power source you will need is from your track power. Wire it just as if it was a reversing loop, whether DC or AC, and you will be fine.
Jeff