DCC power source for G scale

[Hunt]

. . . I think you suggested getting the NCE PH-10 DCC system . . .

Nope - Re-read the replies in this thread. I am concerned that you are not retaining and do not have the basics to correctly comprehended some of the information you are receiving. I encourage you to stick with it, we all started there.



BTW - The Brutus power pack (you wrote NCE suggested) is 18 volts, may be too low depending on if you are running several large scale locomotives at the same time, the make of locomotives being run, the track plan and how it is wired.  Know - If track is higher than 18 volts, you will have to add "some electrical stuff" inside the Shay to drop the volts to the decoder to around 18 volts.

[nymark]

The G scale Shay with  has a dual mode decoder. Could I run it with my old MRC analog 240 DC power source? I don't think I'll need to as I have purchased the DCC equipment to get it started.
Nymark

[Kevin Strong]

NYMark, the Shay should work on "analog" DC, so long as it's a linear (flat) DC and not pulse-width-modulation. A DCC decoder interprets PWM as a wannabe DCC signal, but since it's just repetitive on/off, the decoder sees it as just gibberish, and doesn't do anything. The MRC power supplies I've used over the years do not use PWM. They rectify and filter the AC voltage coming in. That should be clean enough for the Shay to work. I'm not expressly familiar with the MRC controller you have, but I'd be surprised if they're using PWM.

Know, however, that the decoder also has to be set to look for and run on analog DC. That should be the factory default, but there's always a slim chance it is not.

With regard to the power supply, I looked at the Brutus specs; it appears to be just a transformer with a cooling fan and a fuse. I'd definitely go with the Mean Well instead. It's less than half the price, a higher voltage, and a regulated power supply to boot, which means your voltage isn't going to lag as the load on the system increases. Definitely the better choice, and--again--used by many large scale modelers to power their NCE systems.

Later,

K

[nymark]

Hi Kevin, I took a look at the link you sent. Will that Mean Well power source work with the NCE equipment I decribed? Thanks-Phil

[Kevin Strong]

Yes. The PH10 can accept up to 28 volts DC. The Mean Well is highly regarded among those using NCE DCC systems for providing its power. Note that the PH10 will cap the output voltage, so even if you're putting 24 volts in, you will not get 24 volts out. If I remember correctly, it's adjustable between 18 and 22 volts. With the Shay, I'd lean towards 18 volts. You'll never be running it at full throttle anyway, so you definitely don't need the extra voltage.

Later,

K

[nymark]

I think this will be the way I eventually go, NCE has a wireless version of the PH-10 and I'll use the Mean Well as the power source. I did get my SB5 yesterday and look forward to getting this Shay running. I'm going to join my local garden railroad society and I want to take a good look at your Tuscarora site. Again, thanks for your help with all the information-Phil Nymark