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Header: Hal-Zuzzu Model Railway Build Blog |
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| Published: Thursday, February 10, 2022 | ||||||
| Post: #112/174 - Views: 45006 |
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Organising my layout power plant and electronics. The baseboard seen in this picture was intentionally left empty to host all the electronics for the layout. I want to have these centralised as much as possible to simplify troubleshooting. Although there will be another level covering all this, there will be an 8-inch gap between the two levels, allowing me to do some maintenance from the front or rear gap, which I plan on leaving open. If I require more working space, the upper level will have hinged sections allowing me access to anything on the lower level
Here’s a description of what I have wired up so far, starting from the top left: This is a 15 volt DC power supply rated 10 Amps. I am using this to power my z21 Start instead of the stock one, which pumped out over 18 volts DC. I replaced it because I wanted to lower the output voltage on the track. Since the z21 Start does not have this option, unlike its higher-end family models, I had to use a different power supply. Here is the monitor reading from iTrain using the original power supply:
Here is the monitor reading from iTrain using the replacement power supply:
Note: track voltage dropped from 17.9 volts DC to 15.3 volts DC. So far I am pleased with this. Right in front of the z21 Start are three power supplies. The two on the left are both 12 volt DC units that power two different servo point controllers. They are each rated 5 Amps. The similar one on the far right is a 5 volt DC unit that I use to power the Digikeijs OPTO sensor module and some relays on the same circuit. The three toggle switches at the edge of the bench will be used to toggle the low voltage power on and off for these three power supplies, once I wire them. There’s the z21 Start, which needs no intro but then there’s the 5 port Gigabit network switch sitting on top of the z21 Start. I have my z21 Start connected to it, along with my PC, the DVR and the network line in and access to the internet, from the TPLink WIFI wall plug. The black PC power supply on the far right in the rear will be used for street lighting and inside buildings lighting. This has an output of 12 volts DC, -12 volts DC and 5 volts DC, all very useful for lighting. The Turnigy device on the bottom left is a battery charger that I use to charge my lipo batteries for my remote control cars. The power supply I am using for the z21 Start is overkill, and this allows me the opportunity to charge a battery while I am powering the z21 Start and actually driving a bunch of trains. I will not be doing this very often but it's good that I can do it. I wish to cover the connections on the 4 power supplies to protect me when I stick my hands in there to do some maintenance. I’ll see what I can come up with. This post is the start of what is to come next, the making of the upper-level baseboard. Stay tuned and don't forget to register for post updates...Check out the live CCTV camera HERE |
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