LGB - a control - Power supply
A nuclear power station
for the garden railroad's operation certainly were an exaggeration.
The dimensioning of the required 24V DC power supply depends upon the number of connected consumers and their wattage. To prevent problems arising from a possible underdimensioning (f.i. with future extensions of the layout) one should consider to make use of a "fully grown" power supply.
One should have no illusions about the layout's need for electrical power.
Extensive illuminations, the control's modules, EPL-drives, a quite
considerable power demand is reached quickly.
At first a 30A power supply provided "Katzhagen" with electric power. But even this power station reached its limits under extreme conditions, f.i. when the complete illumination was switched on and more than 15 EPL- drives wanted to switch at once in the same moment (when setting a route which incorporates numerous turnouts and signals).
At first a 30A power supply provided "Katzhagen" with electric power. But even this power station reached its limits under extreme conditions, f.i. when the complete illumination was switched on and more than 15 EPL- drives wanted to switch at once in the same moment (when setting a route which incorporates numerous turnouts and signals).
"Historical" Hardware
19" plug-in unit
Type plate
In its previous life this unit provided a switching center in the former GDR with electric power - so it was not what one would tend to call brand-new when it was installed here.
A first outage in 2007 could be repaired, but a second one meant this unit's death. A new power supply with improved wattage (40A) but far smaller in its dimensions was found - a Siemens SITOP 40.
Some retrofitting was needed...
... as the new unit requires three-phase AC.
The consumers' supply
was realized with a two-conductor cable (f.i. LifYz) featuring a cross-sectional area of 4mm². Installed as a ring circuit underneath the tracks' route, the cable leaves the ground where the junction boxes are located. It then is led into the boxes where the modules are connected via a T-junction. From there the cable runs to the next junction box.Consumers like illuminations, turnouts, etc. are connected with two-conductor cables (f.i. LiYz, with a cross-sectional area of 0.75mm²) to the modules' output screw terminals. The ends of flexible cables are equipped with wire end sleeves.
4mm² ring circuit, wire end sleeves, 0.75mm² connector cable
After looping the cable through all of the junction boxes, its end is connected to the starting point. This kind of installation minimizes a voltage drop at the point most far away from the power supply.
