# Wiring Up Multiple Aurora Power Packs



## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

I have a four lane track with each lane having it's own original Aurora 20v power pack. I've noticed for quite a while that some lanes seem more "alive" than others, so I'm thinking that although the power packs should be the same, they are not. So, I'm thinking about wiring the four of them together so no one lane is getting more power than another.

I think this is pretty simple and just want to verify. In order to do this, I simply connect all the negative terminals together and all the positive together. This will keep the voltage at 20 and share the amps across all the lanes. Since I am usually the only one on the track and I don't run anything exotic, amps aren't a problem. I can leave the rest of the wiring intact.

Correct?

Now a follow-up question completely unrelated to the question above since I am not using a terminal track (yet). On a Tyco terminal track, the negative connection is shared between the two lanes. Could I connect the positive side of two seperate power packs (via the controller) to the individual positive posts and connect the negative from both power packs to that shared negative post? Or should I make sure the negative rails are seperate?

Thanks...Joe


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

http://home.comcast.net/~medanic/MPS/MPS-1.htm


----------



## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Hi Rick,
Thanks for directing me to that article, but it doesn't quite answer my question. Without using diodes and capacitors (and I realize the capacitors are only there to soften any AC ripple), can I simply connect the four Aurora packs? All negative together and all positives together?

Thanks...Joe


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

I didn't say it,but yes:thumbsup:.
Throw a small 35volt 1000uf cap into the mix Joe,and it'll help wake up your wallwarts.
The cap shouldn't cost anymore then a buck,and it's definitely worth it:thumbsup:

Have you checked your lanes for voltage drop Joe,i was wondering if the power differances from lane to lane,might not be the wallwarts,but more high resistance in the lanes.
Have you got a small 12 volt automotive style lightbulb,if you do hook it up to your wallwarts and check their output under load,that'll tell you if you got one or 2 off pace from the other wallwarts.
Rick


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

Joe,if your layout can be seperated easily,you can also do an ohm test on the rails too.:thumbsup:


----------



## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Hi Rick,

Just to be clear, I am not using wall warts, but the original Aurora Model Motoring power packs - I guess sometimes they are refered to as "bricks". I have some at 20v and some at 22v. May even have one at 18v. But my four lanes are each using a 20v supply

I can easily use the voltmeter (and maybe a car with the rears off the round) to check for voltage drops and/or higher resistance on any of the lanes. I can tell you that there is no noticeable drop off in power around the entire layout. If a lane is less "lively" than another, it is that way all around the circuit.

Is it possible my taps are not as good lane-to-lane? Yup. Could it be the controllers (I am just using old Russkit controllers) are not equal even though they are the same Ohmage? Yup.

There are things I can check. But if linking all the packs together would guarantee that each lane should be getting the same voltage, then that would eliminate one variable.

And yes, capacitors are on the to-do (but never gotten to) list.

Thanks...Joe


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

The only downfall i could see Joe,is power surges,if you do run more then one car.
As it stands,if i'm understanding things right,you've got an individual brick for each lane,which means you should have no power surges when one car crashes,but if you tie everything together,it might.
In your case,though,where your running cars by yourself power surges aren't gonna be an issue.
What about trying to match them up,and then tieing 2 together,and powering the layout as 2 seperate tracks.
That way if you do have somebody over,as long as you stayed on the seperated lanes,you wouldn't have any surges


----------



## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

Hornet said:


> I didn't say it,but yes:thumbsup:.
> Throw a small 35volt 1000uf cap into the mix Joe,and it'll help wake up your wallwarts.
> The cap shouldn't cost anymore then a buck,and it's definitely worth it:thumbsup:


Some guys here have never worked with cap's,so you better tell them how you're installing a cap,just don't say "put a cap in place",you need an explanation on how.
And also some sort of warning about how dangerous a charged cap can be.
There are a few of the younger generation reading these posts,so be careful what you reconmend:thumbsup:


----------



## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

You are so right Rolls!! Capacitors come in many different flavors. Thin film, liquid filled, quite an assortment. Most caps are non directional, but it is a good idea to ask someone in the know when purchasing. Liquid filled are directional. You must hook the hot to the hot side, and the negative to the neg. Failure to do so can cause the little cap to pop and spray out a little acid! The liquid filled usually look like little barrels, and have a stripe down the side denoting the polarity. The ones Ive seen the stripe were the negative, 

ALSO, keep in mind that a capacitor's job is to store energy. Maybe AFXtoo can chime in here, because his IQ is about 140 points above mine! :tongue: My GUESS is.. the cap will store the voltage you're running at the time you shut off power. If there's something using juice still, like LEDs, they'll stay lit until the cap voltage is used up. What I'm not sure about is will a cap store more amps than what you gave it? I've read you can get a good shock from them, and because of that, I use small low volume caps. I'm still chicken to mess with super caps!! :freak:


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

LOL,you got me Rolls:thumbsup:

An elephant ain't got nothing on your memory does he:wave:

Polarized cap is the word you're probably looking for Slotcarman:thumbsup:

Yes they will store a charge,and yes if you're not careful,they will give you a shock if you're handling a charged one:thumbsup:.

Joe they'll also make a car run for a bit after you've shut the power off,although a small 1000 cap won't run one far,it will run it a bit,so if you got relays the caps go before the relays,if not,you'll have to live with the caps ability to run a car a few feet


----------



## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

I've never used capacitors, but I have read about them and understand the general theory. And I have read where if you hook them up wrong, they'll explode like a firecracker.

I've actually thought that a use for the battery box that comes with the new Mattel battery sets would be a good place to mount capacitors. Don't know if that's a good idea should one blow - would it shatter the box and shoot out little plastic projectiles?

I'm not worried about surges. Since I run mostly stock T-Jets, AFX and Magna-Traction, I'm not pulling a lot of amps. And since I do run alone, it's not a consideration. If/when I ever use the track for actual racing, I have a better power supply I can hook up.

I just wanted to get to the point where I know each lane is getting the same amount of power. Two ways to do that: (1) hook all the power packs together or (2) run tests with the meter.

At least now I know it should be safe to "jump" all the packs together.

Thanks...Joe


----------



## SDMedanic (Apr 21, 2011)

If you are just tying four wall warts together hook all the positives together and then hook all the negatives together. The diodes are there to keep the caps from blowing up expensive regulated power supplies in the event of some shorts. You don't need them for what you are doing. In many cases a weak lane may be just that. That lane's wiring may need some attention.

Maddman


----------



## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

SDMedanic said:


> If you are just tying four wall warts together hook all the positives together and then hook all the negatives together. The diodes are there to keep the caps from blowing up expensive regulated power supplies in the event of some shorts. You don't need them for what you are doing. In many cases a weak lane may be just that. That lane's wiring may need some attention.
> 
> Maddman


 Well, they're not actually wall warts but the old Aurora metal box transformers.

So it will be a simple effort to simply jump transformer 1 (T1) to T2, then T2 to T3 and finally T3 to T4. I can leave all the other wires alone.

Thanks...Joe


----------



## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

I got a chance to test the lane voltage with a meter with all four lanes seperate. All four lanes measuer at 20v with no load and drop down to 15.5-16.5 under load. There is no significant variance in the voltage getting to each lane.

I swapped out the controller on the one lane and replaced it with a standard Tyco controller (for now). The lane feels better, so maybe the controller was the issue. The other three lanes have a 70 ohm controller while this lane had an 80 ohm controller.

Thanks...Joe


----------



## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

" one of these things is not like the others ...." c'mon, sing along!


----------



## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Just for the record, I have 1 Prof Motor electronic controller that seems slow, regardless of what lane it is on or how you adjust the power curve on it, but it is the controller that regardless of lane or car it is always the one that you can run the best lap with, its just funny as it seems like everything is slower and less responsive, I call it the "Time Warp" model.

Boosted


----------

