# Walwarts Delivering Different Juice



## Peacefield (Jan 22, 2008)

I have a large 2 lane HO layout. Two walwarts and bunches of power taps. Having gone through the process of buying many used sets to build my layout, I've got a half dozen walwarts to select from. Yet despite that many, none of them seems to deliver a truly equal amount of power; one always seems to be slightly hotter than the another. And this is walwart driven, it doesn't matter which lane they're plugged into.

Soooo, I'm thinking maybe I want to upgrade to a Pyramid variable power supply? I run TJ through G's, all stock, and don't feel a lot of need to adjust power for driveability, but equal power to both lanes is important to me.

I'm kind of an idiot when it comes to electricity and don't know a volt from an amp. That said, I just want to make sure I don't fry anything and that this solution would indeed provide equal power. And that, with only a single power supply, I wouldn't get a power surge in one lane if the other deslots.

Thoughts?


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## fsmra (Feb 28, 2005)

Mastech or Galinko Power supplies
Trakmate has a good one but its really a mastech

NONE of these will give you a power surge - They are on all 7 of my tracks and have never
had an issue


Mike


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

see the other thread about variable supplies for interesting info on using laptop battery chargers. very, very .... interesting!


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## Peacefield (Jan 22, 2008)

Thanks, guys. And I did see that variable power supply thread when I came on to post, and it seems interesting but also gets a little confusing for me; more of that me-being-an-electrical-idiot stuff.


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

Read your wall wart. It's going to be rated in 2 ways. Voltage output and amperage output. 

Variable power supplies are rated the same way. Volt and amp. Normally you will see that amps will vary at different voltage settings

This is DC current, same as provided by batteries, and used by your car. DC is easy to grasp if you can relate it to water pipes.

Voltage is what you adjust to make the cars run faster. It's like water pressure. 

Amps is how much electricity is available for consumption. It's like the size of the water pipe delivering your water. 

The way you avoid 2 car de-slot is by increasing amps. Again think back to the pipe analogy, if you have 2 seperate faucets on a normal household 1/2" line you're really going to get a pressure surge whenever the second faucet opens. But if you have two faucets on a 4" water main, they'll both operate without noticing the other, no surge at all. 

So now re-read the information you've found previous, paying attention to the recommended amps, and how many amps your wall warts are putting out. By understanding the ratings it will help you get the best deal for your situation.

happy racin!


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## macmagee (Dec 2, 2010)

*power supply*

I too am building a ho drag strip in my basement and went to the pyramid,and mastech sites and boy am I confused on which models to use. we race on 24 volts so can someone help me out with which model to choose from either company? and is one better than the other? thanks in advance for the help.

mac


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

Mac,

The power supply from the Pyramid line that is often used for HO tracks is this one:

Pyramid PS32LAB Adjustable 5 Amp Laboratory Power Supply










It's output voltage is adjustable, it has meters and it can hump out 5A. About $100.


Here's a nice Mastech that's similar to the Pyramid, but has digital meters and can pump out 10amps rather than 5. About $150.










Mastech Power Supply HY3010EX 30V 10A Over Voltage Over Current Protection

Typically, for drag racing, people want to know that the the supply can deliver lot of current at the rated voltage. So another option, if you are really just going to use 24V and don't care about adjusting it more than +/- 10%, is a fixed voltage supply. You can get a nice plain jane 24V supply that can crank out 15A for very little dough. If you really want to stretch your dollar, this could be a very good fit. Here's one on Amazon for 48 clams:










Sure 24 VDC 14.6A 350W Regulated Switching Power Supply

Personally, I think it'd be overkill, but for a $100, you could put one on each lane... you'll be aces with your racers. They won't know what hit them.

Of course you can buy used surplus supplies and often find killer deals, but that's a whole 'nother project and the shipping can really add up. If the Mastech and Pyramid choices seem overwhelming, the ebay search results will be even more daunting. 

Hope it helps,

Rolls


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## Peacefield (Jan 22, 2008)

If I were to go with either the pyramid or mastech suggested, do I ever have to worry about damaging cars? It's one thing to accidentally have the power too high for drivability reasons, but I certainly don't want to damage anything.


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## LeeRoy98 (Jul 8, 2005)

Peacefield said:


> If I were to go with either the pyramid or mastech suggested, do I ever have to worry about damaging cars? It's one thing to accidentally have the power too high for drivability reasons, but I certainly don't want to damage anything.


The additional amperage will only be used by a car if needed. You are more apt to cause damage to your car by providing less amperage than needed.
My track has been running a Mastech HY3020 for the last 4+ years. Voltage is usually set at 18.5 and amps to max. Not a single car issue due to power (driver forgetting to release the throttle is a different story!).

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

Peacefield said:


> I have a large 2 lane HO layout. Two walwarts and bunches of power taps. Having gone through the process of buying many used sets to build my layout, I've got a half dozen walwarts to select from. Yet despite that many, none of them seems to deliver a truly equal amount of power; one always seems to be slightly hotter than the another. And this is walwart driven, it doesn't matter which lane they're plugged into.
> 
> Soooo, I'm thinking maybe I want to upgrade to a Pyramid variable power supply? I run TJ through G's, all stock, and don't feel a lot of need to adjust power for driveability, but equal power to both lanes is important to me.
> 
> ...


 
Or...you could pick up a couple LM317T regulators and a handful of associated parts at Radio Shack to build a couple simple regulators for the warts ya got now. :thumbsup:

Some good info on it here: http://www.dxing.info/equipment/wall_warts_bryant.dx


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## usdra (Jan 23, 2007)

Mac, I use a pwr supply very similar to this http://cgi.ebay.com/DC-24V-20A-Swit...153?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255c41d8c1 or go to Trackmate he has the best prices on the Mastech pwr supplies

Eric (mobydidit)


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

I have a slighlty used 18.8 TrippMate I could sell you at a discount. I have a few of them and they are just taking up room. I have a 4.5 amp which is kickass, I used it for my 1/32 scale so it's more than enough. The standard 18.8 volts.

Let me know if your interested.:thumbsup:


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Peacefield said:


> I have a large 2 lane HO layout. Two walwarts and bunches of power taps. Having gone through the process of buying many used sets to build my layout, I've got a half dozen walwarts to select from. Yet despite that many, none of them seems to deliver a truly equal amount of power; one always seems to be slightly hotter than the another. And this is walwart driven, it doesn't matter which lane they're plugged into.
> 
> Thoughts?


These walwarts are manufactured to the best third world standards.

I use deep cycle batteries. They come in 6v and 12v.
Use 2 12v for a drag strip(24v), or 3 6v for a road coarse.
I use a 12v for my little oval and never have any power surge issues.


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

NTxSlotCars said:


> These walwarts are manufactured to the best third world standards.
> 
> I use deep cycle batteries. They come in 6v and 12v.
> Use 2 12v for a drag strip(24v), or 3 6v for a road coarse.
> I use a 12v for my little oval and never have any power surge issues.



I would be delighted to hear you're charging them with an occasional overnight boost via slot car wall wart.

Your post just made lighting strike, I have 19.2 craftman cordless drill batteries on hand at all times. Wonder how well one of those would power a track?


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Another option*

Ooooooo....ba-trees and fizzeling power bricks......ickeeeeeeeee! :tongue:

Still using my Lester 24 VDC deep cycle battery charger. If memory serves, from a small automatic floor scrubber.

This one is rated at 25 amps and has fused outputs. Naturally they come in various ratings relative to the given application, so ya gotta pay some attention to the spec tag. 

New age deep cycle chargers have brains and should be avoided (they need a minimum return voltage to produce charge...so morons dont try and charge dead, dry, sulfated or otherwise dangerous batteries...how ever did we survive?)...old school chargers have timers ...and like me....no brains...so they produce charge upon demand.

What yer looking for has a regulation Frankenstein ammeter and a plain ole' ka-nob for the timer. NOT the later SELF DIAGNOSTICS version with the cutesy LED readout. To be true, one could use the self diagnostic style, but you'd have hot wire around the board and violate the modern saftey protocols. 

The old school version pops up at flea markets, the back of the little Nickel, or other shopper type rags...often for a song. This particular one has given me many years of flawless service, runs as cool as a cucumber, and turns itself of when I'm in moron mode. Sure it doesnt have the lip-stick and glamour of all those pretty techno schizz power supplys; but it DOES have a big, fat, heavy copper wound, iron core cannonball of a transformer that will lengthen whatever arm you carry it with by 6 inches for every 50 feet you try and waddle with it. :tongue: 

Regardless of what you choose; there is no substitute for clean, fat amped power. The results will be immediate and obvious.


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