LUGNET News : ~330/FAQ/Trains/tracks


Cary Clark / FAQ / Trains / tracks

Can I run more than one track with one regulator?

From Matthew Bates: !

You can attach many trains to a train controller. I’ve had 4 running without any noticeable decrease in speed. You can also attach additional non-train motors to the train controller.

It’s nearly impossible to damage the train controller no matter what you do to it. The train controller has a voltage regulator in it that has built in overload protection. So if you overload it, it just shuts off.

From Patrick Gili: !

The clip wire has two terminals, one for either side of the track. One clip directs current from the regulator to a load such as a train motor. The other provides the return path for the current.

Without a train motor on the track, there’s no circuit completion, so no current is drawn, regardless of how many clips you attach to the regulator.

When you apply a load, current is drawn from the regulator. The amount current drawn depends on the resistance of the load.

The train regulator does not control current; it controls voltage. The regulator has a limit on the amount of current it can provide.

A free running motor draws a constant current, independent of voltage. The motor will draw more current if a mechanical load is applied to it (e.g., the friction of running on the track, the weight of the train and its payload, and inclination).

From Cary Clark:

Long stretches of track provide some resistance, dropping the voltage that is available to the motor. By using more than one clip from the same regulator to different sections of track, it’s possible to keep the train running at a uniform speed.

If you accidentally reverse one pair of the clips, you won’t hurt anything. The train just won’t run. You’ll notice that the light on the regulator will dim when the clips are mismatched.

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