I claim no credit for the idea, having copied something similar that Chris Dening (son of Jon Dening, well known ex-Association member, now into 7mm) uses on his Canadian HO exhibition layout.
The idea is to keep all the power supply gubbins, command station and booster (if used) in one floor standing unit and then to feed up to the layout using an 'umbilical cord' on just one plug rather than several. Keeps things neat and tidy, aids storage and transport and speeds up exhibition set-up and break-down times. Or thats the theory anyway!
Construction is quite straightforward; some varnished 9mm birch-faced ply, a length of 1/2" aluminium angle, some 1.5mm ali sheet (cut up from a door finger plate), a couple of 4" aluminium cupboard D-handles and four little rubber feet. Most these items should be obtainable from your local DIY emporium. On the electrical side there are a couple of red indicator lamps and a 25-way D-socket, purchased from Squires.
The two power supply packs (the smaller Lenz TR100 45VA unit which supplies power to the LS150 accessory decoder and the larger Lenz TR150 70VA unit which supplies the LZV100 command station) are the heaviest lumps and these go side by side at the bottom. Above it goes the LZV100 command station (the brains of the DCC system). There is room to add an LV102 booster unit should I ever build a really big layout, or God forbid, move up to the big 7mm+ scales !
The two indicator lamps are wired to the output side of the power packs to give an at-a-glance indication that they are working....beats trying to listen for the gentle hum in a noisy exhibition hall!
Obviously this unit can transfer from layout to layout so should prove to have been time well spent this past week or so.
Edward S
2 comments:
Nice set up Eddie. Are the mains power cables detachable? If so, a little box to store these and the umbilical to the layout would be a nice touch.
Cheers
Tony
No, they are permanently wired in the EU/CE Marked tradition!
I have acquired a nice steel storage box/trunk affair designed for builders to store power tools etc in on-site. This I entend to use as my exhibition trunk, and the 'stack' will sit nicely inside it for transport.
At home the 'stack' will sit on the floor under my workbench with a link up to my test track.
Edward
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