DCC Impulses Column - 5
Many of the high amperage boosters are designed for larger
scales and have unbelievable power delivery capabilities.
They can overwhelm smaller scale rolling stock with their
instantaneous current delivery possibilities. The NCE 10-amp
booster, for example, can deliver 60 amps into a short faster
than a circuit breaker can trip.
Our club layout
uses three boosters feeding 17 circuit
breakers to distribute power across the layout. When we had a
failure just before an operation session, we jumped a connection
between two booster districts and keep on trucking (see video).
5. Sound decoders take a lot more power
I think this got started when sound decoders started using
larger energy storage capacitors to keep them running over
minor power dropouts. They do consume a lot of power when
they are “cold started.” The initial inrush current is quite large
and can overwhelm some boosters and circuit breakers.
MRH-Mar 2013
