A VOM tutorial
#16
Steamtrains Wrote:Great tutorial..!! Having used one of these VOMs for as long as I've been involved in this hobby, it's proved an invaluable tool to check wiring, locos, circuits, etc.... It should be noted that a "standard" VOM will NOT measure current (Amps) on a DCC circuit. For that you will need a special DCC "enabled" Ammeter.

Swell! And which type of VOM is a special DCC "enabled" ammeter and where might someone find one? Hopefully, their cost will not approach the amount of the current deficit! 357 357 357

Seriously ... Since I have been wiring things to be DCC (but have been alligater-clipping a little Tech II pack to the rails just to watch things move occasionally - all locos are still straight DC) I should spring for one which will do the job when the time comes for the job to be done. Did you follow that? I think I got lost in there somewhere ... must be lack of sleep!

The tutorial is quite informative ... although I may have to read it several times. Traditionally I don't do real well with things I can't see, and electricity is ones of those things. :oops: Wink

biL
biL

Lehigh Susquehanna & Western 

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
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#17
Great information! Thanks for posting this.
Mark

Citation Latitude Captain
--and--
Lt Colonel, USAF (Retired)
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#18
biL....Check this out....
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.tonystrains.com/products/pop-meters.htm">http://www.tonystrains.com/products/pop-meters.htm</a><!-- m -->

Or if you're a DIY'er....
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/DCCvolts.html">http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/DCCvolts.html</a><!-- m -->
Gus (LC&P).
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#19
Steamtrains Wrote:biL....Check this out....
http://www.tonystrains.com/products/pop-meters.htm

Or if you're a DIY'er....
http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/DCCvolts.html

Thanks for following up with good info, Steamtrain. Cheers They do look a little different from the usual VOM's I'm used to seeing though, with plugs and wires and probes and alligator clips and all that stuff. Never having used a (is it?) Volt-Ohm-Meter, and not having a clue as to how to use one or why I should have one, I have read the info at TTX and bookmarked it for use when I manage to get a clue and actually understand the clue that I get, if you follow me. :?: Like I said, Electricity is something I can't see, so I have traditionally had a problem with anything more conplicated than "positive, negative, ground," 110 volt house power, a plug-in polarity tester and crossed fingers. DC has always given me fits, ever since I first tried to wire my very first turnout! Wallbang

I've been hand-laying track for the past number of years, and following the recommendations from someone in the hobby press (I don't remember who it was) have been isolating the frogs and powering them and the points with jumpers to the stock rails through a microswitch mounted on and controlled by a Hankscraft display motor (I think they were also markted by "Switchmasters") moving the switch points.

Thanks again, Steamtrain! I appreciate it!

biL

... If I read the VOM thread a couple more times I think I just might understand most of it! Thumbsup
biL

Lehigh Susquehanna & Western 

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
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#20
Great thread - THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[b]Bruce[/b]
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#21
Glad to be of help..... Goldth
Electricity, although you can't see it (normally) can be thought of as the plumbing in your house....You got hot and cold water (so..two wires), and you don't want to mix them (short circuit), until they come out of a faucet (motor, lights, etc.). So just keep the "hot" water one color of "pipe", and the cold, another. And you're all set to go... Thumbsup
Gus (LC&P).
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