Page 1 of 2

Amp Meter or Ammeter

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 9:16 pm
by dtb
Does anyone have these wired in to their DCC layouts. Is it necessary and are there any suitable for DCC. I have seen plenty of the DC variety.

Thanks

Re: Amp Meter or Ammeter

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 9:28 pm
by Walkingthedog
I don’t and have never really seen the point. Just another gizmo to make playing trains seem more technical.If they run OK they run OK.

Re: Amp Meter or Ammeter

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 7:57 am
by jed10
Not cheap but a really nicely put together item:
https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/alp ... dc-or-dcc/

Re: Amp Meter or Ammeter

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 8:30 am
by teedoubleudee
I have a lot of lighting and other animated electronic features on my my 00 layout including two home made shuttle tracks (neither shown on the track plan as they are fully automatic). All this uses 12 volts and a separate supply of 5 volts for all the logic level stuff eg microprocessors. So I have separate volt & amp meters to monitor them should owt go wrong! Certainly not a gimmick in my case.
Image

Re: Amp Meter or Ammeter

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 10:26 am
by Brian
Hi
Depending on your DCC system, some can provide the DCC current to track reading - The NCE range is one such.

DCC Panel meters are quite expensive retailing at around £80.00 and I have to ask, do you really need one? Other styles of panel meter will not work on the DCC frequency.

Re: Amp Meter or Ammeter

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 11:06 am
by Walkingthedog
I used to have all those things TWD but what would the meters actually show you. If something stops working it stops what ever it is supposed to do. How will a volt and amp meter tell you there is a fault. Not being argumentative just interested. I have a multimeter for checking a loco or a component but I don’t understand how it is any use just attached to the layout. Always willing to learn, in fact never stopped.

Re: Amp Meter or Ammeter

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 3:33 pm
by teedoubleudee
Why is it whenever I post anything here it either gets totally ignored or someone has to poo poo it. Really starting to wonder why I bother.

These modules I've used came from China and cost a few pounds. They are accurate as tested with my multimeter.

Listen guys, if it works for me it works for me. Not trying to convert anyone to my way of doing things.

Re: Amp Meter or Ammeter

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 3:38 pm
by RogerB
That’s the important bit - Rule #1 - and it applies to us all. I took the replies to be directed at the OP not you TDD. R-

Re: Amp Meter or Ammeter

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 4:01 pm
by Walkingthedog
Don’t think anybody poo poo'd it TWD.

I am really interested as to what the meters do if the is a fault on the layout. What do they tell you.

Re: Amp Meter or Ammeter

Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2023 9:55 am
by Brian
I think the issue is the OP wants and is asking about a DCC meter to measure track current. These are very specalist meters and cost far more than most "Standard" meters do! The meters shown are not suitable for measuring DCC or connecting to an AC supply, but they work very well on DC power supplies as often used for lighting or similar. I have one on my control panel monitoring DC power for all the layouts servo power and layout lighting. :D

Image