Help with Kato Power Feeders

[GameTime]

Hi All,

 

I'm putting together a basic DC layout.

 

1) What is the general rule for number of Kato feeders per distance?

 

2) When adding additional feeders, do I need to use Insulated Unijoiner (24-816) on the piece of track next to the feeder track placment?

If not, is it best practice to do this anyways?

 

Thank you

[Wolf]

1) No clue tbh, others need to reply to that

2) No, unless you want to feed from a different source or change polarity (Whyever you'd do that), no need to insulate, nor would I do it.

[Martijn Meerts]

For 1, I don't think there's a general rule. It depends on various things, such as turnouts locations, number of tracks, etc. Also, will it be a be a temporary layout, or something more permanent with scenery where you won't have easy access to track?

 

For static layouts I personally like to be very safe, and add feeders to almost every track piece. However, I am using flex track, so my track pieces are quite a bit longer, and I solder the wires on which is much cheaper than the Unitrack feeders.

 

I do have a bunch of T-Trak modules, for which I have a feeder on every module.

[cteno4]

No definite rule of thumb on how many sections of Unitrak to feeder, but usually 6-12 pieces you don’t see much of a power drop, but this can vary due to your layout plan and unijoiner conditions. One way to see is just do your track setup (or a close mockup) and then put in a few feeders at as equidistant points as possible and see if you notice the trains slow up at any place. Then add/move power connectors until no speed drops seen.

 

with sidings and passing sidings its best to put a feeder close to the point outside the siding on the main line so when when switched to the siding the siding is well powered.

 

with our Ttrak we usually put a feeder about every 6-8 modules or so and don’t get much in the way of voltage deeps inijoiners on Ttrak modules tend to get more abuse and can have more voltage drop than regular temp or permanent Unitrak layouts.

 

one other issue with power drops is if you plan on doing a lot of ballasting on your Unitrak put in closer power drops as moisture from gluing down ballast can infiltrate into the unijoiners and potentially give some resistance (and thus voltage drop) and/or set up some corrosion and resistance later down the road.

 

Kato feeders also are pretty small gauge (like 24 or 26g) so not great for use with larger layouts for longer runs. Ok for short bit from rail down under table but longer trunk lines should be larger gauge wires for longer runs.

 

jeff

[Kamome]

Also depends on the controller you're using too. I have a couple of the older Kato Hyper D controllers. Output is up to 14.5V (2A) so probably a little more than really required for N scale. You do get smoother running and lighting functions work far better than the original Standard S, however you can get surges in speed when crossing from one section to another if you use insulating joiners and feeders are not placed at equal distances away from section joints. 

 

[cteno4]

@GameTime do you have a multimeter? An inexpensive one is a handy thing to have you can check the voltage around your loop and see if it dips anywhere and just add a feeder at those points.

 

higher amperage throttles will have less voltage drop so look to see what the amperage is on throttles you are interested in. Higher voltage won’t help as that won’t really help as even with a voltage drop somewhere you rarely run an n scale train near 12v except maybe a larger train fast up a grade. But usually higher voltage throttles (14.5v) for HO are also higher amperage as well so can help.

 

you can also make your own feeders a few different ways to and use larger gauge wire. Then you don’t have to buy a bunch of Unitrak feeders and extensions. You can get a terminal strip to wire your wires to and then to your throttle. If it’s not a huge layout Kato extensions and feeders work fine as well, just may need them a little closer than a higher gauge feeder.

 

jeff

 

 

[Kingmeow]

To cteno4's point, if you don't have a multimeter, just build your layout and run a locomotive.  At points where it slows down (or even stops), drop a feeder just before that point.  Then repeat until you make it back to your starting point.  Make sure your tracks are clean and that the slow downs are not because of dirty tracks.

 

There are no rules per se as to when to drop a feeder as Martijn pointed out, too many variables.