1'2 Challenge?

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Give a MR an inch, and he'll take it as a foot.
Give an a$$hat an inch...
(maybe that's another thread  )

[coosvalley]

(...though I didn't say which dinner.)

Kraft Dinner? eh? eh?

Sorry, couldn't help myself....

[Ian MacMillan]

Chicken Dinnah?

[M.C. Fujiwara]

So I want my 144sq" layout to be self-sufficent power-wise.
I don't want to hook up a big-a$$ power pack or install a DCC panel.
Just plug 'n play.
Direct Current off a wall wart with a single DPDT Center-Off toggle to move the single engine back & forth.

I remember going to trainshows as a youngster and playing with Timesavers that just had a DPDT switch to move the loco.
I saw at Radio Shack that they had some wall warts with variable voltage.
One had a range of 1.5V to 12V.
If I just hardwired that in, what voltage do I need to provide smooth switching ops?
I'm guessing 1.5V, 3V or 5V, but then my knowledge of things electrical barely prevent me from sticking a wet fork in a socket.
I just want the engine to creep and not get burnt.

Thanks for any / all info.

BTW: if I get the electrical solved, my "Gross Sq. Incher" is gonna rock yr socks off.
Consider the gauntlet (or sock) thrown down!

[pwnj]

The problem is that it's going to be a different answer for different locomotives.  Can motors and open-frames will operate differently, etc.  If you got the one that has the multiple voltage options (like this one), you'll at least have a little flexibility. The other thing is that this will be "pure" DC, rather than pulse.  So if your motor is finicky, it may have a "I'm not goin' anywhere until I get this much, but I can be turned down to this much less once I get goin'" attitude.  This is where a pulse throttle (or power source) makes the difference (serious crawling action).  So, get the Shadio Rack power pack above and see if it does what you want.  If not, I can send you a very simple schematic for a pulse throttle that can take that adapter as a voltage source.

[Blazeman]

Rest the posts of a 9 volt battery on the rails.

[pwnj]

If he was going to do that, he could still wire it up.  But he'll have the same problem.  I've got two dinky switchers that run at different speeds on a 9v battery.  One moves along nicely, the other flies. 

p.s.- And MC, you do realize that now I need to make mine run, too.

[DKS]

These ought to suffice as a self-contained power-supply for competition layouts. Advertised for Z but should work fine for N.

http://www.stonebridgemodels.com/index.htm?c=elec

[pwnj]

Nice one.  Thanks for the tip, DKS.  The one I'm building (pulse throttle) is gonna cost about 5 bucks in parts, plus an old Model Power throttle (the rheostat broke, but the power supply part works great).

[wm3798]

I could probably dig up a 3 or 6 volt DC.  I've got a pile of them at the store...

[M.C. Fujiwara]

These ought to suffice as a self-contained power-supply for competition layouts. Advertised for Z but should work fine for N.

http://www.stonebridgemodels.com/index.htm?c=elec

Looks cool, and is the basic idea of what I'd like: a hand-held plug-in throttle.
But would the 9v z-scale thingy have enough "umph" to consistently power a 44-tonner up & down a (basically) 3" x 48" stretch?
Remember my knowledge of electronics is shockingly limited (mainly to shocking), but I thought "umph" decreased over distance.

[pwnj]

Shouldn't significantly decrease as long as you use redundant feeders along the track.  It looks like a very nice little throttle.  But it doesn't say if it's a filtered/pure DC throttle, or a pulse one.  I'd ask that question before making a purchase.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

The user's manual says "Analog control: pulse width modulation (PWM)".

[pwnj]

Amazing, a "man-u-al" you say?  Will wonders never cease.  Good, so that'll crawl like a bad mama jamma, and you won't have to solder or anything.  Generally, I would say that the 9v wouldn't be good for road use, but for a dinky little module, that ought to be perfect.  I'll keep checking my Christmas stocking for one, but if all I get is coal, I'll just build a steam engine out of chewing gum wrappers and duct tape... 

[Chris333]

That throttle from Stone Bridge models  goes by a few different names, but they are all the same. And I'm using it to power the trains in these 2 videos:

/>Using a Tech II up until 2:33 in the video, the rest is the snail controller.

And this is all snail controller:

/>
I hooked up a 9V power cord to it so I don't have to keep buying batteries.