# Using Meanwell SP-320-24



## Merlin83 (Sep 23, 2011)

Hello,

I am still a newbie and had been using the LGB 50111 - but I switched to a Meanwell SP-320-24 which I think may provide 'cleaner' power, in that it's not rectifying the AC voltage to DC. Plus I have plenty of ampacity to drive two LGB F7's and and LGB 2156s - plus about 300 feet of track.

Anyway, I am now in the process of putting the Meanwell PS into a custom enclosure which will have a light pipe for power on indication and also making easier to tote around with a nice handle, all in a powder coated (LGB red) box. 





Cheers,
Brett


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## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

What are you using for a throttle.


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## Merlin83 (Sep 23, 2011)

I'm just using a LGB 51070 - and it works pretty good, I notice with the Meanwell I have much,much smoother throttle response than with the LGB 50111.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Strange, unless you have the system heavily loaded (high amperage), there should be little difference. 

That LGB puts out 6 amps, so the difference on one loco or even two should be negligible, of course a regulated supply should give you more consistent "response" as the load varies. 

How many locos are you running? Steep grades? 

Just curious, I use meanwell myself. 

Greg


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## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

Would the AC output of the LGB be the difference.


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Posted By Merlin83 on 18 Jan 2012 06:32 AM 
I'm just using a LGB 51070 - and it works pretty good, I notice with the Meanwell I have much,much smoother throttle response than with the LGB 50111. 
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "much smoother throttle response", but the difference that I noticed (and liked) is that with the Meanwell I didn't constantly have to adjust the throttle to keep the trains running at the same speed going up and downhill.
Reason for that is that the Meanwell supply is fully regulated whereas a typical train power pack is not.
So when one goes uphill and the loco motor draws more current, the voltage provided by a train power pack drops a bit and the speed of the train therefore drops as well. The tendency is to adjust for that by turning up the throttle a bit. Same problem going downhill but the other way around - less current, higher voltage, higher speed, compensate by reducing the throttle setting.

With the Meanwell (or any regulated supply), the voltage stays the same even if additional (or less) current is required so one doesn't have to adjust the throttle constantly.


Knut


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## Merlin83 (Sep 23, 2011)

Greetings gentlemen,



I don't have any grades, I have an LGB Santa Fe 2156s that pulls 8-10 cars, all of which have LGB metal wheels - I also have an LGB F7A + F7B Santa Fe combo pulling 4 passenger cars. Over and over again when I use the LGB AC power supply and compare against the Meanwell PS - everything seems much smoother and consitnet (with the Meanwell), even at very, very low throttle settings. I can 'creep' a train into a station with realistic slowing/stopping action.

I continually monitor the track *voltage *and *amps *with a *Fluke *DMM. My plan is to wire in simple analog panel meters into the power supply enclosure I am making, similar to what a LGB Jumbo front panel looks like. I looked through the spec of the Meanwell and because it's a regulated switching power supply the output power is very 'clean'. The AC ripple it leaves is almost non-existent, which may have no bearing on the performance but it does seem to work very well. 


I wish LGB had detailed specs on there power supply - I have not been able to find any though. It's a simple magnetic unregulated transformer though I think, simply design - I bought it used, maybe it's not operating at it's peak value.



Thank You,
Brett


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Posted By Merlin83 on 18 Jan 2012 10:20 AM 


I wish LGB had detailed specs on there power supply - I have not been able to find any though. It's a simple magnetic unregulated transformer though I think, simply design - I bought it used, maybe it's not operating at it's peak value.



I assume you mean the LGB 50111 transformer when you mention LGB power supply
http://www.gbdb.info/details.php?image_id=1853

That is simply an AC transformer with some basic protection against shorts and over heating.
There is no regulation. either line or load. per se. Output voltage will vary to some degree with the load, the amount depends on the quality of the transformer which I would think is quite good.


As to meters - Iprefer analog meters for this type of monitoring rather than digital meters of any kind.
Reason is that variations in current and voltage are much easier to follow on a large analog meter than a digital one.
Digital ones are good for precise measurements of a constant current or voltage, not so great if one is more interested in how voltage or current changes rather than some exact precise value.

With analog meters you will see that even on a level layout the current draw changes constantly, at least it did on the outdoor layout where I did my measurements. That would then also vary the voltage with a non-regulated supply.

Knut


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## LebenswichtigeGartenBahn (Oct 23, 2010)

Hi Merlin 

I use a Meanwell SP750-24 (30amp) myself for my outdoor DC analog operation. I have a box (6ct) of Meanwell S240-24 (10amp) power supplies I bought and have not had a need for yet as the 750 has so far managed to run 5x simutaneous trains with 3x throttles and full interior lighting without any problems. I ran on MRC Control Master 20's before assembling the SP750-24, but my layout is big enough that it would trip the circuit protection running an LGB RhB Ge 4/4 II with a rake of 6x lighted coaches; especially after dew started to settle on the layout in the evenings. 

Most of my LGB, USAT, and Aristo seem to work fine with my Crest 55401 throttles. However my LGB RhB Ge 4/4 III loco with the directional-changing motorized pantographs gets confused on the Crest units, so I bought a ShourtLine SL-TLC13F DC Analog Throttle for a pricey $190 for when I intend to run it. 

I have the track circuits connected to weatherproof covered outdoor 20amp utility outlets on color-keyed posts. (Red for 24VDC source and Green for track-input.) I just raise the cover and plug a throttle between an outlet and track input, and control those track circuits. My power-supply has 6x 20amp outlets along the edge of the case for connecting to throttle inputs or track inputs with 24VDC. Everything unplugs neatly and comes inside when not in use. I used tinned 8/2 AWG marine wire between power supply/throttle posts to insure against corrosion and reduce DC voltage drop.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

8 gauge will really help. I have relatively short power feed runs, but still use 10 gauge wire. 

Do you have some pictures of your setup Lebensw.......Bahn ? 

(and a name ha ha?) 

Greg


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## LebenswichtigeGartenBahn (Oct 23, 2010)

8 gauge will really help. I have relatively short power feed runs, but still use 10 gauge wire. Do you have some pictures of your setup Lebensw.......Bahn ? (and a name ha ha?) Greg 

Hi again Greg, yes I have a lot of pictures but I understand I'll need to upgrade my membership before I can post them. It might help to clear up some misunderstandings on how I have the track-power disconnects set up. I sure don't want to encourage others to do something dangerous. 

I could email some to you using the msn/hotmail slideshow option. I'll need some time to put an album together and send it to you when I get the next opportunity. (There's been a death in the family recently and it's taking time to get back on any kind of normal schedule - lots of loose ends...) 

I've got a portion of the layout we call "Shady Grove" about 25-50 feet from the main track connections that is wired to be able to either plug a throttle or a jumper in the remote track connector-post and either run of an independent throttle or convey power from a throttle on the main layout remotely. Especially on throttle output coming from 25+ feet away I didn't want any current drop, so I used the 8/2 marine wire. 

I'm on the Atlantic Coast so humidity/corrosion was a factor in using the tinned marine wire for the long run. 

I'm likely to be offline for a while with other pressing matters but I'm hoping to upgrade soon and post some photos. 

Sorry about the name thing. I joined the site back before the hotmail blockage of outbound mail from the MLS site and had to dig through my archives to even find my log-on name and password! I forget why I ended up chosing such a long name. Here's a shorter one: 

Brad


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Brad, with only 20 posts, and not a first class member, I'd just make a new login... what the heck... some people here have 2 logins and use both... 

Greg


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## alx19881 (Sep 23, 2017)

According to what I have read, using an LGB throttle with a non-LGB power supply will result in the overload protection not working. Does anyone know if there is any truth in that?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Not true... just like LGB invalidated warranties for some time because "pulse power" was damaging engines. A regulated DC power supply much better than an unregulated transformer... be sure to fuse the power supply output to match the capability of your throttle.


Greg


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