# Accolades for Bridgewerks



## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

H i all,

I have two Brigdewerks power supplies and the UR15 radio control unit. The UR15 from new has always defaulted to reverse when restarted with power to the rail.
Friday I called them and they said to send it back under warranty Cool. The Magnum 200 is probable 8 plus years old but had gone back two times for the diode bridge. When I started getting the new layout ready it failed again. They have graciously said to send it back for a warranty repair even though its 8 years old.

It's so refreshing to find a company who will still stand behind their product in this day and age.

Thank you Bridgewerks, keep up the good customer relations. Doug


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

That's good service... sounds like there is a problem with the diode bridge in the 200 though, going out 3 times cannot be just random luck. 

Regards, Greg


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Greg,

I've sometimes wondered about lengths of outdoor trackage and electromagnetic impulses from lightning. Or even lightning strikes in the vicinity. Perhaps these outdoor setups take that into consideration and I'm not aware of it.

Les


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

You must be reading my mind... I think it would take a **** of a surge to zap this components, especially knowing the quality level of the Bridgewerks. Maybe he's getting nasty lightning surges... surge protectors are supposed to handle this, but there are a lot of "junk" ones that do nothing... a good one is expensive. 

Regards, Greg


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

I would think that lightning 3 times would do more than just attack the diode bridge. 

I fixed a friends large power pack and he had an intermittent fan. 

Perhaps the diode bridge has a temperature issue with not enough heat dissipation. 

If the unit is located in a small enclosure, any electrical part could fail. 

Power supplies and controllers for our trains must have good air flow around them, and not air that could recirculate back inside them as this will create a super heated situation.


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

I think the comment was about a secondary effect caused by lightning, but a heat related problem as you describe is much more likely.

The effect of a lighning hit would look like this:


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## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

I'm sure its not lightning. My power supplies were always unplugged from the rail and brought into the house. According to John at Bridgewerks the early ones sometimes had a problem. He said the new diode bridges are bullet proof now. I'm just ticked that they are willing to fix it at now charge especially since I was let go from my job recently.
And the way things seem to go for me if there were only one ever made with a problem I would end up with it.


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Krs:

I just want to emphasize that I wasn't envisioning lightning _strikes._ There's a heckuva EMI (ElectroMagnetic Impulse) generated even by a cloud-to-cloud lightning flash. You've probably noticed your house lights dim for a second after one goes off very close, even though there's no contact with the ground or power lines. And, depending upon the nature of the ground a layout is on (high iron content, for instance) even a strike a good distance away can pass a 'spike' through the earth, to the tracks, through the tracks, etc, which being a 'closed circuit' are ideal for generating stray currents--granted, in the micro-amp and probably micro-micro amp ranges--not worth worrying about. And it would depend to some extent on how well 'buffered' the outputs are from such a 'backwards feed' situation. But since you've been told the diodes were flaky from the git-go, I think that pretty well answers the questions. Kudos to BridgeWerks for their commitment to customer satisfaction. GM could take some pointers from them. I'm sorry to hear you're out of work. Hope you can find a job soon.

Les


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

I just want to emphasize that I wasn't envisioning lightning strikes


I know Les - that's why I wrote "*secondary effects* caused by lighning" (like the one you describe) and posted a picture of what the supply would look like if lightning had really struck directly. 

Knut


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Knut,

And an ugly sight to behold, too--that picture.

Les


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Here is another one to show what it can do to your track.
Isolating the outside and inside track using the standard plastic track isolators does nothing - lighning jumps right across that gap.


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Holy cow.


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## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

Wow that is scary. In the 5 years I ran even with 70 trees on my one acre I never had any damage to the layout. Although we have had several trees hit by lightening.
I did have a deer step on the track and dent it pretty well in several spots. The piece of track is laying on the picnic table in the back yard waiting to be cut up into smaller sections.


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Trees are a good thing when it comes to lightning. 
Lightning would hit them first before it finds it's way to the track.


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## Engineercub (Oct 18, 2008)

Is track any safer on the ground as opposed to a raised layout? I would cry if my trains got zapped lol. 

-Will


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

theoretically safer, but from a practical standpoint not much at all... 

Regards, Greg


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

If I'm not mistaken the pictures that Knut posted were from Tom Ruddell's Alabama layout, when it got struck by lightning back in July 2003, the following are two links to topics on that.

*Lightning: An Opportunity to Start Over*

*New Lightning Protection Installed*


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

You are absolutely right Steve. 

I kept a couple of the pictures since this subject comes up every once in a while, but I no longer had any clue where I got those pictures. 

Knut


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Will,

It wasn't my intent to make anyone lose any sleep over it. Think of you train as being inside the house. How often does your house get zapped? Likely about the same probability.


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Well regarding lightning strikes, I'm sure it's true that statistically the chances are slim, but then again just how many times does it take, not to mention the fact that this is another of those things that fit snugly within the "almost" category (just like horseshoes, grenades, & nuclear weapons).









Additionally, I surely wouldn't go using *U.S. Park Ranger Roy Sullivan* as an example regarding the "lightning doesn't strike twice" thingy.









Actually, I'm not all that certain being as I live in the lightning capital of the U.S. (i.e. central Florida), I'm not tempting fate by posting these comments, July is just two months away.


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Steve,

It's not nice to work on Will's mind....


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## GG (Jan 1, 2009)

Will stikes me as a very astute young man with a defined plan.... 

Now, how his mind reacts .... ummmm 

I know that he has a great sense of humur by past thread comments. 


gg


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## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

Bridgewerks fixed the units and sent them back the next day. Great people to work with. Evan called me to let me know what they found. The remote couldn't be made to do what it does for me. Guess I have to experment when it comes back. Should be here Monday just in time to test the first loop on the new layout.


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## Engineercub (Oct 18, 2008)

But of course GG, my sense of humor is my 6th sense









-Will


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## Madstang (Jan 4, 2008)

I guess I don't understand why people have their layouts struck by lightning.
I used to be track powered, before I turned to battery power, and I had 2 Mag 15s' out side in their own boxes for approx 3-3.5 years. And never was ther ever a lightnibng strike.
When I purchased my second Mag 15 there was a problem out of the box, which was depressing..BUT they were more then happy to repair it plus shipping for this problem.
I have always liked the power supplies made by them, when I turned to battery power, I sold 1 of the Mag 15s' on Ebay, and sold it for $200, I origionally paid $245 for it when it was new..great return. It was on my layout for approx. 3 years outdside all year round..BUT sealed up for winter of course, and never was there a lightning strike.

I use the other one on my basment raised layout and for testing..when I sell it on Ebay I will probubly get the same for it as it is a premium power supply that is a solid performer.

What I did see just last night as I was working out revamping one of my loops, was that I put down a allen wrench tool that touched both tracks at the same time I saw a electrical arc when it touched BOTH tracks, that when I did it again it did not happen...my layout is not electrified no wires are going to any part of the track..this is something I have never seen before...it was also misting after raining a little.

Shocked me a little to see that arc of electricity.

Bubba


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Madstang on 04/10/2009 8:01 AM
I guess I don't understand why people have their layouts struck by lightning. {snip...}[/i]

Bubba

I don't think anyone goes out of their way to get their layout struck by lightning.









It's more a case of...
[*] Being in the wrong place, at the right time.
[/list] or...
[*] Being in the right place, at the wrong time.
[/list]


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Posted By Madstang on 04/10/2009 8:01 AM
I guess I don't understand why people have their layouts struck by lightning.

Bubba



Ground to sky lightning will always seek the shortest path - so if you have other tall items around, a lot of trees in my case, lightning would hit those rather than seek a path via the track and the power supply.
So it depends on your specific environment and of course the frequency of thunderstorms if your layout is at risk that way.

The point of the pictures I posted was really to show that isolating the outer part of your layout using these plastic track connectors does nothing when lightning really strikes. If you are at risk in your area, you should really have a short track section that you can remove completely. And I'm also not pointing the finger at Bridgewerks - any power supply would have ended up like that.


Knut


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## Tom Bray (Jan 20, 2009)

A layout, whether sitting on the ground or above it by a few feet makes a great ground plane. Commercial antenna systems place large arrays of wires on or just below the suface of the ground to disipate lightning. If you have your layout connected (grounded) into the house, the layout becomes a much better ground system than that foolish 8 foot rod stuck in the ground at the service entrance (the layout makes a big capacitor, it doesn't need a physical connection into the ground for it to work). 

I would recommend that layouts be powered by an extension cord that can be completely removed during storms. That or run a big ground cable directly to the service entrance ground from the layout, at least that way lightning will stay out doors and not run through the house. That is the plan for my system at least. 

Tom Bray


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