cs3+ voltage output

Welcome Guest! To enable all features please Login or Register.

Notification

Error

cs3+ voltage output

Options

View

Previous Topic Next Topic

fabstar68		#1 Posted : 10 November 2025 17:37:17(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 14/12/2023(UTC) Posts: 66 Location: Milan		hi all, i noted that my marklin central station 3 plus, even if in its control panel says that it is outputting 19.4 volts AC, the real voltage is 11.4 volts. i tested this value directly at the 2 pin output port of the console, with no load. on the other hand, my old mobile station 2 outputs roughly 16v ac. i used 3 different voltage detector devices, all report the same. is this normal ? any1 else having this issue (if it's a issue) ? thanks


User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks


	Wish to join the discussion?! Login to your marklin-users.net community \| Forum account or Register a new forum account. Or Connect via Facebook

osoraku		#2 Posted : 10 November 2025 17:47:11(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 22/01/2025(UTC) Posts: 78 Location: Setubal, Palmela		Dear Fabstar - Your multimeter is averaging over the digital waveform (an oscilloscope would work better, though expensive). Look at a description of a DCC waveform for more understanding, and how it differs from AC or DC. Osoraku

1 user liked this useful post by osoraku		marklinist5999
User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks

BenP		#3 Posted : 10 November 2025 17:48:12(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 04/02/2021(UTC) Posts: 539 Location: USA		Originally Posted by: fabstar68 hi all, i noted that my marklin central station 3 plus, even if in its control panel says that it is outputting 19.4 volts AC, the real voltage is 11.4 volts. i tested this value directly at the 2 pin output port of the console, with no load. on the other hand, my old mobile station 2 outputs roughly 16v ac. i used 3 different voltage detector devices, all report the same. is this normal ? any1 else having this issue (if it's a issue) ? thanks Digital AC hard to measure with consumer meters, except for the old fashioned, sluggish needle ones. I (wrongly) measure ~10V AC on my digital meters. Ben
		Digital M track layout with vintage rolling stock and accessories controlled by CS3+Rocrail; small Z scale layout. https://youtube.com/play...0kgVYbh0CeDTF-bYXoD_2-V9

1 user liked this useful post by BenP		marklinist5999
User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks

fabstar68		#4 Posted : 10 November 2025 19:26:40(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 14/12/2023(UTC) Posts: 66 Location: Milan		thank you guys for all your kind replies, Fab


User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks

bph		#5 Posted : 10 November 2025 21:56:18(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 04/08/2018(UTC) Posts: 1,230		To get a better reading, try to measure the AC and the DC voltage, and use the formula on this page: https://www.fluke.com/en/learn/blog/digital-multimeters/facts-about-true-rms-measurement Some quality multimeters have a built-in AC+DC measure mode, and that mode will give a better reading. and also try a search on the forum as it's been extensively discussed previously........

2 users liked this useful post by bph		dickinsonj, marklinist5999
User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks

fabstar68		#6 Posted : 11 November 2025 17:47:32(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 14/12/2023(UTC) Posts: 66 Location: Milan		Originally Posted by: bph To get a better reading, try to measure the AC and the DC voltage, and use the formula on this page: https://www.fluke.com/en/learn/blog/digital-multimeters/facts-about-true-rms-measurement Some quality multimeters have a built-in AC+DC measure mode, and that mode will give a better reading. and also try a search on the forum as it's been extensively discussed previously........ thanks, as a matter of fact i have a true rms multimeter, it's not cheap...nevertheless, i get this odd 11.4 AC volts reading. i will read the article you linked

1 user liked this useful post by fabstar68		marklinist5999
User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks

H0		#7 Posted : 12 November 2025 08:46:13(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,524 Location: DE-NW		Originally Posted by: fabstar68 thanks, as a matter of fact i have a true rms multimeter, it's not cheap...nevertheless, i get this odd 11.4 AC volts reading. A True RMS meter with a sampling frequency of 100 kHz or higher should yield useful results. Old low-frequency True RMS meters will return nonsense for the digital track signal that has around 10 kHz. Even expensive ones.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS

2 users liked this useful post by H0		marklinist5999, dickinsonj
User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks

Users browsing this topic
Guest

Forum Jump

You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.