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Offline kimballthurlow  
#1 Posted : 31 October 2011 22:11:17(UTC)
kimballthurlow

Australia   
Joined: 18/03/2007(UTC)
Posts: 6,655
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Hi,


My one digital signal so far, would work 20% of the times my layout was operating. The other 80%, it just showed both red and green lights together, and I could not switch between aspects using the CS1.

Anyway, my electrician rebuilt our household switchbox (it was 50 years old), and installed safety cut-offs on all circuits. Surprise to find that the layout shed circuit just kept tripping the switch. On investigation, a slow leak to ground was found in one of my appliance sockets. This was due to little lizards called Geckos inhabiting said box.

Now my digital signal works perfectly.

What happened to the Geckos? Well we covered the hole they were using as access, and I believe they moved house.

regards
Kimball

HO Scale - Märklin (ep II-III and VI, C Track, digital) - 2 rail HO (Queensland Australia, UK, USA) - 3 rail OO (English Hornby Dublo) - old clockwork O gauge - Live Steam 90mm (3.1/2 inch) gauge.
Offline ak_marklineer  
#2 Posted : 31 October 2011 22:32:15(UTC)
ak_marklineer


Joined: 10/05/2009(UTC)
Posts: 27
Location: Auckland,
hahahahaha Quite fascinating though it must be said, good work from the Sparky to find the leak (yes I know it's his job)was the earth leakage in the wall socket you were using? Where I live the house is always blowing light bulbs and is at least 50 Years Old, though I do have reliability of circuit through the wall sockets, here in NZ we use 230 Volts as opposed to 240 Volts in Aus
Steve
German DRG ERA II
MSIG of The Auckland Marklin Club Inc
www.marklin.org.nz
CS1 with WiFi
TouchCab with iPhone
Offline kimballthurlow  
#3 Posted : 31 October 2011 23:04:28(UTC)
kimballthurlow

Australia   
Joined: 18/03/2007(UTC)
Posts: 6,655
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Originally Posted by: ak_marklineer Go to Quoted Post
hahahahaha .....

was the earth leakage in the wall socket you were using? Where I live the house is always blowing light bulbs and is at least 50 Years Old, ....


Hi Steve,

The offending 3 pin socket is used permanently by a small lamp for ambient lighting when dark.
That is so I can make my way through the shed to the light switch.

That is metres away from the train transformer sockets, but was enough to cause problems in that whole circuit. The household is divided up into 7 different circuits, now there are 4 circuits with individual safety switches, and another 3 circuits share one safety switch.

regards
Kimball
HO Scale - Märklin (ep II-III and VI, C Track, digital) - 2 rail HO (Queensland Australia, UK, USA) - 3 rail OO (English Hornby Dublo) - old clockwork O gauge - Live Steam 90mm (3.1/2 inch) gauge.
Offline cookee_nz  
#4 Posted : 01 November 2011 00:01:54(UTC)
cookee_nz

New Zealand   
Joined: 31/12/2010(UTC)
Posts: 3,949
Location: Paremata, Wellington
Originally Posted by: kimballthurlow Go to Quoted Post
Hi,


My one digital signal so far, would work 20% of the times my layout was operating. The other 80%, it just showed both red and green lights together, and I could not switch between aspects using the CS1.

Anyway, my electrician rebuilt our household switchbox (it was 50 years old), and installed safety cut-offs on all circuits. Surprise to find that the layout shed circuit just kept tripping the switch. On investigation, a slow leak to ground was found in one of my appliance sockets. This was due to little lizards called Geckos inhabiting said box.

Now my digital signal works perfectly.

What happened to the Geckos? Well we covered the hole they were using as access, and I believe they moved house.

regards
Kimball



Well I bet you're pleased that's finally sorted.

Brings to mind a similar story...

It's common practice in England to ring a telephone by signaling extra voltage across one side of the two-wire circuit and the ground (earth in England). When the subscriber answers the phone, it switches to the two-wire circuit for the conversation. This method allows two parties on the same line to be signaled without disturbing each other.

Anyway, an elderly lady with several pets called to say that her telephone failed to ring when her friends called; and that on the few occasions when it did ring her dog always barked first. The telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, curious to see this psychic dog.

He climbed a nearby telephone pole, hooked in his test set, and dialed the subscriber's house. The phone didn't ring. He tried again. The dog barked loudly, followed by a ringing telephone.

Climbing down from the pole, the puzzled but intrigued telephone repairman found:

A dog was tied to the telephone system's ground post via an iron chain and collar, but the post was loose and poorly connected
The dog was receiving 90 volts of signaling current.
After several such jolts, the dog would start barking and urinating on the ground.
The wet ground now completed the circuit and the phone would ring.

Which shows that some problems can be fixed by just pissing on them !
Cookee
Wellington
NZ image
thanks 1 user liked this useful post by cookee_nz
Offline kimballthurlow  
#5 Posted : 01 November 2011 00:37:27(UTC)
kimballthurlow

Australia   
Joined: 18/03/2007(UTC)
Posts: 6,655
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Originally Posted by: cookee_nz Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: kimballthurlow Go to Quoted Post
Hi,


.....

Now my digital signal works perfectly.

.....

regards
Kimball



Well I bet you're pleased that's finally sorted.

Brings to mind a similar story...

......
Which shows that some problems can be fixed by just pissing on them ![/i][/size]


Yes, electricity is a bit of a mystery. That story rings? true. BigGrin
The one wire telephone circuits (SWIRE single wire earth return) were very common in rural Australia till the late 70s.

My digital signal worked perfectly for at least 6 months and gradually developed the strange intermiitant fault, as described above. It got to the point where it hardly worked at all. The reasons are now clear.

I phoned my dealer, and I phoned Marklin service, and the only suggestion was to return it to the factory. It was out of warranty so I figured the cost of this routine would be better spent on a brand new one. I had not got around to it, as some home renovation interceded, and that solved the problem!

regards
Kimball
HO Scale - Märklin (ep II-III and VI, C Track, digital) - 2 rail HO (Queensland Australia, UK, USA) - 3 rail OO (English Hornby Dublo) - old clockwork O gauge - Live Steam 90mm (3.1/2 inch) gauge.
Offline river6109  
#6 Posted : 01 November 2011 04:52:33(UTC)
river6109

Australia   
Joined: 22/01/2009(UTC)
Posts: 14,636
Location: On 1965 Märklin Boulevard just around from Roco Square
Originally Posted by: cookee_nz Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: kimballthurlow Go to Quoted Post
Hi,


My one digital signal so far, would work 20% of the times my layout was operating. The other 80%, it just showed both red and green lights together, and I could not switch between aspects using the CS1.

Anyway, my electrician rebuilt our household switchbox (it was 50 years old), and installed safety cut-offs on all circuits. Surprise to find that the layout shed circuit just kept tripping the switch. On investigation, a slow leak to ground was found in one of my appliance sockets. This was due to little lizards called Geckos inhabiting said box.

Now my digital signal works perfectly.

What happened to the Geckos? Well we covered the hole they were using as access, and I believe they moved house.

regards
Kimball



Well I bet you're pleased that's finally sorted.

Brings to mind a similar story...

It's common practice in England to ring a telephone by signaling extra voltage across one side of the two-wire circuit and the ground (earth in England). When the subscriber answers the phone, it switches to the two-wire circuit for the conversation. This method allows two parties on the same line to be signaled without disturbing each other.

Anyway, an elderly lady with several pets called to say that her telephone failed to ring when her friends called; and that on the few occasions when it did ring her dog always barked first. The telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, curious to see this psychic dog.

He climbed a nearby telephone pole, hooked in his test set, and dialed the subscriber's house. The phone didn't ring. He tried again. The dog barked loudly, followed by a ringing telephone.

Climbing down from the pole, the puzzled but intrigued telephone repairman found:

A dog was tied to the telephone system's ground post via an iron chain and collar, but the post was loose and poorly connected
The dog was receiving 90 volts of signaling current.
After several such jolts, the dog would start barking and urinating on the ground.
The wet ground now completed the circuit and the phone would ring.

Which shows that some problems can be fixed by just pissing on them !




Which shows that some problems can be fixed by just pissing on them !

I wouldn't recommend it with 240 volt electricty
https://www.youtube.com/river6109
https://www.youtube.com/6109river
5 years in Destruction mode
50 years in Repairing mode
Offline Hoover007  
#7 Posted : 04 November 2011 03:14:03(UTC)
Hoover007


Joined: 07/03/2010(UTC)
Posts: 60
Location: Phuket, Thailand
Just to chime in on this conversation, here in Phuket, Thailand the power is VERY unstable. It varies by as much as 10 volts! As rule of thumb the power should be 230 volts, but I have seen it as high as 234V and as low as 222 V. To protect my digital equipment I purchased a computer power backup with a voltage stabilizer. I did not really care about the power backup I wanted the stabilizer to minimize the fluctuations. Fingers crossed everything is working fine so far. Cursing
thanks 1 user liked this useful post by Hoover007
Offline Jon11  
#8 Posted : 04 November 2011 07:47:17(UTC)
Jon11


Joined: 22/08/2011(UTC)
Posts: 42
Location: Sydney
I have a high quality UPS with sine wave output. The voltage is all over the place. Here is a graph over a 24 hour period.
Jon11 attached the following image(s):
Voltage.jpg
Z Gauge, Black Forest layout
How dare you have clear arteries after all the cheese & wine you’ve had!
Offline H0  
#9 Posted : 04 November 2011 08:00:05(UTC)
H0


Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC)
Posts: 15,254
Location: DE-NW
Originally Posted by: Hoover007 Go to Quoted Post
It varies by as much as 10 volts!
In Germany the specification allows +/- 10 % (that makes a span of 46 V at 230 V). I wouldn't worry if the voltage varies by 10 V.
Should be no problem for devices with switch-mode power supplies.

Short voltage drops or peaks could be a problem.
I don't have a UPS yet.
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
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