We have about 30 engines and around 80m of track and are running 50 turnouts from track power, and have found all previous power supplies (CS1/CS2 with 60052) inadequate to run say 3-6 engines, with some using smoke. Particularly when we run our Big Boy and double US diesel set. So we are considering buying a CS3+ and 60101 5amp power supply. Can anyone with experience of this arrangement give us feedback on problems they have experienced or is this feasible even though M does not recommend it.

My main concern is that the CS3 spec says that a max of 1.2amps (about 24VA) is available on the programming track. If you use a 3amp 60061 power supply with 60VA max, then I assume this leaves only 1.8 amps (about 36VA) available to the main track. Our programming track is only about 4m long (and doesn't suit making it longer) and the remainder is around 80m of track. If our Big Boy is on the track and drawing big current running double smoke stacks, sound and drive then the rest of the track has insufficient to run 2 to 5 engines with smokers, sound etc.

I think you get more than 1.8 amps from an MS1 or MS2 and track box so we are not progressing the available power supply with expected load on a modern digital layout.

So why does M not recommend the 5amp 60101 on an HO layout? Is it because the CS3 is not capable of 5 amp output or is it that we could damage our HO engines or decoders during a short circuit. If it is because the CS3 is not up to the 5amp task then how would it be suitable for the 1 gauge and G gauge users? So that leaves possible damage.

So can the slightly higher current of about 3.8amps on the main track be such a problem to HO engines and decoders? I would like some response from M or experienced users on this matter as I have only seen their recommendation so far and no technical reasons.

I understand that a booster might be a good solution but this is expensive in Australia. First you need a 3amp booster approx AU$300/EU200 then you need a terminal 60145 at approx AU$80/EU50 + cables if they are not included?. This is compared to the additional AU$30/EU20 to buy the 60101 instead of the 60061. And we would probably need 2 boosters to properly accommodate 3 main tracks + a programming track.

It would be great to hear from anyone with first hand experience on this matter.

They do not recommend 5 amps, because most layout builders do not know how to wire a layout for 5 amps. If you use too thin wires, you risk that a short circuit goes undetected which causes all sorts of problems. A correctly wired layout does not have any problems with H0 and 5 amps. Recommending 3 amps is the safe bet.

That being said: If you need to ask, then perhaps this experiment is not for you. Why not just do as Märklin recommends? Add a booster instead and go with the 3 amp power supply.

Also: The CS3 outputs 3A on the main track and less on the programming track. It does not split 50/50 between the two.

You could choose to use a booster to power your turnouts and accessories. The benefit of this is at that your track will have all 3 amps to itself. You can expand with boosters as you go. The need for at booster is not determined by the size of the layout, only by the total power consumption of the layout. A 3 amp power supply should easily be able to handle the 3 - 6 engines you describe (depending on what engines of course).

You could also choose to use turnout decoders that support an external power supply to take the load off your booster or CS. Having 80 turnouts can potentially consume a lot of power.

Hi!
That's what it says: "max". The current is not reserved.
With a 3 A power supply you can get up to 3 A on the main track, up to 1.2 A on the programming track with a maximum total power of 3 A.
Similar with a 5 A power supply.

The MiWuLa at Hamburg uses 3 A boosters. And they had accidents where short circuits were not detected by the booster and remained unnoticed until the smoke detector gave alarm - then track and loco were damaged beyond all repair.

5 A are for those who know what they are doing. You can get 8 A boosters from ESU, 10 A or more from other companies. Don't forget the smoke detectors for your shadow stations.

Hi

I used a 60101 with my CS2 to power about 80 turnouts on a separate power feed to my layout. The track had 3 additional 3A boosters for the 15-20 trains that were on the layout. I didn't have any power problems. The reason for using the 5A feed for turnouts was that with computer control there were 4-6 trains running on the layout at any time and the number of turnouts being switched was a significant power drain. Separating the turnouts and using the higher current power feed made sense to me as it kept the solenoid devices separate from the track power resulting in no interference or sudden voltage drops to the loco decoders each time a solenoid device operates. This has been recommended by other contributors to this forum in previous threads.