Custom test bench - part 4: Improvements

I was planning to make improvements for my test bench and with my recent issues with the BB 16000, it is now a good time to act!

General switch

A while back, I added a 120V switch to turn on and off the main power to the test bench. The issue is that the switch was dangling on the side and I still had no idea if the power was still on. My goal has been to properly install a main switch with LED indication.

I choose this one on Amazon:

The wiring diagram is pretty straight forward:

I already wired out one side from the power extension; I now have to do the other side, which is the white cable below.

It works great and it's exactly what I was hoping it would look like:

DCC protection

After a bit of research I decided to install several products from DCC Concepts. I reached out to them and confirmed that all three products can be installed together and offer optimal protection:

1. Intelligent DCC Circuit Breaker - link
2. DCC Surge Protector - link
3. Bus Spike Suppressors - link

I will install and test on my test bench, and also plan to install them on the main layout later on. For now, I will connect those into Track 1, but ideally I'd need to find a way to protect Track 2 and the ESU Tester. Here's the wiring diagram:

I did a quick test and it certainly handles shorts. In the iP-CB, there are two available extensions: one for the LED status and one for the reset button. I decided to put those on the front panel of the test bench:

And voilà !

 

Alpha Meter

As mentioned in this previous post, I purchased a 2U panel for an electronic display. This is for the Alpha Meter from DCCconcepts - https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/alpha-meter-for-dc-or-dcc/

It is a digital meter for use on DC or DCC layouts. There are only two wires in, two wires out. It automatically adjusts for AC, DC or DCC power and even compensates for its own load, leaving only readings relevant to the layout operation. 

It is that simple!

Installation

I used the Dremel to cut through the steel plate. It took a while, but no problem here:

Result

Test Stand

I bought rollers to have a test stand for HO engines. I bought a set of 4 and an additional set of 2 to cover both BB (4 axes) and CC (6 axes) engines. They are available at Miniatures Passion here, they come from DCC Concepts - link.

Let's see how it works:

The blue pieces without the wheels allow having a test stand at a different scale:

Let's see for a CC 40100 - 6 axes. This is Trix 22574:

And for a short video:

And now a BB 67300 - 4 axes. This is Lima 208011: