[NIMT]

I have an easy trick to extend the life of your digitrax command station and Boosters.
As a lot of you know heat or excessive heat build up in electronics is a bad thing! Adding a fan to help dissipate heat is smart and very cost effective.
I just used a 3" computer fan to blow air across the heat sink on the command station, It can have an independent power supply or jump it off of the input supply if you using close to 12 volts DC as your input supply voltage. I run my Digitrax Command station and boosters off of a 28 Volt 20 amp supply so my fan runs off it's own supply.

 

[concretepumper]

Excellent idea Sean. I wonder if Radio Shack still sells little fans like that?

 

[NIMT]

Yep they do!
There are other places to get them that might be cheaper but you do only need one.
Just save the one's out of your computer the next time you scrap one.

 

[concretepumper]

Yep they do!
There are other places to get them that might be cheaper but you do only need one.
Just save the one's out of your computer the next time you scrap one.

Thanks Bud! I try hard to not collect junk anymore so my little 2 car Garage dosen't fill up anymore! :stroke: Ahh who am I kidding. You can't even get 1 car in there now!

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

I have a whole box of fans like that.

 

[kursplat]

sweet, is that very noisy?

 

[NIMT]

It's really quiet, it's mounted under a layout so you don't really hear it.
One of the tricks to keep any setup like this quiet, is to either attach it very solid or very loose and isolated.
I came up with this living in AZ. I had my layout in my wood shop and it was always really hot in there. Luckily I fried a command station while I was running it,
Why was that lucky :wood:SHOP and burning electronics don't mix well!
I could not really tell you which one overheated and melted first, the transformer or the command station ! They are not cheap and it takes so long to get a replacement!

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

You can also run the DC fans on a lower voltage. The 12 volt fans run totally silent on 9 volts and still move a nice quantity of air.