Large Scale Central

Aristo Craft Train Engineer

Has anyone mounted a Train Engineer to a wooden board? I purchased two new power supplys last year and mounted them to a board to make it easier to carry them outside to runs trains. But I have not figured out how to mount the receivers with fans on top to the board. There are 4 screws on the bottom, but they are to hold the case together I think. Any suggestions?

I mount mine upside down under the table.

I grind the plastic feet away on the sander and use a couple strips of double sided foam tape on the bottoms.

Long ty wraps would work.

Upside down with fans would be the worst mounting method as the heat would flow up and back in.

Side mounting as well as top mounting would work for better heat transfer with the fans blowing out of the top.

Power jack inside is 12 volts on the 27 khz units.

Ron

I have done just what you want to do and have had good luck with hook and loop. I found 3 grades and used the mid grade,a strip at both ends were wires go on.

cheers richard

Dan Pierce said:

Long ty wraps would work.

Upside down with fans would be the worst mounting method as the heat would flow up and back in.

Side mounting as well as top mounting would work for better heat transfer with the fans blowing out of the top.

Power jack inside is 12 volts on the 27 khz units.

Not so.

When upside down, the fan draws in cool air from below, blows it up through the TE and out the vents to the sides where it dissipates. There are no vents on the bottoms.

Mounted with 2 angle brackets

I have since added a switch to route power direct to the track when using Revolution, or through the TE

when using that device.

Kevin

With a board blocking the natural rise of hot air, (TE on the underside of a board) some warm/hot air will recycle back into the unit.

My suggestion was to try and get people to make sure the warm/hot air is vented away from the electronics.

Maybe…, but on the other hand, it’s always in the shade. It can get quite hot just sitting in the sun in So Cal, even unused.

If you put it on the table (upright), the air blows down into it, then comes out the side holes and rises to where the fan will re-suck that hot air back in recirculating it making things just as bad/worse.

I mounted my fans to draw air up and out the top with the TE on top of a board. No hot air recycling on mine.

The flow of the fan is much greater than the convection currents. As long as you don’t make a “dome” that traps a pocket of hot air around the unit, should be virtually no difference upside down or down side up.

Greg

I tend to agree with Greg, as long as it is out in the open. When placed in a cabinet, it all changes fast.

Yep, in a closed cabinet, I do something different, I “rob” the guts of one of those 12v “coolers” with the solid state cooler, and run them on maybe half power… I do that for my cigar humidors which are really small fridges… keeps them at 71 degrees and sealed.

Of course this is extreme, like if you lived in a hot humid area and needed to completely seal the enclosure.

Greg

Greg Elmassian said:

Yep, in a closed cabinet, I do something different, I “rob” the guts of one of those 12v “coolers” with the solid state cooler, and run them on maybe half power… I do that for my cigar humidors which are really small fridges… keeps them at 71 degrees and sealed.

Of course this is extreme, like if you lived in a hot humid area and needed to completely seal the enclosure.

Greg

No need to rob the guts. Peltier junctions are readily available fairly inexpensive.

http://www.allelectronics.com/item/pjt-13/thermoelectric-peltier-device/1.html

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G20786

Yeah, but you can buy a “cooler” on sale, and the cooling system comes out as one "chunk, with the heat sinks and fans already mounted, simple.

I found one for $38 on Walmart. Most people could not buy the parts and assemble for less.

Yes, I can buy a peltier, and attach heat sinks to both sides, and then fans, and then build the requisite voltage regulator.

Buying the whole system already assembled and cheaper appeals to me, and I felt it was a good suggestion.

Greg

No problem with the suggestion.

But now, those that are interested may have learned what a Peltier junction is, and may want to research this further and put these to use. Just maybe, somebody learns something.

Yes, it is an interesting phenomenon, especially when you realize how long ago it was discovered.

Greg