How would you go about measuring amperage draw on a DCC layout? Will an inductive ammeter on the bus wires work?
Tony's Trains RRampmeter measures amperage as well as voltage. I use it all the time to periodically check the layout. Stay cool and run steam....
That would work. You could also get pretty close by measuring the AC or DC current out of the DCC power supply under operational conditions and subtracting the current drawn with no locos or decoders on the layout.
I too use Tony's Trains RRampmeter however I have it permanently panel mounted so I can constantly monitor Voltage and Amperage. I have block switches installed so I can isolate the power to only one section of track when needed. This helps when adding a new locomotive to the layout. I first run the new loco on this isolated track and monitor the Amps. I can also run older loco's from time to time on this track and see if their Amp draw has changed.
Caellis: I use the RRampmeter on the JJJ&E. I didn't find the need to mount it in the fascia. It's very helpful in checking the voltage and amps used on a regular basis. More folks should check these reading to prevent and diagnose potential problems. Stay cool and run steam....
Voltage and current draw are very useful for diagnostics. It's a shame that automobile manufacturers got rid of their analog dials and went with "idiot lights". You can't see and change until it's too late...
If the airlines took this approach, there would be a light in the cockpit that said: "CHECK AIRPLANE!" (sigh)
The trouble is (and, without wishing to cause offence, this applies to car drivers and model rrs) there are relatively few that will check the readings regularly, and less that can interpret them sensibly. Sometimes a light that says "Get help now/soon/next week" is more effective. Of course the ideal is to have both (which airplanes probably have). From memory (long time since I had a job that used one) these only work (or do so with reasonable accuracy) on fairly high currents. If you are expecting only a few amps then what you get might not be very useful. Depends what you are looking for - if you just want to see if you should get a bigger power pack it would be OK, but for diagnosing loco problems ... not sure.
I agree with Mike. With such small current draw and low voltage, a clamp meter probably wouldn't be useful.
