Power Pack question

[steamhead]

Fred...I'm building something very much like you describe. I had thought of using a 4-wire phone jack like you are using, but thought the wire gauge might be a little on the slender side...Have you had any issues with that..? Particularly on the 12v input side. How long of a cord are you using?

I like the idea of placing the Darlington on the aluminum base...!!! :thumb:

 

[brakie]

I have 3 of them. I can't use them for switching with my N scale locos, since they just leap away as soon as I crack the throttle. Same with my Katos and Atlas in HO. It's OK with my Atlas S2/S4, since the things weigh so much, it takes a bit to get them going, and it's alright with my On30 ones. All things considered, though, I much prefer my Troller Transcab or the MRC packs.

They are quite handy as stationary power supplies, though. For 12VDC with not much draw, or light-duty AC, they work fine. They're also very handy as paperweights.

I used one for 6 months with my N Scale "fooling around track"-6 pieces of flex track and two manual switches..Worked ok for me.I will admit it was touchy between stop and reverse.

I also perfer MRC packs but,when you just happen to have a N Scale power pack laying around.
Oddly that survived the flood because it was in a plastic storage tote..My CM20 and both 1400s didn't because I had 'em stored in a cardboard storage box.

 

[Jim Krause]

I'll have to go along with MRC for DC operation. I have an approximately 20 year old MRC, Tech II that is still doing the job for basicly the same situation that you have. Our club layout uses four MRC Tech 4's as power when the system is operating on DC and they have been very dependable for quite a few years. I have no experience with MRC's DCC equipment since our club layout uses a Lenz system.

 

[stuart_canada]

go fior any of the tech 4 packs,
i am also shopping for a new pack, my auto pluse is dying and a tech 4 will replace it, jsut waiting to check out the next train show to get one

 

[pgandw]

Fred...I'm building something very much like you describe. I had thought of using a 4-wire phone jack like you are using, but thought the wire gauge might be a little on the slender side...Have you had any issues with that..? Particularly on the 12v input side. How long of a cord are you using?

I like the idea of placing the Darlington on the aluminum base...!!! :thumb:

I didn't use a phone jack because I thought those were too frail in my ham-fisted plugging and unplugging. I used a 10ft coiled phone handset cord with the ends cut off. One end went inside the controller, and the other mated to an about 3/4" by 3/4" square 4 pole plug I think I got at Radio Shack. The plug prongs are about the size of 120 volt plug prongs. The prongs are oriented so that they only fit one way - a key feature for folks like me!

Something I might consider if I were building one again is to use a round 4+ pole trailer wiring plug set - with the handset cord. The flat trailer plugs are awkward to plug and unplug, but the round ones work nicely and are a reasonable size for handling. I love the coiled cord for avoiding trip hazards.

My current demands were very modest, and the broken AHM train set power pack I use for a power supply probably couldn't put out a full amp anyway. Wire size of the handset cord (22, 24, or 26 gauge, I can't remember) is probably marginally adequate, but didn't cause any problems with my MDC Climax (biggest current draw of my operational locomotives).

If I get to unpack some of my train stuff this weekend, I'll post a picture. I've spent the past few weekends preparing for winter and rebuilding all 3 of the family computers. But I need to unpack the trains, figure out what is excess (since we're going to be stuck in this house for a loong time - at least until I don't have to pay to sell it! :cry, and put it on eBay. At least I have an extra (very) small bedroom in the basement for my office, modeling shop, and layout.

hope this helps