Whistle Controller

[Anonymous]

I have a couple of old Lionel 166 Whistle Controllers. They no longer function as intended. Is it possible to remove the internals, apart from the push button switch, and replace with a bridge rectifier and a capacitor or two? This would keep the unit looking original and retain original appearance. Is this practical or are there other problems?

[lionelsoni]

I don't have a schematic here. But it probably uses a copper-oxide rectifier, which is probably the problem and probably can simply be replaced by a modern silicon rectifier. Radio Shack sells a 6-ampere rectifier (their part number 276-1661) which should be suitable:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F011%5F002%5F006%5F000&product%5Fid=276%2D1661