I purchased an MRC PA several years ago and have enjoyed it thus far. I know that there are better DCC systems out there, but I simply use my PA to power a 3 ft piece of "test" track to test decoder installations, LED installations, ect.
The other day i fired up my trusty MRC PA and couldn't get more than 7 volts of power to the track. I used a Multi-meter to verify. I'm getting 15 Volts from the power pack to the base unit, but only getting 7.4 volts out to the track and No power (0.00) on the Programming leads. The hand heald controler still works fine but I can't seem to get nearly enough power out to the tracks.
Can any of you guys think of something obvious that I may be overlooking here or has my MRC PA suddenly become an expensive paper weight?
Mike
MRC base units are famous for "suddenly" failing.
I had TWO brand new base units go bad in ONE day!A voltage drop as you have described definetly points to a failed component or components inside the base unit.Sending it to MRC is the only choice I see that you have.
TheK4Kid
Sounds like one half of the power output driver has failed, so you're only getting half the DCC signal on the track. Not much you can do but send it in for repairs.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Mike,
i checked with our Engineers and they say to check the power on/off switch. there could be dirt inside of it raising the impedance and cutting track voltage output.
you can check it by opening the case halves and jumping the red and black wires coming from the back of the board going to the on/off switch, [jumping these would defeat the on/off switch leaving the unit constantly powered up]. you will see by the on/off switch both wires go into holes, insert a jumper wire into the holes if you can, or turn the board over, find those 2 traces and jump them there.
if need be you can always contact me off list, via e-mail at rrtech@modelrectifier.com if you need further assistance
if you find the track voltage comes back up by doing this you can either leave it jumped, or replace the switch yourself with another DPDT switch that fits. If you want you can send your base unit in to my attention to have it repaired under warranty, [do not send any money in with it], just a note describing the problem.
Frank-Model Rectifier
Frank,
Your idea worked!!! I cleaned out the on / off switch with some contact cleaner and my PA now works again.
I wanted to take a moment and thank you for coming on here and suggesting ways to fix my problem. I was faced with having to purchase a new DCC system and to be honest, I was looking at possibly Digitrax. In these times where $$$ is kind of tight though, the idea of spending a few hundred dollars to replace something that I already have (a DCC system) wasn't high on my wish list.
Thanks for the Fantastic customer support.
I gotta say that MRC has good customer service too!!. I had what turned out to be a stupid question abot acquiring a locomotive and the answer was simple. One has to acquire the locomotive after dialing to it simply by giving it a command such as the bell or horn.I hope thats right. Its been several weeks and it was my freinds layout.