35 YEARS AGO I WAS GIVEN A LOT OF HO TRAINS, TRACK AND OTHER RELATED PARTS AND PIECES, WHICH HAVE BEEN PACKED AWAY IN MY ATTIC UNTIL LAST MARCH WHEN MY GRANDSON ASKED IF WE COULD SET THEM UP. I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY TRAINS BEFORE AND HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WITH THEM. I HAVE BEEN AN ELECTRICIAN FOR 45 YEARS AND MY SPECIALITY IS INDUSTRIAL CONTROLS. I HAVE BEEN COMPUTERIZING MANUFACTURING PROCESSES SINCE THE MID 80'S WHEN PLC'S FIRST HIT THE MARKET. THE POWER PACKS THAT WERE WITH THESE TRAINS (11) WERE OF POOR QUALITY SO I PRICED NEW UNITS. I PURCHASE A TECH 4 MRC 260 WHICH DOES A VERY GOOD JOB, BUT I NEED 6 CONTROL UNITS FOR OUR LAYOUT. A FEW WEEKS AGO A FRIEND WHO IS INTO LIONEL TRAINS GAVE ME AN LIONEL TYPE V 150 WATT FOUR TRACK CONTROLLER. I ADDED A RADIO SHACK FULL WAVE BRIDGE RECTIFIER TO EACH OUTPUT AND FIXED THE LIONEL CONTROLLER SO IT COULD NOT EXCEED 20 VOLTS. I HAVE BEEN USING THIS CONTROLLER FOR TWO WEEKS NOW AND IT IS WORKING AS WELL AS THE TECH 4 UNIT. I AM READY TO START REPLACING MY LOCOS WITH NEW UNITS AND I AM ASKING IF THERE IS SOMETHING I AM MISSING WITH THIS LIONEL UNIT THAT I SHOULD BE AWARE OF BEFORE I START PUTTING THESE EXPENSIVE NEW ENGINES ON THE LAYOUT.
First off you should limit that Lionel to about 12v before you burn up some motors. If you're going to be running multiple trains simultaneously and since you're just beginning your investments, you should look into digital control, (DCC), amoumgst many other attributes, the wiring is simpler, you can check it out here: http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips/dccprimer/index.htm
Oh, by the way, please unlock your caps lock, All caps is considered shouting and is also more difficult to read.
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
THANX FOR THE INPUT. I HAVE DECIDED TO STAY WITH DC CONTROL UNTIL I SEE IF MY GRAND SON IS GOING TO STAY INTERESTED. I WILL KEEP THE DCC OPTION OPEN ON ALL PURCHASES. I NOW HAVE A 10 VOLT SPEED LIMIT ON ALL LINES AND WILL REDUCE THE MAX. VOLTAGE ON THE CONTROLLER TO 12 VOLTS.
THANX AGAIN! UNCLE FESTER
thanx for the cap lock tip. sorry
ccg35 YEARS AGO I WAS GIVEN A LOT OF HO TRAINS, TRACK AND OTHER RELATED PARTS AND PIECES, WHICH HAVE BEEN PACKED AWAY IN MY ATTIC UNTIL LAST MARCH WHEN MY GRANDSON ASKED IF WE COULD SET THEM UP..... THE POWER PACKS THAT WERE WITH THESE TRAINS (11) WERE OF POOR QUALITY SO I PRICED NEW UNITS. I PURCHASE A TECH 4 MRC 260 WHICH DOES A VERY GOOD JOB, BUT I NEED 6 CONTROL UNITS FOR OUR LAYOUT. A FEW WEEKS AGO A FRIEND WHO IS INTO LIONEL TRAINS GAVE ME AN LIONEL TYPE V 150 WATT FOUR TRACK CONTROLLER. I ADDED A RADIO SHACK FULL WAVE BRIDGE RECTIFIER TO EACH OUTPUT AND FIXED THE LIONEL CONTROLLER SO IT COULD NOT EXCEED 20 VOLTS. I HAVE BEEN USING THIS CONTROLLER FOR TWO WEEKS NOW AND IT IS WORKING AS WELL AS THE TECH 4 UNIT. I AM READY TO START REPLACING MY LOCOS WITH NEW UNITS AND I AM ASKING IF THERE IS SOMETHING I AM MISSING WITH THIS LIONEL UNIT THAT I SHOULD BE AWARE OF BEFORE I START PUTTING THESE EXPENSIVE NEW ENGINES ON THE LAYOUT.
35 YEARS AGO I WAS GIVEN A LOT OF HO TRAINS, TRACK AND OTHER RELATED PARTS AND PIECES, WHICH HAVE BEEN PACKED AWAY IN MY ATTIC UNTIL LAST MARCH WHEN MY GRANDSON ASKED IF WE COULD SET THEM UP..... THE POWER PACKS THAT WERE WITH THESE TRAINS (11) WERE OF POOR QUALITY SO I PRICED NEW UNITS. I PURCHASE A TECH 4 MRC 260 WHICH DOES A VERY GOOD JOB, BUT I NEED 6 CONTROL UNITS FOR OUR LAYOUT. A FEW WEEKS AGO A FRIEND WHO IS INTO LIONEL TRAINS GAVE ME AN LIONEL TYPE V 150 WATT FOUR TRACK CONTROLLER. I ADDED A RADIO SHACK FULL WAVE BRIDGE RECTIFIER TO EACH OUTPUT AND FIXED THE LIONEL CONTROLLER SO IT COULD NOT EXCEED 20 VOLTS. I HAVE BEEN USING THIS CONTROLLER FOR TWO WEEKS NOW AND IT IS WORKING AS WELL AS THE TECH 4 UNIT. I AM READY TO START REPLACING MY LOCOS WITH NEW UNITS AND I AM ASKING IF THERE IS SOMETHING I AM MISSING WITH THIS LIONEL UNIT THAT I SHOULD BE AWARE OF BEFORE I START PUTTING THESE EXPENSIVE NEW ENGINES ON THE LAYOUT.
Actually, the setup you have described works for what you are trying to do. It's not optimum for DC control, but it will work.
Potential problem areas:
As has been pointed out, HO motors are generally designed for a maximum of 12 volts DC. IIRC, the variable ranges on the Type V are 0-16V and 6-22V, depending on which taps you use on the back of the transformer. The labels on the voltage ranges on the dials tell you which taps to use for which range. You want to use the lower range, and even then encourage your grandson not to operate at full throttle.
The second point is that the 4 circuits on the Type V are each capable of putting out at least 7 amps in the event of a short circuit. I strongly recommend fitting a circuit breaker or fuse of about 1 amp - 2 amp if you have lighted passenger trains - on each output.
I doubt you or your grandson is worried about very slow speed running at present. Note that the variable transformer route doesn't provide a pulsed waveform for optimum slow speed running. If you fitted a switch to change to half wave rectification, you could improve slow speed running. The Tech 4 260 should provide very nice slow speed running right out of the box. If you are interested, there are several circuits for DC throttles on the web (a search on DC throttles) that would improve slow speed running, using your Lionel transformer as the AC source.
Although intuitive, a separate speed control for each section of track is the least effective way to use DC control. Block control, where you electrically assign a throttle to a particular train no matter where it goes on the layout, is more effective on shared track. The section control you are using creates voltage changes at the section boundaries because you can't set two throttles exactly the same. Also, there is a fault current created when the metal wheels bridge the section boundaries, proportional to the voltage difference. Lionel transformers from 1969 and earlier do not protect themselves against this fault. If all your trains run on completely separate tracks with no cross-overs, never mind.
Last point is that there is a good chance the gear lubricant on your trains has dried out and hardened, making them run hotter and harder than they need to. You might want to consider "tuning up" a locomotive at a time by cleaning out the old lube (I use alcohol) and very sparingly putting in some new (Labelle or plain old automatic transmission fluid applied with a toothpick work).
In any case, I hope you and your grandson continue to enjoy the trains - both old and new.
Fred W