power pack for DC operation of dual-mode equipment?

[metroduff]

Any recommendations?

[tstage]

etro,

I would go with anything MRC.  They're still the gold standard as far as DC power supplies are concerned.  With that said, the Tech 6 would get you all the "bells & whistle" you need while remaining with DC.

It comes in a handheld version (pictured above) and a stationary version.

Tom

[fwright]

tstage

etro,

I would go with anything MRC.  They're still the gold standard as far as DC power supplies are concerned.  With that said, the Tech 6 would get you all the "bells & whistle" you need while remaining with DC.

It comes in a handheld version (pictured above) and a stationary version.

The Tech 6 is really a DCC or a DC controller in a single unit, depending on mode.  But it may be what the OP is looking for.

The OP doesn't really say what he is looking to do, or what his criteria is for evaluating the possibilities.  Lowest cost?  Easies to use?  Must give control of sound, etc.  A couple of the questions the quality movement taught me to ask are, "What specifically are you looking for, or expecting?" and "What are you going to do with what I give you?"

Lowest cost route is to operate both decoder and non-decoder locomotives on a regular DC power pack.  Has some downsides.

Tech 6 is another avenue.

DCC controller and DC controller selected by toggle ("mode") switch.  Offers the most flexibility at a possibly higher cost than Tech 6.

Another pertinent question is, "What controllers (if any) does the OP already have?"

Fred W

[rrinker]

 There are plenty of nice condition Tech II 2500's on eBay, probably one of the nicer packs MRC ever made. Many of them are listed as 2400's because that's what the box flap says. If it has 3 indicator lights and FOUR slide switches, it's a 2500. The 2400 only has 3 slide switches.

               --Randy

[metroduff]

Hi -

Thanks for the feedback - I should have said more about my situation - I have been an armchair modeler for most of my life, but am making slow progress on a railroad which I want to wire and operate in DC for both financial and philosophical reasons.  Right now, my power pack inventory is an old MRC coppertop, and an MRC Railpower 1300.

However, dual-mode DCC/DC steam locomotives with sound are also something I want to have. 

I recently posted about my new DC/DCC Bachmann Alco 2-6-0, which operates OK - now that I have made sure the cables are connected - but will not start smoothly at slow speeds - at low power on the Railpower, the lights flash and it makes a snapping sound more appropriate to a P-40 or P-32, then it moves into the prototypical panting sound at about 50% , jerks forward a millimeter or two at a time, then leaps ahead as I continue to notch out.

I strongly suspect I need a more modern power pack - but nobody posted with a usable opinion.

I would like to run this unit at prototypical speeds in DC, and at best be able to control some sounds etc., which I had thought would be possible ...

So, knowing that, do the above recommendations still hold?

Thanks again!

[rrinker]

 The Tech II should be a perfectly workable solution. However, to get the most out of sound locos, you really need DCC. Can't be avoided. No DC supply regardless of how many extra dongles you attach can give the full functionality of the sound locos. To make the sound actually work (so there can be idle sounds, before the loco moves) the sound unit needs some power. So you turn the knob halfway up so there is 5-6 volts ont he rails so the sounds can start. Now you've used half or more of the throttle just to get the sounds to start, leaving very little control range. It's the way it is, can;t be fixed. Well it could - to have the loco start to move liek any other DC loco and the sounds just kick in once you get goign fast enough - hardly realistic.

The old 'golden' MRC pack you have is likely a rheostat throttle, and if it's an HO one it's absolutely useless on modern HO locos with low current motors. That's why the gazelle-like leap and lack of control. The Tech II I mentioned is a transistor pack, there isn;t an N scale or HO scale version because it works equally well with all motors.

I must admit curioisty - what sort of 'philosophical' reson do you have for not wanting DCC? Cost is valid, but it doesn't cost nearly as much as you might think, unless you MUST have sound in everything. Decoders for non-sound are as little as $12 each.

                          --Randy

 

[metroduff]

Philosophical reason - aside from the expense I am definitely in for if the main thing I want is sound - railroads have been working forever at trying to make sure trains never get too close to each other.  DC block wiring is a fairly good approximation of one prototype form of train control in that in most normal situations, it keeps trains from running into each other. As an employee of a full-size railroad, I like that.

DCC removes this protection.  If I want to run TT&TO operation, I can always do this, with the blocks providing "running authority".  And it seems to me from what I read that with all the boosters and other doodads I'll wind up with just as much complexity

I also have a fairly small layout planned (double track dogbone L-shaped around the walls) with plans for only one or two trains running simultaneously, and don't feel that going the whole hog with DCC is likely to be worth it versus setting up a half-dozen blocks.

Now, I am only just beginning to get into planning the wiring for the layout I am building, and I may find myself reconsidering - but that's where my thinking is at this stage. (With three dual-mode steamers on the roster, I could always change my mind, and hope I don't ruin the paint on the others making the conversion ... !)

Heresy?  I hope not!

Thanks for your thoughts!

[cuyama]

metroduff

 DC block wiring is a fairly good approximation of one prototype form of train control in that in most normal situations, it keeps trains from running into each other. 

I guess, if the prototype you are modeling has Automatic Train Stop.

DC is fine. DCC is fine. There are a number of factors that go into one's own personal choice.

But it's not typical for most  prototypes I know of that the dispatcher can control whether the locomotive is running or not (depending on era).

Of course, with DC block control, you also get the completely unrealistic situation of running into the next block and an engineer miles away is suddenly controlling your train.

So there are always trade-offs.

[rrinker]

 Yup, for every non-prototypical thing DCC does, there's one that DC does, and vice versa.

Unless you're talkign a simpel 2 block system, wiring is MUCH less complex with DCC. It's easy to overkill the DCC design, too - if you'll never have more than 10 trains doubleheaded runnign at one time you do NOT need 3 or 4 boosters to power it all., for example. Not that it's difficult to install something like that, just gap both rails between sections powered by different boosters and continue on with the new part getting power from the track terminals of the second booster. Just 2 wire to distribute the power along the rails. And a small layout with just one or two trains running? Even the basic 'starter' sets can handle that with no extra boosters. If you only plan to run 1 or 2 trains at a time, adding an extra 5 amp booster to a system that already puts out 2.5-3 amps is overkill and an unecessary expense.

                     --Randy

 

[twcenterprises]

metroduff

I recently posted about my new DC/DCC Bachmann Alco 2-6-0, which operates OK - now that I have made sure the cables are connected - but will not start smoothly at slow speeds - at low power on the Railpower, the lights flash and it makes a snapping sound more appropriate to a P-40 or P-32, then it moves into the prototypical panting sound at about 50% , jerks forward a millimeter or two at a time, then leaps ahead as I continue to notch out.

Are you running them on a DC powerpack with a "nudge" function enabled?  This gives a pulsed DC output, instead of a steady one.  It's used for (supposedly) improving low speed performance of older DC locos.  Try turning it off if this is the case.

Brad