Per the MRC instruction sheet, I bought a 25' telephone extenson cable (Four wire) to extend the MRC Controlmaster 20 Throttle walkaround range to 40 feet. When attached to the transformer along with the supplied walkaround coil cord, my engine starts running with the throttle at zero as soon as I turn the transformer power ON. What am I doing wrong?
I don't know anything about the throttle, but there are two types of telephone cables ... There is a 'straight through' and a 'reversed', you must have gotten the wrong one ... if you have a modular cable maker and a spare end , you can make it, otherwise it's -probably- a new cable ..
The instruction say that on the walkaround, the throttle must be at 0 and the momentum and direction switches on the handheld must be to the left, THEN you turn on the main power on the ControlMaster 20. Otherwise the walkaround may malfunction. Seems a strange way to design a circuit, but hey.... Give that a try, turn it all off, make sure the throttle is at 0, and the direction and momentum are to the left, then flip the main power back on.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
There are two versions of hand-held controllers with the CM20. Be sure and use the compatible controller. If you've switched or replaced the hand-held, this could be the issue.
On the 40' rule, that is the maximum distance they will function. Try using a shorter cord if at all possible to see if that fixed things.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I put a similar cord on my ControlMaster 20, but never really cared for the performance of the hand-held throttle....
The momentum feature never worked properly - if engaged, the loco simply sat motionless for some time, then took off at whatever the throttle setting happened to be. That wasn't really a concern, though, as the ones I'd seen used by others didn't impress me either. I wasn't, at the time, a fan of momentum, as most trains were heavy enough that it didn't need to be simulated.
I modified the wiring from the CM-20 to allow a variety of handheld units to be used, depending on the locos I wanted to run and the performance needed from them.The four switches to the left, in the photo below, DPDT/centre OFF...
...could be set according to the fascia labels, to utilise a variety of hand-held throttles, including these two...
...which were similar, with the second one have an emergency stop button. Of the two, I preferred the older, larger one.They offered very good low speed control, and a very smooth rate of acceleration and deceleration. Their main drawback was the inability to handle multiple locomotives, especially on heavy trains or steep grades.
A friend gave me two of these...
...and my intention was to fit them with neck-straps, so that they could be more easily operated while following the train.To run a train, you simply set the throttle lever to a position which would be appropropriate for the desired route and train, then released the brake by turning it to the "OFF" position. The train would then accelerate at a very smooth rate until it reached the pre-set speed. If you wished to slow it, all that was needed was an appropriate application of the brake, and likewise for a complete stop - there was no need to touch the throttle handle at all, unless more speed than the original setting was wanted.Operation was very smooth and enjoyable, but, as with the previous two throttles, there was insufficient capacity to run the multiple locomotives needed to pull heavy trains or manage steep grades.
I don't recall how I came across this throttle, built by Ken Stapelton...
...who's located about a 15 minute drive from here, but it's the one which finally gave me the performance I needed. It easily handles four or five locomotives on heavy trains and steep grades.
I've recommended them to several modellers, both here and on other forums.
wvg_cathere are two types of telephone cables ... There is a 'straight through' and a 'reversed', you must have gotten the wrong one ... if you have a modular cable maker and a spare end , you can make it, otherwise it's -probably- a new cable ..
While it's been many years since I did the hook-ups for mine, this may be the problem, but if you have the appropriate tool and some extra ends - both are available separately - simply cut off the original one(s) and install the new ends, with their orientation the opposite of the originals. No need to scrap the longer cord.
Because of the odd shape of my layout room, I installed a total of six jacks on the layout's fascia, and while the longer cord has made a couple of them redundant, I simply unplug, then walk to the next one, while the train continues to run.
Wayne