How many feet of HO track can I run with a MRC Tech 2 railpower 1400 power unit
The question is not how many feet of track, but rather how many locomotives can you run at once. The limiting factor is the amount of power (amperes) that the transformer puts out.
You can build a layout as large as you please and it will work just fine, my layout has 14 scale miles of track and just a single power supply (albeit 15 amps since I run 12 locomotives at one time).
The thing you need to know is how to distribute the power to your layout. Just using a single power point will not cut it for most layouts. The idea is to distribute power to your layout in many places. Some will tell you to put feeders every three feed. LION puts his feeders about every 12' but him also solders all rail joiners before decorating the track.
What a larger layout needs is a power bus (14 ga is normal for large layouts) and power drops to this bus every so often. The placement of stations on my layout dictates where I put the feeders. I use 18 ga feeders, but actually 20 or 22 ga will do, but I have lots of surplus 18 ga wire, so what the heck.
To tell you the truth little wires will run the train, but the bigger wires will give you your slower speeds and more precise control since there is less line loss. Tracks by themselves have lots of line loss, thus the need for the bus and feeders.
Beyond that it depends on if you will use DC or DCC. The LION used DC with an analog automation system of his own design. (No you really do not want to know about it) but I have only one block. When you have more than one block or throttle you wiring becomes more complicated, which is clearly beyond the information that you requested.
BOTTOM LINE: Make the layout as big as you like, and use the one power pack, but add a power bus and several power drops.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
thank for your help. time to run heavier wire
thanks for your help
Perhaps a better way to phrase the question would be to describe how big a layout you plan, and then ask how much of a power supply you need to run it.
Don't get the impression that the geometry and size of your layout makes no difference. Consider two layouts, one an oval 25 feet long, and the other a straight line 50 feet long. These would have roughly hte same amount of track, but in one case the furthest track would be 12 1/2 feet from the center, and in the other the end of the layout would be 25 feet away. So, the bus wires, no matter how thick, will be longer, and that will make a difference.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I am not familiar with the Tech 2, but my around the room layout has over 50 feet of bus connected to almost 300 feet of track. It is connected to one command station and works just fine. It has 17 engines, 4 of them with sound, and 9 lighted cars.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Phoebe VetI am not familiar with the Tech 2,
I believe that the Tech 2 model the Original Poster referred to is a DC Power Pack with about a 1 amp capacity. Nothing to do with DCC, boosters, etc.
Without knowing more about the Original Poster's layout and the types of equipment he has and the way he wants to run, there's no way of knowing whether this power pack will be sufficient or how it should be wired.
To g2w, not sure how experienced you are with the hobby, but with a single power pack connected directly to the layout, you will be able to control only one train at a time. To run multiple trains independently (if that's your desire), you'll need additional wiring, electrical switches, and another power pack for each train you wish to control separately with DC.
Best of luck.
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