I have several powerpacks that I purchased 20 or more years ago - they were marketed by the Troller Corporation and featured some form of DC pulse that was very good at starting engines even if the wheels or track were somewhat dirty. Could these powerpacks be harmfull to N gauge locos?
I still have one of those Troller power packs. Mine is a Autopulse Momentum 2.5 and it dates back to probably the late 70's. I have always used it with HO scale trains but it can be used with N scale as well. They were marketed towards the HO and N scale modelers. I don't believe Troller is in business any longer, if they are I haven't been able to locate them.
beezerI have several powerpacks that I purchased 20 or more years ago - they were marketed by the Troller Corporation and featured some form of DC pulse that was very good at starting engines even if the wheels or track were somewhat dirty. Could these powerpacks be harmfull to N gauge locos?
It's possible, but not likely. Any harm would be caused by overheating. If the throttle has an adjustable pulse rate or frequency, turn it as high as it will go to decrease the odds of getting the motor warm. Chances are though, that the pulse frequency is a non-adjustable 60 or 120 Hz. Also, if adjustable, reduce the maximum voltage output.
Motors most susceptible to overheating would be can motors made in the '70s and '80s, and coreless motors (not stock on any mainstream locomotives). And actually the middle speed range is the area most likely to have problems. Very slow speeds has plenty of cooling time between pulses, and high speed is nearly a continuous pulse. Newer N locomotives tend to have more rugged motors.
I would test a few of your locomotives with the shell off, and check the motor after a minute or two, and then again after 10 minutes of running at middle speed. If it's hot to the touch with more than one engine, don't use that power pack any more. Warm is fine.
Chances are the Troller power pack will be fine.
Fred W
The Troller autopulse 5000 momentum power pack was reviewed in the April 1978 Model Railroader. The review says it was designed for DC models in O, S, HO and N. It delivered 2.5 amperes continuously. . The only problems they reported was that you needed to use the manufacturer supplied lugs to make the electrical connections. The output ports were totally proprietary in design [edit: I stand corrected; see below].
There were enough N scale trains in '78 that I would think the Troller ads and the review would have called out if there was something about the pack that would have been inappropriate for N (such as delivering more than 12 volts DC which some packs did and do).
Dave Nelson
Troller had a great design, with absolutely lousy quality control, and a bit of cheap on the output transistors. When they work, they are great, When they don't, you need to replace the output transistor.
The lugs aren't proprietary, they are a common ΒΌ" connection; these will fit:
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/1225/1/4-QUICK-CONNECT-FEMALE-BLUE/-/1.html
Dave SR:
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
I have one of these powerpacks also and one of the cabs on it does'nt work any more someday I hope to get it fixed, but getting a layout going first may be a good idea. Hmm perhaps a few track plans are in order. Time to hit the ReClinacab and see what it has to offer.
I used to have a Troller power pack in the early 1980s. The main selling point was that the Trollers had very good slow-speed capability. (At train shows, Troller would set up a test track on which was placed an N scale locomotive. The throttle was just cracked, and show visitors could watch as the locomotive crawled at barely perceptible speed.) I've never heard of Trollers being "very good at starting engines even if the wheels or track were somewhat dirty."
One day, I bought three late 1960s-early 1970s Atlas/Rivarossi N scale 4-6-2s. All three were damaged on their maiden trips using that Troller power pack. When I contacted the hobby shop I bought them from, the owner pointed me to an article in a 1979-1980s edition of MR that showed that the Trollers pulse power tended to generate a lot of heat in motors, which was not too bad for motors used in the HO and larger engines of the day, but was too much for the N scale motors. After that I switched to MRC Tech II packs.
(But let's face it, the motors and mechanisms used in N scale equipment produced during that period were often not the best quality, either. Atlas/Rivarossi locomotives did not have the best reputation.)
Troller was out of business by the middle 1980s.
My advice would be to avoid using the Trollers, at least for N scale equipment. The AC outputs could be used for accessories. And I would not rely on electronics to overcome the problems of dirty track/wheels.
Dan