I need a dual power pack (non DCC) for my small layout. Why am I having such a hard time finding one? There is an MRC Tech 7 dual, but everyone is out of stock. There are a few listed on Ebay, but they're either very old, untested, are ridiculously priced, and/or have outrageous shipping costs. Is there another one I should be looking for?
My guess is that they are sold out at the distributors and may not be very popular anymore. With more folks going DCC (in all scales), DC packs probably just aren't selling very well. I have five MRC DC packs in storage, but that's just because I now use only the Kato packs on my Unitrack layout. Let me know if you're interested in a cheap price on a couple of MRC single packs. There may even be folks here on the forum that will send you an older DC pack just for the price of shipping.
Not sure if you have access to train shows in your area, but I see dual packs for sale at these. Troller once made a model too. I used a Troller single pack on my DC railroad for 30 years and it was a good unit.
How are you searching for it? I've found at least six dealers that appear to have the 780 in stock among the first few pages of google search results. I can't post links to them here because none of the dealers advertise on this forum. Try searching for "mrc tech 7 780 dual" and see if you can find them. Calling to confirm inventory before ordering is always advised. Post again if you still can't find one.
I think part of the problem is that there weren't as many double packs made as single packs. So the "denominator" of the supply isn't as high. In my travels around train shows (and don't get me started about their pricing strategy!) I also rarely see dual packs. I'll also mention that the much older dual packs are not compatible with "common rail" wiring... there's something in the innards that causes an issue. So be sure to stick with something more recent, and by that I probably mean Tech II and later... which isn't really that recent now, is it?
$23 Scroll near the bottom of the page Edited by Administration. Please see: http://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/policy-trainboard-posts-about-retailers.40760/
There's your answer OP!! I also just confirmed that my mint condition MRC 2500's aren't worth anything (which I already knew).
I did read the policy before I posted the link. The policy states "Some exceptions to the policy will be made, at our discretion, in regard to specialty products, special runs, items that are only available in one place, items of great interest, etc." Even MRC doesn't have this product in stock nor did any of the other etailers I looked at. So it appeared to me to fall into the "only available at one place" clause. But, I get the point and won't post links in public again.
