Hi, I'm new here After lurking a while in these forums, I decided to take the plunge and make a post . I had a Marklin H0 train-set when I was a kid, and have just bought a Z-scale Marklin starter-set. The reason I post is that I don't quite like the default power-supply, and would sooner or later like to build a layout(planning-stages so far). I feel the train is not operateing as smoothly as it should, and It does not seem to like slow speeds that much. From reading the forums I have understood that the Marklin powersupply is most likely the culprit.. I have some alternatives that I am considering : Heiss-wolf : http://www.heisswolf.net/index.html , Jorger Deluxe 9V Controller : http://www.ztrack.com/jorger/jorger.html passman.com FR-1 : http://www.passmann.com/html/fr-1.html And most probably a "Gaugemaster -track-cleaner" to go with these controllers. Hopefully you guys could give me some advice or opinions on which to choose. I am thankful for any answers.
Rune, Don't forget Zthek snail speed controller http://www.zthek.com/id117.htm It is difficult to say which controller is better because all of them are good, you will have to decide the features you like and pick one that meets your liking. Kim
Næmen hei Rune. Enda en Norsk en her på forumet. Velkommen Hello, and welcome Rune. Is it Rune from Skien perhaps? Anyhow, I have used the System Jürger Controller on some small layouts. And it seems to work fine so far at least. It's a good way to get the train to start slowly and make them go much more smoothly around in lower speeds. It does not cure the stalling completely but it sure is better then the old Marklin speed controllers that I have. The Gaugemaster ( I use the Relco, same kind.) is a fine tool. But one problem I have encountered with it is that when used constantly the dirt burn it self on the locomotive wheels. And that means that the train actually works poorer over a small period off time then without the Relco. So I have now installed a switch that I just flick on when ever the train stales on a bad spot or on a turnout. Clean wheels are in my experience far more critical then clean rails.
A couple of issues here. 1) the type of motor, 2) the power supply and 3) reliable contact/pickup. The motors Marklin use are not a good design for low speed. That is why AZL, MTL and others use a different type of motor as they will run over a much wider speed. So, to make the Marklin motor run better at low speed, you neen an "intelligent" controller. Some have feedback and sense the motor, supplying more voltage. Some use higher frequency and/or higher voltage pulses to help "push" the motor when it has such a low voltage. Last is pick up. If you can get a Marklin motor to run slow and then momentarily remove the power (dirty track, wheel or truck pickups), the motor will not restart. You will notice that once it is running, you can turn the control down lower than when you restart. The GaugeMaster/Relco device is a high frequency/voltage generator controlled by the motor's load. With a good motor load, the GM/Relco cuts out of the circuit. When the is no load, it goes full on (about 400V (peak to peak !!!) This of course causes arcing so even if dirty track or poor pickup contact or even a small gap, the voltage is high enough to arc over and help the motor turn. This energy is VERY low so you are not likely to burn up anything like the light bulbs. There simply is not enough power. All I can say is clean your track, mainly. Clean your wheels with the Minitrix brush or alcohol pads. On the locos, you'll have to disassemble the trucks to look very carefully at the wheel pick ups (move the wheels around) and also at the top 2 contact that touch the underside of the chassis. I found one last month that was not reaching high enough, had to bend them up a little bit. With close inspection and fitting (just think about the fitting), you can tell where your problem is. For track, it can be anything. Mostly the environment (air quality, smoking, etc.), paint, glue, etc. Torsja: I noticed the pitting in Rob Ray's track and my newly laid modules after I got one too. Take a close look at your rail heads. Since we switched to DCC, we can't use it anyway.
Hei Torsja, ja enda en norsk på forumet hehe No, I am not from Skien, but from the west-coast of Norway(Karmøy) but I now live in Stavanger. Thanks for the welcome! Your Layout is fantastic, and I am certain, that there are other great layouts out there also! Kim Vellore: I have heard about that Z-thek controller, just forgot to mention it. I have somehow narrowed it down to those choises that I first mentioned, thats the reason why I forgot it I Could mention the features which are most important to me: Have to be able to almost creep, when I would like to do some switching, whithout stalling the locomotive. Have a smooth startup and smooth ride all the way up(no abrupt startup and stopping like a Marklin power supply does). Have the possibility to have momentum and breaking. Those are the most important features for me right now, I have sort of ruled out DCC, because of the complexity of it. It seems to get very "fiddly" when in Z-scale, and I don't want to break anything trying to put a decoder in something.
One thing to consider about the Jürger controller is perhaps that I think it can just pull one train. It does not have too much Amps power and I believe it is design to get feedback only from one locomotive at a time. I have not tried to pull two units at one time yet. Like both my F7 and GP35 with the Jürger controller. Anyone here that has tried that?
Hi, just wanted to put the english page of Oliver Passman on here to show the features possible with his controller: http://www.passmann.com/html/fr-1-e.html I really like those features, :shade: but I would like to hear from someone using his controller, before I decide. Also I would like to know more about that Heiss-wolf controller, It seems to be an quite advanced controller, but I don't quite understand "german to english" tranlations done by babelfish. But anyway thanks for all the replies, I apreciate them all beeing a "Modell-Train-newbie". :embarassed:
Hello Rune and welcome to Trainboard. For me the Snailspeed Controller form Oliver Passmann has the most features, but it's also more expensive then the Jöerger and Zthek Controller (they are very good too). I've all 3 Controllers but mostly I use the FR-1.
Hi Jürg, thanks for the welcome, I would not mind a higher price, if the features make up for the price-increase. do you know about that Heisswolf-controller or how it works ? Also I could mention that my z-scale Locomotive is a : Marklin 462-Pacific from the US-starter-set. Thanks for all answers so far, really appreciate them, beeing a "modell-railroader-newbie"
Because you have only one Engine at the moment, you don't need a Heisswolf Controller with a memory for 256 Engines. Try the Zthek Controller from Lajos or the FR-1 from Oliver, I'm sure you will be pleased.
Hi Rune, Welcome to Trainboard! When I ran DC I used a modified MRC power pack and a Gaugemaster electronic track cleaner. It worked real good. I really would like to hear from someone who uses Oliver Passmann's new FR-1 power pack, becase I read it does not make coreless motors run hot. My MRC/Gaugemaster did make the locos run warm, and I think it was the high voltage spikes. I think that when a motor is hot, it is not running efficient, and prone to premature failure. Cool running should be much safer. -Robert
Robert, I showed Jeff when he visited me last Year the FR-1 Controller from Oliver. I've very good experience with this Controller but also with the other two I mentioned bevor. Go try it byyourself, or trade with me.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, I use the Jorger along with the gaugemaster track cleaner together and get rather stunning results. My loco's rarely, if ever stall, and I run marklin steam mech. loco's. If they stall it usually is the wheels need cleaning or it is time to clean the brushes and comm. I've also run the gaugemater with marklin and MRC's power supply but those combinations are nowhere near as good as the Jorger's with the gaugemaster.
Hi again, I was at work earlier , so didn't reply too quickly Wow, thanks everyone for making sugestions and the warm welcome! :thumbs_up: :shade: Jürg: Would it be possible for you to make a little video of how the FR-1 works, showing the slow speed and momentum and breaking funtions? I have never seen theese advanced controllers in use before. Pleeease!:teeth: that would be really nice. JoeS: It was your discovery with the Jorger and Gaugemaster, that got me interested in this combination in the first place!
Rune, if you attend the Zmod Show in Oslo, I can bring the FR-1 Controller to the show. Sorry no time for Videos at the moment.
Hi Jürg, no problem! I might buy it anyway, I can't wait that long heh . Have not decided yet, but I am leaning towards FR-1 more and more. I like that it has a proper box around it, and it is running on 220v with an adapter, I won't run on batteries, but if I make a portable layout I might use the Jorger on it. Jürg: Do you connect a gaugemaster or RELCO, when you use the FR-1 ? Does the FR-1 help with stalling locomotives, if you don't have the gaugemaster or Relco connected? Thanks.
