MRC 1300 Controller Question

grumpyoldman Dec 31, 2019

  1. grumpyoldman

    grumpyoldman New Member

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    I know that there is a special version of this controller for Z scale, modified by MTL to limit output voltage (I believe by limiting the rotation of the speed control dial). My question is is this the only modification or are there any other mods to electronics? The reason I ask is that I have seen other posters comment that you could use the original version of this controller if you were careful to limit the rotation of the speed control dial to around the 2:00 position on the dial. I have also seen somewhere that use of the original MRC 1300 would void the warranty on the trains. This statement is what caused me to wonder about the possibility of some other mod being made.

    Your thoughts would be welcome.

    Thanks, John
     
  2. tjdreams

    tjdreams TrainBoard Member

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    I don't know what all is modified in the stock 1300 to make it Z rated 1300.
    I do know that if you burn the motor out by using a power supply that is not rated for Z scale it can void your warranty.

    Some of the newest Locomotives have 12 volt motors in them and may handle a stock 1300 just fine but many/most of the older models only had 8 volt motors in them.

    Z rated power supplies can be found for under $ 50.oo A new Z scale Loco is going to cost you $100 + and you will still need to get a Z rated power supply so you don't burn out the new Loco.

    The bottom Line is they are your trains. Its your choice. It may work just fine or it might let the magic smoke out.
     
  3. cjm413

    cjm413 TrainBoard Member

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  4. wvgca

    wvgca TrainBoard Member

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    the modifications , as it says in the literature, is external only ...
    and they charge very little for the limiter
     
  5. grumpyoldman

    grumpyoldman New Member

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    Thank you for your replies.
    John
     
  6. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    Mine just has a custom sticker with an 8V for MTL and 10V for Marklin on the dial. I don't know if there is something preventing it from outputting more than 10V or restricting the speed knob from further travel. All I know for sure, is mine is junk, and each loco I put on it runs at a different speed, with my Shorty barely crawling, AZL F3 barely crawling regardless of speed knob setting, and my Tenshodo D51 takes off like a rocket as though its set to 13.8V. Something's bad in the electronics, and I'm tossing it out. I still have a heavy white Marklin unit for DC use, and I use DCC on everything after DC testing passes anyways.
     
  7. rvn2001

    rvn2001 TrainBoard Member

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    It's strictly a mechanical stop to prevent you from turning the knob past 10 volts. The older models had the stop installed inside the case. The newer models have the stop installed on the outside of the case. I use 2 of the older models for the main lines on my ZBT modules and 2 newer models for the tracks on my passenger station module. I've never had any trouble with any of them .
     
  8. husafreak

    husafreak TrainBoard Member

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    I did a "shootout" between the Rokuhan RC02/3, the Snail Speed, and an older Marklin heavy white unit (the one with the AC cord coming out of it, not the new one with a wall wart). The Marklin was the best in overall ops, not finicky, works well driving all my different locos, it just suffers from large speed steps. So I'd say that one is a keeper. And I've been told that of all the Marklin's the really old blue "boat anchor" controller performs the best of all.

    No experience with the MRC but I have read on the forums that the popular restriction is a simple mechanical stop. Maybe a screw in the wheel and another in the case top? Long grub screws (machine screws) might work well for that.
     

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