Hi Joel, Welcome to Trainboard. I have some of the CT, but use them in AZL diesels because they are so narrow. I used the Lenz here because I can use the Power One module for 20 seconds of power reserve over dirty track.
I see. The only thing I don't like is the shim-technique, but perhaps that would be the same even with the CT decoder since it is the same thickness as the Lenz.
How does that power 1 module work for you? Was it pretty easy to fit into the tender? Does it just use a capactor? Based on your recommendation, I'll get the Lenz modules for my Mikado instead of the CT since a power 1 would definitely make it run better.
Well, the Power 1 did not fit in the stock tender, so I made a custom NP Shorty tender to house it. The shim gave me extra room, and helped give the loco a more Heavy Mike look, compared to the stock mike. The Power 1 is great! No more stalling. It takes half a minute to charge up, but once charged, this loco will really keep chugging. Too bad it don't pull more than a dozen cars.
Bummer. Cool that you built a tender that worked with it, though. I will probably go with the Lenz or CT, haven't decided yet. Thanks for your replies.
Joel, the Power 1 uses a cap to store energy but the main design is a step up regulator. The step up regulator converts the lower voltage (say down to 0.8V) all the way back up to 5V used by the decoder. If the current demand from the motor is not too high, the capacitor can store enough energy to run the train until the regulator can no longer step up the declining voltage. .
