MRC Power

I have a MRC Tech II Locomotion 2500 power pack that I am very happy with. I am trying to find any information about the walkaround throttles that hook into the power packs. I believe you set the main throttle, and the walkaround connects to the fixed DC. Can anyone reccomend a MRC walkaround for the 2500? Any help would be appreciated.

 

MRC makes one or two that are good, if a bit bulky. I usually just made my own. All you need is a good reostat, a reversing switch, and some wire . radio shack has all the parts and a small box to put them in all for under 20 bucks.....Mike

 

Mike, are you saying that we can modify the MRC Tech II 2500 (or 2800 in my case) to operate with a handheld throttle? Man, if that's so, please post the schematic ... I'll mod my 2800 in a "New York Second"!!! (That's the period of time between the stop light in front going Green and the New York taxi behind blowing his Horn

[ 30 December 2001: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]

 

I have the MRC. 250 Rail Power and I have come to a conclusion that it is a piece of ^&*&^! Mine will go into emergency at will and or suddenly switch directions on me. It has nice power and runs trains nice and smooth, however that all adds up to bumpkins when you?re train is doing a bought 50 scale MP. And the power pack suddenly switches its self into reverse. Since I do not use the momentum, when the train, in this case a Rivarossi 2-8-4 numbered 765 had this happen to it all 7 Bachman Spectrum N&W cars piled up. Now as if this was not badeought, the in sueing wreck covered both main lines and a west bound Norfolk Southern Roadrailer happened to find the pile up at a bought the same time I did. This made an instant junkyard on both my Maine lines.

After some testing I noticed that the power pack 250 would start either switching into reveres direction or going into emergency. This is very frustrating!

The walk around you can get from MRC for a bought $30. + 4.95 or so shipping. But I?d test the pack real good first. I?m a bought to toss mine out into the buffalo snow bank!

On a Good note I have a Hogger power pack that has momentum and brake and reverse. No need to program it. Its great has a big fan in it to keep it cool. I?m going to get another hogger if I can not get help from MRC and boy come Monday morning I?ll be on the phone with them, there going to get a new ventilation port or two by the time I?m done.

Here is the MRC address for the order the remote and its cable :

Model Rectifer Corporation.
8/0 Newfield Edison NJ. 08837

The cost is 29.98 + 4.50 shipping.

I think this would be a great system if it did not suddenly go into reveres and or emergency! What a Paine!

If any one out there has a pin out wiring diagram for the hand held can you please post or send me a copy of it. Thanks

 

I'm not sure about your particular throttle Hank, but most of them have a 12 volt DC output along with the varriable output. Just hook the walkarround to the fixed 12 volt terminals. Some of the cheaper ones wont have the fixed 12 volt DC though. In that case just turn the fixed throttle on full and connect the walkarround to the track terminals on the powerpack..HTH........Mike

 

I also forgot to say that the modular phone plug for the tech 4 250 remote is a 6 pin type. It is not the standard 4 pin that most phones uses. Radio Shack ( Rat Shack ) has these connectors and wall plates if you need them. They also have the crimping toll that dose both the normal 4 pin and 6 pin mods. Also if you add wall plates around the layout for your walk around as I did. I wanted to have several spots to plug my throttle in around the layout. You will do best to keep the wiring the same from wall plate to wall plate. Then you will have to make a ? Striate patch cored ? . Most phone cords will line up the wires at one end in this order : Black, Red, Green, Yellow, Blue, White. The opist end will go : White, Blue, Yellow, Green, Red, Black.. This is correct from the pack to throttle. I found that if you wire all the wall plates the same color pattern to each other. Your best to use at least one Dual wall plate near the place where your power pack is presently mounted. You will need to make a straight cable that dose not reveres the wires at either end. As I said the Normal cable?s pin out will exactly reverse the order of colored wires from one end to the other. The strait cable will not. ( This is very important )! The straight cable is only used between the pack and the wall plate. I then ran 6 wires and fallowed the set pattern of color coded for the wires ( Yellow to yellow, blue to blue, white to white and so on ) to each wall plate. Then I made a new cable to be used from the wall plate to the hand held walk around. Make this cable?s wiring reversed at one end. IE : Black, Red, Green, Yellow, Blue, White. The at the other end White, Blue, Yellow, Green, Red, Black. I made 2 extra cords for mine as I found that the cable provided via MRC was really to short for me.
If I have confused you on the wiring, see the back of the package for the crimping tool from Rat Shack. (Radio Shack). They will show you the standard format for a 4 wire installation, for the MRC uses a 6 wire, just add 2 more wires to it, and fallow the color pattern. The big deal here is that you only need to reveres the color pattern once in the hole system.

If you have any questions I?ll be glad to try and help.

 

Mike,

Do you know were we can still get some descent ?rheostats ? ??

 

Mike, your response implies that I can install any(?) walk-around throttle as a stand-alone device between the "Fixed DC" output of my MRC 2800 and the 12VDC distribution buss going to my block control panels ... am I reading you right? If so, that would be such a great and simple installation!!!!! Are there only certain walkaround throttles that will work in this mode, or will any of them work?

P.S.
An MRC Tech II 2800 power pack is simply two MRC Tech II 1400's installed in the same case. This way you have two independent throttles, "A" and "B", each with its own variable DC output. I wired each of my blocks with a DPDT switch to feed track power from either throttle A or throttle B, or with no power using the center-off switch position.

[ 31 December 2001: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]

 

Mike, your response implies that I can install any(?) walk-around throttle as a stand-alone device between the "Fixed DC" output of my MRC 2800 and the 12VDC distribution buss going to my block control panels ... am I reading you right? If so, that would be such a great and simple installation!!!!! Are there only certain walkaround throttles that will work in this mode, or will any of them work

Yes thats correct. But,,,, ( always a but ) You will be only able to use the walkarround if you disconnect the stationary throttle This worked for me with my homebuilt walkarrounds.


Phantom, Do you have a Radio Shack close? They used to sell them . They are called potientometers (sp) thetre. You will want one that will handel 16-20 volts and 5 amps. If you have an old powerpack, you can also take the reostat out of it. HTH....Mike