Ok, I did a little testing last night. I ran the same locomotive with different power sources just to compare performance. The locomotive I used was my 2-6-0. The first power source was the marklin power pack. It did not run very well at slow speeds. It seems as though it totally misses the low end speed range. Then I used a gaugemaster with the marklin power pack. No difference in the low range speed, but loco smoothness was noticable. Then I used the MRC 1300. By itself the slow speed was much better than the marklin power supply, when I added the gaugemaster, it was slow and smooth. Very good results. Finally I tried my MRC tech 2. No pulse. By itself it was very very good. Slow speed range was by far the best. When I added a gaugemaster it was extreamly slow and smooth. My conclusion? I think the little motors need a smooth consistant supply of DC to operate at slow speeds. Each step up in power pack seemed to give a little better speed range than before. My thought is each pack up gives a little better consistant supply of DC power at the low range. As for the gaugemaster, it seems to make a difference is loco smoothness, which I realize is very subjective. However, at extream slow speeds, it does prevent the loco from stalling out. Let me add, that even with the gaugemaster, I couldn't get the same slow speeds with the marklin power supply. It just doesn't seem to have the ability to get a loco running in that range. I am not trying to sell, or bash. Just posting what I observed. Hope this helps. [ February 23, 2005, 08:16 AM: Message edited by: JoeS ]
I too am annoyed by the lack of low speed control with the Marklin units and opened one up to see if I could improve it. But they appear to have a stepped transformer output (the wiper under the knob contacts a number of discrete pads on a circuit board, so the action is basically a series of switches). The lowest voltage is the lowest tapping on the transformer and as such there isn't any easy way to improve it. I've been pondering an alternative, so your tests are interesting .
Your findings are really informative. I liked that you tried all those different tests. I have been thinking of geting one of those guagemasters or relcos to go with my 1300, however I plan on converting everything I have to DCC this year. I have 4 locos converted already, including a BR89. The price for a gaugemaster is almost the price for a couple decoders, so I have not made up my mind on weather to get one or not yet. I keep meaning to ask one of our club members to bring one to run with our DC locos. -Robert
Well, I just went ahead and bought one from Sandy Siska in Florida. $46 with shipping, but with all the good reports people have posted about it, I just have to see for myself! -Robert
I have both transformer, and not knowing better, I have alway use the Marklin transformer. After reading the earlier post on transformer, I also began to test the transormers, and to my surprise, the MRC 1300 does have a smoother low speed control. I will also order the gaugemaster.
Again, what I found most interesting was the way the slow speed performance got better with a higher quality power source. The tech 2 with a gaugemaster is really something. I like to run my trains slow. So I was looking for the best combination. If anybody uses a battery and a Jorger speed controll and can compare it to a pack, I'd sure like to hear from you with your results!
