hi my mate wants to know which of these is better and i thought i should ask you guys since you are the experts!
Bachmann DC power pack or Powermite
Many thanks
pavariangoo
Never heard of Powermite. Bachmann’s DC power packs tend to be junk.
MRC, my lad!! MRC!!!
Reading back in your old posts, I see that “Powermite” is the brand of powerpack that comes with Life-Like trains.
It’s garbage.
So you’re trying to choose between garbage and garbage. It doesn’t matter which one you pick, because they’re both garbage.
Stop trying to rip yourself off by buying only the cheapest junk available. Go ask your dad to help you pick out a powerpack that isn’t garbage–it sounds like he has some experience.
I started off with crap equipment but atleast I had a Tech 2. I suggest a tech 4 with momemtum, It will offer good slow speed operation. Even the base model is good from what I’ve heard.
I stand by my statement on your other thread:
I would be willng to wager good money that these guys telling you it is “crap” have never used one.
I have a few that were on my dads old layout. they give locos jerky control, they get really warm after alot of use, and the control knob is sort of hard to move.
go with mrc. i blew up my bachmann transformer that came with my set!
Just curious…
Were they Bachmann Spectrum Magnums or just standard “train set” Bachmann’s? The Magnum, while not as good as an MRC pack, is certainly better than the Bachmann base models.
I’ve never had the problems you talk about with heating or the control knob. At times I notice some jerkiness, but that is just my inexpensive locomotives. My Kato is smooth as glass, and can creep along so slowly you hardly realize it is moving.
I think he means the train set ones. I find the Spectrum comparible with the MRC base model.
It would help if pavariangoo was a little more specific. I assumed that he was talking about a Bachmann Spectrum Magnum because that was the pack he asked about on another thread. If he is talking about the “train set” power packs, that is a whole different thing.
[:)]
a friend of mine has a very simple philosophy about what you should buy , and it applies to everything from cars to screwdrivers and most things in between …
buy your last one first
this means thinking hard about your purchase , doing all the research you can , figuring out what you want , what you need , and what you’re going to want or need in the future . it doesn’t mean buying the best or most expensive unless that’s what you want . however there’s no point in buying something for $50 now and saying i’ll buy the $100 one in a year , why spend a year using your second best choice when you could buy what you want ? yes sometimes you’ll have to save a little longer to get what you want , but the pleasure from having it will outweigh your frustration at having a lesser item
so , to answer the original question , buy MRC 
I would agree if MRC was an option, but according to another of his threads that brand is not available to him for some reason. His specific question was:
Further posts indicate that “Powermite” is the pack that comes with Lifelike train sets. In a previous thread pavariangoo indicated that he was considering a Bachmann Spectrum Magnum power pack.
Soooo…
While I agree that MRC would be the best choice, between the two he is considering I would have to advise the Bachmann Magnum.
[:)]
As you’re looking at all of these cheap power packs, you seem to forget that you must have one built to operate on 230 Volts, 50 Hertz house current for use in Australia and nearly everyone who is answering your questions think you are in the U.S., where the voltage standard power packs operate from is 120 Volts, 60 Hertz.
You’re going to need a power pack built for sale in Australia, so our answers are not going to help you unless all of these brands you’re mentioning are available in Australia.
The 50 Hertz vs. 60 Hertz part of the equation has little bearing on the problem, since power packs are made to output Direct Current; however, the input voltage must be the same, so you must purchase a pack designed for the AU voltage of 230, and with an Australian plug on the cord. Operating a transformer on 50 Hertz current that is made for 60 Hertz current will cause it to hum and overheat. Plugging a 110 Volt transformer into 230 Volts will result in a fire.
Ahhh… that may be why pavariangoo said on another thread that MRC was not available to him even though everyone was telling him to just get it from Walthers off the net.
Now, since paravingoo specifically mentioned two power packs, it might be nice it someone could offer an opinion on which one of them is better rather than telling him to go purchase something that is not available to him.