I have two of the MRC TECH-II Railmaster 2400s with pulse switch. Are the TECH 4 units any better? I’ve wondered if they just figured out a way to make a less expensive to produce power pack and called it a TECH 4. I can’t see much room for improvement over the TECH-II series.
The Tech 4 has momentum and brake, like the Tech 2. But the Tech 4 has Accutech technology.
Besides a sales slogan, what is Accutech technology and what difference, if any, does it make? I beleive I read that the Tech 4s have more power than the Tech-IIs. My Tech IIs have plenty of power for me and my railroad.
Straight from MRC’s website…
Accutec Technology… Throw a switch, turn on a town full of lights, challenge a
steep grade and your loco responds prototypically. Constantly monitoring
feedback from the layout, Accutec Technology in Tech 4 train controls detects
sudden changes in load and instantly compensates for the new demand by
delivering the power needed to sustain a realistic reaction without a drop
off in power. Train controls with Accutec Technology enhance slow speed
control, power output and other control characteristics. Only MRC’s Tech 4
train controls have Accutec Technology.
I think they’re basically saying that it will give your train the extra power when it’s needed to keep it running more prototypically.
I have both, TECH 2 1440 and a TECH 4 350. the most noticeable difference is that a TECH 4 can run a locomotive so slow it appears to be stopped.
I have nothing but the Tech 4 260 models…I really enjoy the brake and momentum feature…the momentum feature is slow but is very protopical…you set the momentum switch to on…and the train will take a minute or two to actually start moving…(it simulates a locomotive pumping up the air brakes before proceeding)…the engine will slowely start to move as if it were real and it was really pulling a great load and then it will level out at whatever speed you set the throttle at…if it goes too fast then hit the brake button to slow the train a bit…I really think they are the best power packs ever put out by MRC…Chuck
“Accutec Technology” is, I believe, MRC’s fancy marketing way of saying they use Back-EMF to control the loco speed. Does Mike Wolf know about this? [:D]
The Tech II series has automatic pulse and momentum/brake, but not the Back-EMF, so if yourloco encounters increased resistance while running slowly (enters a curve, hits a grade, siderod bind, gear train binding) it will in alllikelyhood stop, whereas the Tech 4 theoretically will keep it moving by applying as much power as needed to maintain the selected speed.
–Randy
Thanks. Those are the kinds of answers I was hoping for. Especially helpful was willy6 because he has compared them head to head. CWClark, Tech-II also offered momentum and braking.
Indeed, I have a Tech II with momentum and braking. They’re pretty nice power supplies, and they can make a good engine crawl rather nicely. The Back-EMF is intriguing–I often find myself having to “nudge” engines to get them going…
I have three Tech II 2400’s, and if one of them dies I’m going to look for another one. I can’t imagine anything better. In case no one has noticed, most real trains slow down on grades. I had a 2500, with the brake and momentum, but got rid of it 25 years ago I think. It worked fine, just a personal preference. If the Tech 4 has back EMF, how come MTH isn’t sueing them?
(sorry, couldn’t resist)
I had two 2500s first and now that I have tried both, I prefer the 2400s. The 2500s were on my last layout and went with it. I bought them because they were top of the MRC line and I didn’t want to miss out on any cool features. The advertising worked on me. After owning the 2500s for a while, I found out that I really didn’t care for the momentum or braking features.
Hello,
I operate my HO pike with two MRC Tech IV’s (dual 280’s). They were replacements for the dual pack Tech II’s. I have found absolutely no difference in the POWER that they offer and quite frankly the features seem to be the same as well. My RR runs fine, however, when it comes to POWER, the throttles must be advanced nearly to full just to get an operating speed that appears to be normal.
I operate one locomotive at a time with each throttle - total of four in four isolated main lines on my pike. All consists are pulled by one locomotive, except on a point-to-point run that features two powered RDC’s. All locomitives are less than 2 years old. The enitre layout was finished about a year ago.
After numerous e-mail, phone call and finally a letter to the people who run MRC, they took back my Tech IV’s to “add a few more volts of POWER.” When they were returned, I found very litle difference in performance. I’ll keep them until I figure out a better way to power my pike.
So, for what it’s worth, at least with the 280’s, they appear to be more designed for N gauge than HO. That statement was obtained from one of the MRC techs by e-mail.
Hope this adds to the conversation.
(By the way - I submitted a reply the other day and it “disappeared,” so sorry for any
redundancy!)
I have the same: One of each and what Willy said is true.
What’s the low-down on the Tech-4 220?
SOUNDS LIKE A ‘Regulated’ Power Supply.
.
Any power supply cannot deliver more than it’s VA rating (combined volts + amperage) and it’s VA rating is on the back of every MRC.
Truth is as the amps go up volts come down and vice versa. It’s’ simiar to someone turning on hot or cold water while you are taking a shower.
A Rulated Supply would hold the voltage as the load increases, such as a hill.
A pair of EXTERNAL meters should tell you.
MRC’s are pretty basic. Back EMF? - I don’t think so…
Don;
Back EMF is pretty basic technology, it would cost less than $1 in parts to add it to a transistorized DC power pack…
I have an MRC TECH II 2500 that I bought years back. I can’t even remember what year (1985? 89?)
Great DC performance with the Momentum and Braking features. Been very satisfied with it. For DC packs…there’s just no beating an MRC.
Even though I’m going DCC, the jump port feature on the Digitrax Zephyr will still allow me to use it as a 2nd throttle, so I’m glad I’ll still be able to use my 2500.
Peace.
Just a clarification for those with no experience with MRC packs with momentum and brake features: the RATE at which the train starts and accelerates can be varied (or adjusted) by the how fast the throttle knob is turned to the desired position. Turn the momentum switch to “on”, and (for example) spin the throttle knob RAPIDLY up to say, 65. The train may take 5 seconds to START moving, and another 15 seconds to reach the “preset” top speed the throttle knob was turned to. But if you turn on the momentum switch, and SLOWLY turn the throttle knob to (for example) 65, the train may take 30 seconds to start moving, and take another minute to reach the “preset” top speed as determined by the initial setting of the throttle knob. The same is true for stopping the train. This applies to the Tech 2 packs, and I would assume the same is true of the Tech 4s. A pretty neat feature.[:D]
Jeff
I have a Tech ll with momentum and brake. Besides my HO trains, I have even used it on my garden LGB scale trains with no problem and plenty of speed.
I also have one without the momentum.
The power pack’s performance is limited by the capability of the mechanism (locomotive). Don’t buy a new power pack and expect a miracle in improved performance.
S&R.