MTH has announced a collection of HO scale subway cars to be released this spring. The are DCC, but they say they will run on 16 volts DC.
MY TRAINS RUN AT 10.2 VOLTS…
LION was wondering if him tore out all of that DCC stuff, the motors would likely enjoy running on 10.2 volts. What thinkist thou ewe?
ROAR
Don’t drink the MTH kool aid.
Hey… If they are the only HO scale subway cars available, what else can I do?
Just don’t drink the kool aid!
Hey… I take them down to shellls, wheels and motors, and I throw away the cool aid?
I would imagine they use a traction motor that is rated pretty close to 12 VDC. But why rip out the decoder if it is also DC compatible?
This is the text from their announcement:
All M.T.H. HO subways are also completely compatible with any analog 16 volt or higher DC power supply. Under analog operation, the user retains direction control, LED lighting effects, engine sound effects, squeaking brakes and speed control.
“User retains speed control” but then why do they say 16 volt “OR HIGHER?” why not run on 120 volts! That’s higher than 16, right?
I don’t know who MTH gets to write their ad copy. Last year they advertized an HO SD-70 available in “three rail” AC.
I wonder if you could shoehorn one of these in the cars?
http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=383
Instead of that big potentiometer, once you have the output voltage to the MTH motor dialed in you could read the pot and replace it with a fixed resistor to use much less space.
10 Watt sandbar resistors? Might get too hot.
Diode arrays? Randy or one of the fellows more familiar with electronics would surely be able to help.
It’s too bad manufacturers are not willing to provide more variations, I.E. non-sound, non-DCC or even kit locomotives like they once were.
In the interest of economy, I wonder if it would be more effective to buy the 2 car add-on sets, unpowered, and figure out a way to power them using your own power trucks (The Kato coreless motorized truck comes to mind) Or would MTH be willing to sell you the motor truck as a repair part?
Cicero says: ROAR back at 'ya!
Good Lu
Other way around - the MTH cars wouldn’t need extra voltage reduction, all the OTHER cars would!
Unless they greatly change things, the extra voltage is simply to have the sounds all work while the motor can still get a full 12 volts - so they should be the same 12 volt motors in any other HO loco. They have been making DC only versions of their locos - not so with the subway cars? Otherwise, stripping out all the electronics and connecting the motors right to the wheel pickups should reuslt in a car that runs fine on plain DC.
I doubt they will run with the P2K cars, as they will have a different brand of motor and probably different gear ratios. But run at reasonable speeds at 10 volts on the rails? They should. Just not with all the electronics in place.
–Randy
Have they announced a price yet?
I’d imagine they are asking a lot for the Kool-Aid.
If your object is to increase your transit fleet, you can still find the Walthers trains on eBay.
[quote user=“gmpullman”]
I would imagine they use a traction motor that is rated pretty close to 12 VDC. But why rip out the decoder if it is also DC compatible?
This is the text from their announcement:
All M.T.H. HO subways are also completely compatible with any analog 16 volt or higher DC power supply. Under analog operation, the user retains direction control, LED lighting effects, engine sound effects, squeaking brakes and speed control.
“User retains speed control” but then why do they say 16 volt “OR HIGHER?” why not run on 120 volts! That’s higher than 16, right?
I don’t know who MTH gets to write their ad copy. Last year they advertized an HO SD-70 available in “three rail” AC.
I wonder if you could shoehorn one of these in the cars?
http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=383
Instead of that big potentiometer, once you have the output voltage to the MTH motor dialed in you could read the pot and replace it with a fixed resistor to use much less space.
10 Watt sandbar resistors? Might get too hot.
Diode arrays? Randy or one of the fellows more familiar with electronics would surely be able to help.
It’s too bad manufacturers are not willing to provide more variations, I.E. non-sound, non-DCC or even kit locomotives like they once were.
In the interest of economy, I wonder if it would be more effective to buy the 2 car add-on sets, unpowered, and figure out a way to power them using your own power trucks (The Kato coreless motorized truck comes to mind) Or would MTH be willing to sell you the motor truck as a repair part?
LION has looked there, and there is a model shop in PA that still has some in stock, but the problem with these is I would have to PAY for them, whereas when I win the $2000 grand prize in the MR contest, I’ll be able to get them from my regular hobby shop in Brooklyn!
ROAR
Well, Lion, when you do win the prize, I’ve got a suggestion. Leave the decoder and other electronics in the cars, but disconnect the motor leads. Instead, connect the motor directly to the track power, in parallel with the decoder. That way, you can run the motor on track power, but still have all the bells and whistles, literally, that come with the train.