hi guys. hoping some member may be able to help me and suggest a brand/source of supply for a 220v ac. 50Hz controller with proportional track control. the same type as used in the MRC tech 4 series. i have tried MRC and they dont make them in 220v.
another thing i have just noticed is the output voltage of the tech 4 220 is 24v or close enough. wouldnt that cause motor damage. it seems a fairly high voltage
What are you looking at? I just checked Walther’s and see that it has 16va.
Gooood Morning!
Just a thought ---- What about going to your friendly electronics shop and buying a 2 to 1 stepdown transformer, puting a wall plug of the appropriate type plus an inline fuse on the input side of the transformer. Then on the output side of the transformer put a 15 amp wall type receptical to adapt to the US style of plug (or cut the plug off the cord and use whatever is commonly used where you are).
A 2 to 1 stepdown transformer with 220 v in should give you 110 v out. Keep in mind that for a 1 amp input you should have about a 2 amp output. I am not sure what 50 Hz will do to the electronics of a power pack — probably give you a bit lower voltage and current output.
Hope this will help. John T in the wired cow pasture
PS: Most 110 Vac US electronics will operate satisfactorily on a voltage range of 95V to 130V (our power companies supply that range calling it 115 V)
The United States requires 60 Hertz power to work properly. Anything less will not adequately work. You can say “It aint so” and make it work… but I dont know what model trains stand up to it.
220 is very strong. Too strong for trains me thinks.
Try this:
http://www.international-electrical-supplies.com/international-electricity.html
Incidentally, your question is the reason that DCC systems don’t come with a power supply. You add the power supply that is made for your particular available power.
As far as a DC power pack is concerned, the difference between 50 and 60 Hz (cycles) won’t really matter, it just means there will be fewer pulses per second (when using pulse power) and the top end speed might be a little lower. The AC cycles per second only really matter in devices that use the Hz as a reference to control speed such as in audio & video equipment where keeping the correct pitch is important. It won’t affect the life of DC motors at all. I lived in Germany (220v/50Hz) for many years using step-down transformers with my MRC packs with no probs.
All you need is a 220 to 110 step-down transformer, which you should be able to find in an electrical supply store.
Very good advice. He’s right, the difference in cycles won’t harm the power pack. At the most the train will go a little slower but not really enough to notice. I used 110v power packs with a step-down transformer for years with no issues.
Modelmaker: When were you in Germany? I was there from 65-68 and 75-79.
I ran a layout in Germany from an MRC power pack using only a 220v to 110v step-down transformer. The 50Hz current didn’t make any difference since the voltage is being converted into DC by the MRC pack; however, power packs back then (1975-78) didn’t have proportional tracking, so I don’t know what effect that may have on the output.
I think the MRC pack you’re looking at is rated at 24VA (Watts) not 24 Volts. Most MRC power packs have a top voltage output of around 16-18 Volts, depending on the load placed on them.
thanks for all your help. regarding the 24v output i got that off a website under technical specs. for MRC tech4 220. the 16va refers to wattage i think - sorry i’m not really savvy at the electrical details. but it was 24v output. the 200 model was 15.9v and 220, 260 were 24v. just thought that might shorten motor life. i have been in contact with MRC and they advised against using 110v 50Hz. i have looked at a stepdown transformer and that is probably the way i will have to go. just hoping i could keep my costs down.
tech. specs were off hobbylinc.com and were output: 23vdc 18.5vac. total output:16va.