# Need Power Supply Help



## dustinward03 (May 1, 2010)

I recently purchased a proto 1000 A and B Engine setup, both are powered. I am working on a new double loop layout with some sidings. I have a bachmann power supply that came with a set running my layout which is dc only for the moment. Previous to the proto 1000 engines I ran a bachmann 0-6-0 and a model power F2 diesel, both engines run perfect in all speed ranges. My proto series will not power up and start moving untill i have the speed set on 40 or higher and if I run the A engine only it seems to run smoother than with both. This is my first experience with two powered engines and with anything other than cheaper engines. When I try to run both proto engines and another engine it doesnt run well at all. I am new to muliple engines on one track system so any help or insight is greaty appreciated.


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## nsr_civic (Jun 21, 2010)

the current draw of multiple engines causes you to need more power to get them to move. look into getting a higher grade power supply that can somewhat compensate for it. the mrc tech 4 seems to be pretty decent and you can get em for around 40$ to 60$ on ebay.


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## dustinward03 (May 1, 2010)

thanks, thats what I was thinking, but wanted to be sure. If you need engines that pull, those powered a and b proto 1000's pulled 25 cars up an 8% grade!


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## nsr_civic (Jun 21, 2010)

yep i ran into the same thing. with a pair of older athearn engines running on the same power supply. i tried it with an old bachmann transformer and got results similar to yours.
i switched everything over to an old Fleischmann transformer and everything went lots smoother. the bachmann transformers are crap IMHO. lolz


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## dustinward03 (May 1, 2010)

Been thinking about switching to dcc, maybe now is the time, but theres a big price diff from a mrc tech 4 to a dcc system


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## nsr_civic (Jun 21, 2010)

yea thats true. i have found an mrc dcc express system on ebay for 119.99


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## seabee4life (Jun 7, 2010)

i have and mrc 1370 power supply brand new the tag says 32.99 but you give me 20 plus shipping and its yours??


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## Brian's Hobbyland (Aug 3, 2010)

MRC makes some good power supplies and I have used them for years and never had any issues with them.


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## dustinward03 (May 1, 2010)

appreciate the input. I picked up a mrc tech 2 1400 for 25 bucks used. It works much better. I also just bought a 9'6" x 4'2" layout that had an Autopulse Twin Momentem 5 power unit, looks impressive dont now if it works or not yet havent had time to get it on the stand and power it up. Got the whole layout with power pack and all wired up to all the switches 8 all together, got everything for 100 bucks. Needs a few peices of track replaced and the one hill was torn, but I think i did alright.


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## nsr_civic (Jun 21, 2010)

nice score! im probably gonna be getting a tech 4 250 soon...


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## Walker (Aug 24, 2010)

I sure hope I'm posting this in the proper place? I noticed the title of the thread and I need to know what I'm doing here before I destroy an expensive locomotive so, here goes folks.

Power Supplies? I have a brand new Aristo-Craft ART-5451 3.5 AMP power Supply with a Crest CRE-55401 10 AMP Train Power Controller. I am receiving conflicting stories on whether or not I can use this new equipment for my HO trains so, I decided it was time to join a forum and find out from the experts who have been doing this stuff a while.

Can I use this power supply & train controller to run my HO scale trains without burning up a locomotive or frying my power supply? I sure would appreciate any insight ya'll have to offer.

Thanks in advance!


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## dozer (Jan 2, 2010)

Walker said:


> I sure hope I'm posting this in the proper place? I noticed the title of the thread and I need to know what I'm doing here before I destroy an expensive locomotive so, here goes folks.
> 
> Power Supplies? I have a brand new Aristo-Craft ART-5451 3.5 AMP power Supply with a Crest CRE-55401 10 AMP Train Power Controller. I am receiving conflicting stories on whether or not I can use this new equipment for my HO trains so, I decided it was time to join a forum and find out from the experts who have been doing this stuff a while.
> 
> ...


 This is just my opinion, but 10 amps is huge! I'd say if you're running a rather large layout, with multiple Mu's going on and lighted layouts etc then maybe you'd be ok, but it would make me nervous. The problem would come when/if you had a short, like a derail or a short across a switch or something, that power supply is now going to go to full power until the breaker trips. I'm thinking 10amps is more typical of O gauge and bigger layouts.


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## Walker (Aug 24, 2010)

dozer said:


> This is just my opinion, but 10 amps is huge! I'd say if you're running a rather large layout, with multiple Mu's going on and lighted layouts etc then maybe you'd be ok, but it would make me nervous. The problem would come when/if you had a short, like a derail or a short across a switch or something, that power supply is now going to go to full power until the breaker trips. I'm thinking 10amps is more typical of O gauge and bigger layouts.


No, I think you misunderstood or, I'm not fully understanding all this new power tech? My power supply is only 3.5 amps and the train controller is a 10 amp controller. I'm told the train controller will handle 10 amps and that it is not a power supply at all???

It was sure much easier back in the late 70's when I did this stuff. :laugh:

BTW, I like your avatar image!


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## dozer (Jan 2, 2010)

Walker said:


> No, I think you misunderstood or, I'm not fully understanding all this new power tech? My power supply is only 3.5 amps and the train controller is a 10 amp controller. I'm told the train controller will handle 10 amps and that it is not a power supply at all???
> 
> It was sure much easier back in the late 70's when I did this stuff. :laugh:
> 
> BTW, I like your avatar image!


 Oh, gotcha! Sure, that does make a difference. 3.5 amps is perfect in my opinion, you really don't have to worry about burning up loco's. the internal circuit breaker will pop before meltdown, or at least it should lol...


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## Walker (Aug 24, 2010)

No worries dozer. When I first got the stuff, I put them both together thinking I had 13.5 amps total and that's when I was informed the train controller wasn't a power supply, lol.

Well, it's good to know I have what I need and don't have to worry about burning anything up. That would sure ruin a good day eeh?


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