# Best Power Supply for HO?



## jjb727

Ok, being new to the hobby, i found that I will eventually have to ask something like this.....

So I have the basic blue power boxes that come with life-like train sets (don't tell me...i know...they suck lol) and I want to upgrade to a power pack with either two throttles or two separate ones that allow me to better control my trains w/out losing too much power. 

So at my local hobby store I saw many different kinds, but most were too expensive (70 for a power pack? you gotta be kidding me! -_- ).

We got the Athearn black box with a throttle, power switch and directional switch ($29). But I dont know much about these or how well they will run my trains. 

We also got the MRC with either single or double throttle versions (single is $60 bucks and double is $100). 

Obvioiusly the MRC is out of my budget at the moment, but should I dish out the $100 anyway and be done with it or go with the athearn and save $70 bucks? I know its "my choice", but I wouldnt be here asking if I already knew the answer. 

Thanks!


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## NIMT

Answer yourself 2 questions, are you going to stay in the hobby and are you going to stay DC or step up to DCC.

I would say that if your worried about a controller costing $60 then you probably going to stay DC because the DCC controllers start at about $150 and go up from there.

If your going to stick with the hobby in DC get the MRC Dual!:thumbsup:


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## jjb727

this is for the moment. I will be getting Dcc, but i need a power supply for my dc trains (my life like trains which I do not plan on selling)


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## NIMT

Well then save yourself the extra $$ and get the athearn suppy, it still will be 100 times better then the little lifelike blue box, and save your money for the DCC supplies. And you can convert your Lifelike trains to run DCC, It only takes about 20min and a $15 decoder.


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## jjb727

i didnt know I could do that. I tried converting the horn hook couplers to the knuckle couplers that life like scene master has, but it didnt work out too well


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## Southern

NIMT said:


> get the MARC Dual!:thumbsup:


I can't believe that I am going to disagree with NIMT. Get two power packs, not the dual. 

Most of the time time you will use just one to run the trains. The one that is used the least should have the turnouts hooked it, as they draw allot of power and will take power from anything else hooked to it. You don't want the lights on the layout blinking every time that you flip a turnout.

Also if one goes bad you sill have the other. 

This is something that I think you should get used. There are tons of them out there cheep.


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## Smokinapankake

I have to agree with Southern. I really like the MRC Tech series. In fact, I got a Tech II 1500 at the local thrift shop for a grand smackin' $1. It's been going strong, and smooth, and reliable, for years now.


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## Tino

You should go to either a thrift shop, garage sale or ebay. I bought a new tech4 260 for 73 bucks then i picked up a slightly used one which looks new for 36 bucks on ebay. The only thing with ebay is no box or instructions but that is no big deal at all.


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## Tino

also you can get a basic dcc system from bachmann for about 80 bucks online in case you are inquiring. Check out modeltrainstuff.com they have some good deals on that site.


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## NIMT

This is just my opinion!
The Bachmann DCC system is a complete WASTE of money and time!
Save a little more $ and get a Digitrax Zephyr xtra. 
With the Zephyr system you will get a real starter DCC system! 

And yes both Southern and Smokinapankake are right!:thumbsup:
I haven't done DC for over 20 years now so I'm getting rusty on the DC end of things!


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## Tino

That system is almost double of what the bachmann goes for. Have you tried the bachmann since you said it was a waste of time and money. Remember that the original poster is on a tight budget, that is why i mentioned the bachmann starter system. He can get the one mentioned for the 80 bucks or so with an included engine and either sell the engine or keep it. He could probably get about 20 for the dcc ready engine and that would make his cost around 60 or so. If you have tried the bachmann and it is not as good as the digitrax please let me know. I am just starting to get back into ho as i have been collecting o scale for a long time.


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## NIMT

Tino,
I've worked with DCC for about 20 years and I've worked with just about every DCC system made, and with just about every decoder made.
I could go on and on with why Bachmann fails, but I really don't have the time.


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## jjb727

Are you talking about the dial controller that comes with most current bachmann HO train sets?


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## NIMT

Yep that's the one he's talking about!


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## Tino

The dial controller that comes with most bachmann sets is a regular power pack. The one on the website for dcc is similar but has other buttons as well for the different locomotives. I know that the regular dc ones burn out after a short while. I haven't tried the dcc one from bachmann. For me it is not a problem but for the person on a tight budget like the original poster it could be. I am still in the process of gathering stuff so buying the power supply is not something i am going to do right away.


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## Lee_R

I'm on an *extremely* tight budget (Mama restricts our "wanna-haves" until we've cut down the credit card bills!), and while the system that will be arriving is straight dc*, I plan on sending some of my money to NIMT as soon as I can, and upgrading to dcc. I know next to nothing about it, but in my researching it I've gotten the very distinct impression that it's all the way around better, and if you invest (yes, it's indeed an investment!) in the best possible system you can get, it'll actually SAVE you money in the long run. By "over-buying" the controller, you won't have to keep on upgrading it as your layout expands, and there's a pretty doggone good chance that the higher-end systems are better made. Now, we could get into the whole "Made In China" argument, but that's a little off-topic. 

Of course, the above is purely "my" opinion, and opinions are like...well, I'm sure you know how it goes. 

*(how does a 20-year-old Tyco control grab you?? and if he found mine, that one's from the mid-70's!)


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## lears2005

The Bachman dcc system is a good starter. That's how I got in to dcc I got the starter kit it had the dcc system and two dcc locomotive layter on I got a digatrax. So someone starting out on a budget and wanting to get in to dcc that is the way to go. IMO


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## jjb727

Good answers! thanks everyone! I wanted a power source that doesn't fluctuate (mine are starting to -_-).


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