Well, I suspect that you are comparing the price of two different products;
The little MS that normally comes in H0 starter-sets can only support 1,2Amps.
The product that is sold alone can support 1.9Amps.

The normal price for the small MS, a 18VA trafo and the uglybox is around 30-35€ on Ebay. So the offer from the shop you mention is "average" unless you mean to say that it includes the big MS?!

Hello Henrik. I have just checked my 2 mobilestations. The one from 29575 and the one I bought from a anonymous starterset, and they are both the "normal" 60652 with 1.9 amps.according to the manual. Actually I didn´t knew Marklin had 2 versions, and somehow it doesn´t make sense to me, not that I don´t believe you, really I do, but in a world where it obviously is difficult making money by making modeltrains, having 2 allmost identical products, seems like a mistake.

Prehaps I didn't explain myself well. What I was refering to was private individuals who buy starter sets, break them up and on sell them in the hope of making the hobby pay for itself.

I certainly would not begrudge someone who takes advantage of the chance to get a bargain from these people. But every person that sales these items in the local market undermines the sales from a dealer, and it is often the same dealer we turn to when we want service.

Cheers....

Mike.

BTW I have been one of the ones who buys these cheap items, and when it was mentioned to me I thought it was good food for thought, hence why I put my original comment here.

In that case I am happy to stand corrected! ;-)
As Rud mentions, -and according to you M. also admits; it's just too stupid to have that kind of tactical segmentation of the market. I am happy that M. realized that. Now I will definatly have to help myself to one of those "MS-kits" on Ebay! ;-) (Especially seeing that the MS2 will be delayed anyway)

As mentned before on an other topic regarding shipments from Märklin, the 2 MS that I've received from them as exchange units, are now 1.9 amp.
This suits me right down to the ground.
My Roco 69771 (Ae8/14 2motors) would'nt work with the 1.2 amp version.
It still does'nt reverse for some reason. (Lenz decoder ?)
As for the Roco Re 8/8 = 2 motors, the 1,2 amp unit, it had no trouble.
If you use your 1.2 amp as a slave MS it may woud'nt matter.

Determining whether a 1.2 amp or a 1.9amp Mobile Station?

The manual I received with my starter (29532) set indicates the 1.2 version is what comes with starter sets. However, when I go to SETUP - INFO on the MS, the values for IT are 0.0-0.1/1.9A. I assume the IT gives the amp limit and 1.9 indicates I have a 1.9amp version. Also, the AN value is 60651 - which from the manual indicates the 1.9a version. Are my assumptions correct?

I'm also curious as what the various categories in INFO refer to - is there a reference to them? The categories are: HW, BL, AP, AN, UT, UD, and IT



(BTW, I had three locos idling when I went to SETUP - INFO)

Dan

Just hear that Hornby is cancelled some 2009 new items.[:0]
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/f...pic.php?f=11&t=40000

Cancelling? -Is that a new tendency of the producers?
I think M. has been the first to annouce systematic cancelling in great numbers, and if other brands now follow suit quickly, it might show that this whole "new-items-race" during the last decade was in fact draining and de-stabilicing the market? (Sorry; pure speculation by someone who hardly buys ANY "New!" item.)

I totally agree with you Henrik. I don´t have an unlimited budget, I spend about 1000-1500 Euros a year, most of it on secondhand items. With so many new items being announced every year, it has becomed allmost impossible to choose between them. There may be 15-20 items I would like. At best I can afford maybe 4-6, and then comes the whole process of selecting. I read the cataloque to shreds and end up buying nothing, instead buying old models at swapmeetings or "last years model" on special offer.

If you look at old catalogues, it was normal to see 2-3 new locos per year. Recently they've gone over the top!

In the '70s there were 120 pages (including metall and sprint) - but they had 3 or 4 locos on one page, 6 coaches on one page, up to 11 freight cars on one page.
Later there was a time when they showed the items on nice layouts.

What matters is the number of items, new items, and new moulds. Comparing the number of pages doesn't say much (but I haven't done that yet).

David, I don't want to estimate how many items there were in the '70s, '80s, '90s, and in the last few years.
In the current decade they sometimes give two pages to one new model. They weren't that verbose in the '70s - even new models had to share a page with other models.

Many additional pages came because of the more generous layout.
Well, catalogue price rose from 0,00 DM in the '70s to 7,50 Euro after the millenium.

In the '70s all locos were "conventional" (i. e. analog).
In the '90s you could see up to four variations of a model: e.g. 3304, 3504, 3604, 3704.
This was reduced to Delta and 37xxx after the millenium - and Delta finally disappeared, too.
So what will we count? Models? Articles? How to deal with these variations?

The new items brochure has 173 new items (I only counted the index) on 186 pages.
The 1978 pricelist had 682 items while the catalogue had only 120 pages (the pages with tracks, signals, and spare parts contain many items!).

I think there are more new items nowadays - but counting pages is not meaningful if you wish to compare the counts of new items now and then.

Yes Goofy, that's my point. You would see 2 or 3 new items in a year, and then they would stay in the catalogue for many years.

Today, you get many more new items, but many of them are "one time series", and you don't see them again in that form the following year. This is great for rich collectors, but not so good for the average enthusiast. I find that I'm still trying to catch up with models that I wanted from the '80s and '90s, and I have no hope of getting all the new items that I like.

Ray

One thing is for sure.
Businesses today are keeping us on our toes.
We are not allowed to rest our minds from and for new items.
Märklin, unfortunately has paid the price.
From what I can gather, most members had their wish lists on new items already.
There is a fine line between being conservative and pushing for new items.
But in the end or going towards a climat of millions of spare parts, faulty equipment, delayed deliveries can make your dream become a nightmare.
Liquidators are not known for creative ideas.
Will Märklin fans be left hanging in the air and are again waiting for better days ahead ?
The maker of the CS 2 cannot claim any money from Märklin regarding production costs and materials used for producing the CS 2.
With furter statements being announced in April we may hear a conclusion of what will happen with Märklin.
In the case of new owners, I suspect they will try to get their hands on the new CS 2 as soon as possible and produce the startersets.
There does'nt seem to be any stalemate, regarding orders are concerned.
And the other question will arise regarding the US dealership and its future.

regards.,
John