Hi everybody,
Sorry that my reply is so long, but there are several interesting issues here which might also benefit others….
First of all, like some of you I was surprised to read that David was only able to run two loco’s simultaneously from his Mobile Station. I can run 5 loco’s from the same device (the 1,2 amps MS and the 18 VA transformer from the smaller start sets). At the same time I have two illuminated couches running, and steam in one of the loco’s. And it all runs well. I do realize that I have to invest in more power of I add one or two other things, but as long as things run well I just keep it this way. David, I infer from your text that you tried your setup with three or more locomotives. Does the system halt with ANY combination of these loco’s? If so, that would mean that either all your loco’s are extremely power-consuming (which seems unlikely), or that something is wrong with your MS/transformer.
It might be a good idea to look at the two voltage readings build into the mobile station, at different loads (1, 2 and 3 trains). If I remember well, you can get these reading when you go to the option menu. I could compare your findings with those of mine, if you like me to.
BTW for this type of purposes it is a great thing to have an build-in voltage meters. If this was not the case, each of us would have to use his or her own voltage tester. And this could be quite troublesome, since the signal is a complex one, meters might give total different readings, and we would have to discuss (expensive!) RMS metering and so on. It is much easier and cheaper to compare the build-in meter readings (even though we do not know how reliable these are, this is not too much of an issue here).
Secondly, the Dutch Märklin website seems to give some more detailed information concerning the power of the mobile station than the other language sites I looked at. In fact, it indicates that the power limitation in the smaller start sets is actually the small black transformer, not the small Mobile Station itself. Below, I translated this information. It is taken from
www.marklin.nl/systems/faq.html, I just copy it for what it’s worth.
<ul><li> Mobile Station from the H0 start sets, in combination with the supplied small black transformer can handle a load of 18 VA and a maximum current of 900 mA. This is sufficient for 1 or 2 small Delta loco’s or loco’s with a 6080/6081 decoder. It is also sufficient for 2 to 3 small loco’s with a Hochleistungsantrieb or C-Sinus motor.</li>
<li>Mobile Station from the H0 start sets, delivered with the larger grey transformer or an existing 6647 or 6002 transformer, handle a load of Max 24 VA and a maximum current of 1,2 A (1200 mA). This is sufficient for 2 or 3 small Delta loco’s or loco’s with a 6080/6081 decoder. It is also sufficient for 3 to 4 small loco’s with a Hochleistungsantrieb or C-Sinus motor.</li>
<li>The separately supplied Mobile station (available later on) or the Gauge I start sets, combined with the supplied larger grey transformer or an existing 6002 transformer cvan handle a 38 VA load and a current of 1,9 A =1900 mA. This is sufficient for 3 or 4 small Delta loco’s or loco’s with a 6080/6081 decoder. It is also sufficient for 6 to 7 small loco’s with a Hochleistungsantrieb or C-Sinus motor.</li></ul>
Conclusion: this all seems to confirm David’s experience: no more that two loco’s in for the smallest combination. And a larger transformer would allow him to run some more trains. It remains strange, however, that many of us actually manage to run many more trains using the same set. (((hey, could it be that Märklin did not have the cheaper, 1.2 amps rated 60652 in stock and supplied many people the stronger, 2 amps rated 60651 unit, without telling them?.. just fishing… )))
Thirdly, I would like to raise the issue WHY we have two different mobile stations…. Märklin argues that this is a cost issue; the additional component cost would be so high that they decided to include a lower-power version with the cheaper start sets (www.maerklin.de/systems/index2.html).
I dare to question this claim. Although I very well realize that that there usually is a rather large multiplier between component price and the end user price of a device, it is hard for me to believe that this particular component (the power driver) would be so expensive that it makes up for the extra expenses on production and logistics on Märklin’s side. To be honest, I suspect that having two mobile station types is really a marketing issue, not a cost issue. Would be interested to hear other people’s thoughts.
Lastly, I was thrilled to read the suggestion to use a Delta station as a small booster. I have seen this suggestion before, but didn’t yet think of it in combination with the Mobile Station. Does anybody know what the actual output current (in amperes) of the Delta station is? I would like to know how this compares to the two versions of the mobile station. And any one knows how much current is the central station supposed to offer?
If my need for power grows, I might consider to use the ‘Delta booster’ for one part of my layout, and the regular Delta output for the other (being aware the first-time recognition of eventual MFX decoders has to take place at the latter part of the layout). Are there any issues concerning the transition track from the one part of the track to the other? What are the generals rules connecting tracks fed by different 6017 boosters, for instance?
Ok, sorry to take so much of your time and space. And so many questions. I’ll try to do that never again…
Regards, rudi
