Does anybody know if you can a Powerhouse brick with the controller for a CW-80?
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You probably could, subject to the power handling limitations of the CW-80 controller. I'm assuming you're talking about the one with the separate brick?
The BW transformer brick(on the right)
will satisfactorily power a PM-1 PowerMaster. The output from the brick should be about 20% more than the 5 amp rated output of the BW controller.
You can also remove the transformer and AC from the CW80 and just use the electronics. Just cut the two wires that go from the CW80 transformer to the circuit board and feed the circuit board with a brick instead.
Both sets of outputs work just like a full CW80.
I've used Z-1000 bricks with a CW80 controller too.
Ed
You can also power the BW controller with a Z-1000 brick or a PH-1 brick.
How do you take apart the cw80 ? The screws under the cw80 look triangle shape.
You either buy the special screwdriver, or take an old one and grind it down to match the oddball screw head. 
See http://www.trainfacts.com/trainfacts/?p=34 for how to use a conventional screwdriver to open a CW-80.
Dale, depending on how tight the screws are, you may not get them out with a small screwdriver. I went that route first and it just made a pretzel of the screwdriver.
