I recently purchased a lionel 180 watt brick transformer, and would like to hook it up to a MTH DCS. Is there a special cable, or do you just cut the end off?
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
People do both. There is a cable set from Lionel with spades on the end, or you can just cut the end off.
pigfoot I have set up my home power and the Ford Model Railroad club modules with Molex plugs just like the Lionel Bricks. I made up cables with the Molex connectors on one end and banana plugs on the other end to plug into the TIU. Out of the TIU I use Banana plugs to a hookup to the track. In my case I use banana plugs on the TIU end Molex on the other end. Then a Molex one one end and track connector on the other end. This way I can hook up a brick or 2 or a Z4000 to the TIU. From the TIU I connect to the track. I can also hook directly from the power to the track for conventional or run the TIU in passive mode. Any why we run can be made with plug and play. Bruce
I cut the plugs off mine the wire with the white lettering on it is the positive side you can also check with a Oms meter .
If I were you, I would either buy the Lionel TPC cable set or make an adaptor cable yourself. (As described by Bruce above.)
If you cut the plug off of the transformer, then you probably void the warrantee, may reduce any future re-sale value, and also make life more difficult should you ever wish to use this transformer to power Lionel TPC/Powermaster units etc. in the future.
Additionally, the cable set provides you with the easy option to simply plug in an extra transformer should you ever need more than 10A.
I just used the matching Molex connector and built myself a set of cables for the PH180 bricks. I don't like to chop the connectors off unless I have to.
Pigfoot
If you don't want to make one yourself, but rather buy one, I can direct you to dealer that sells them. I have bought 2 of the them and they work great. If interested, my email is in my profile.
Ken
If you are running the Lionel PH180 with an MTH Z4000 there may be phasing problems. Sometimes the Lionel transformers don't play nicely with the MTH Z4000's
A recent similar thread where phasing was an issue.
Mike CT
Personally I don't like cutting off the plugs either. I got some of these adapters a while back and they work great. PH-TIU, you may have to scroll down the page to Transformers & Remote Controls (TMCC), it will be listed toward the bottom of that section. Looks like the price has gone up some, when I got them I believe they were a few dollars less.
I tried to get the Lionel cables but couldn't find them, everyone was out and I didn't want to wait. Those would be fine if you can find them. If you want to make them yourself, GunRunnerJohn posted the parts he used to make his own and I think I have saved the info he posted. If you would like, I will try to find it and repost, unless he sees this and beats me to the reposting of the info.
You can make these for about $3 in parts, the Molex connectors and banana plugs are available at Digikey.
For anyone interested in making their own, here is the info I saved on making the PH-180 connectors. I tried to credit the posters that the info came from, but my notes are not the greatest. Apologies in advance if I got any of the credits wrong.
Previously Posted by gunrunnerjohn:
Here are the connectors and pins that mate with the PH180 connector.
http://www.alliedelec.com/sear...il.aspx?SKU=70190783
http://www.alliedelec.com/sear...il.aspx?SKU=70190616
Previously Posted by trainrails:
800-346-6873
3-circut molex receptacles
Mouser P/N's:
538-03-09-1032 - white plastic female? plug for the brick
538-02-09-1104 - connectors for it
538-03-09-2032 - receiving or male? end from the brick
538-02-09-2103 - pins for this end
538-63811-1000 UNIVERSAL CRIMP TOOL
Previously Posted by Dale Manquen:
The Hot is the center pin, and the Common is the bottom. The top pin is only used on the new ZW transformers for jumpering a brick from one channel to the next in line.
Another past thread on PH-180 Info - Some and possibly all of the above info was taken from this thread.
Two words: Anderson Powerpoles!
I just got two 180's (based on John's high speed breaker observations) for my DCS home and modular layouts. I put Anderson Powerpoles on the 18V wire to make it consistent with all my MTH and other transformers. Makes everything quickly interchangeable.
You do need to do a phase check before deciding which connector is black, but once you're done, no phasing issues regardless of the transformer used as a supply. I use blue instead of red. I use red for DC+, so blue indicates AC hot for me.
I've done the same to all my MTH Z-1000 bricks, too.
Just my 2 cents!
Ed
note to self: better focus next time!
Attachments
Images (3)
