TPC 400 repair

The last I remember a repair person was Dale M. But he passed away last year or more. However, I’ve seen used ones for a price similar to a typical repair cost and shipping. 

Thanks for the reply, Chuck. I will keep a lookout for a used one.

I have been away from the forum for the last few years and out of the loop on the latest news. It is sad news about Dale’s passing. He was a great contributer to the forum and I have learned so much from him. May he rest in peace.

Denny Lyons posted:

Thanks for the reply, Chuck. I will keep a lookout for a used one.

I have been away from the forum for the last few years and out of the loop on the latest news. It is sad news about Dale’s passing. He was a great contributer to the forum and I have learned so much from him. May he rest in peace.

Denny,

Why don't you look into a  Legacy Power Master. I was able to pick up one pretty reasonable!

I'm not sure what your setup is, but they work great!!

Fredstrains

The Legacy 180W Powermaster has an MSRP of only $99, and I suspect that the street price is around $80.  If you're not handling more than 10 amps, that would be the way to go.  The Legacy 360W Powermaster has an MSRP 0f $219.

Hi Fred and GRJ,

i have myTPCs buried under my layout and not easily accessable  I change from Command mode to Conventional mode with a command from my remote. At first glance it looked like I needed to throw a physical switch on the powermaster to do the same thing. If I can change modes from the remote, then I am all in on this suggestion. Can anyone verify one way or the other?

Thanks

Denny

From the PowerMaster manual...

"Operating Conventional locomotives in the Command Control environment using a CAB Remote Controller To operate Conventional lcoomotives, set the CMD/CONV switch on the LEGACY PowerMaster to CONV. When the switch is set to CONV, you have complete control of the PowerMaster ouptut from the CAB Remote Control. You can set the output voltage to the track, trigger direction changes, and activate whistle and bell sounds. In addition, you can fire the ElectroCouplers on select conventional locomotives."

Thanks Chuck,

Looks like I need physical access to the powermaster for mode change. I will find another TPC and surround all of them with TVS and circuit breakers. I was smart enough to do that on my ZWs, but forgot to protect my TPCs. Expensive lesson.

cheers

Denny

The original IC Controls products were pretty much bulletproof. However, the Chinese made ones were known to failure. You may not have a blown board but simply a burned trace on the ICB. Open it up and take a look.

If a trace is burned you can solder a piece of solid copper wire to remake the connection.

I have one of the original TPC 400 prototypes no with the original prototype instruction manual that were handmade by Lou Kovatch that I don’t use and may be interested in selling it. My e-mail is in my profile.