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I have a new Railking GP7 and run it with a new Lionel 72 watt brick via DCS Remote Commander. The loco runs fine but with one exception. It makes a funny sound noticeable at slow speed with sound turned off.  I made a recording with phone approx 12 inches away. It's been suggested by Dixie2K that since the Lionel brick is not on the recommended list, it may be the culprit. So my questions are:  Is this a sound of an incompatible transformer and will I damage the loco with continued use?



Thanks,

Jon

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I would avoid any of the pre and post war Lionel power sources.  They are too prone for power spikes which blow up boards.  Ask me how I know!

However I agree that if you are having issues, the correct power source is the best bet.  For MTH, sine wave AC output is the best.  Lionel and the smaller MTH transformers have a chopped wave output the can cause issues.  Not necessarily permanent damage, but just challenges.  For AC I rely on the MTH Z-4000, but the old ROW AC transformers are great.  MRC makes some good quality AC transformers coming out of the HO market that they dominated since the 60's.

@John H posted:

Why are they more prone to spikes than a newer one?

The main issue is just improved technology in managing AC power output.  Alternating Current is based on the concept of introducing a sine wave to the power to create momentum.  AC does vary in voltage.  A good example is that a traditional 120V outlet actually varies from around 110V-130V at any given time.  A modern transformer just regulates the voltage variation better.  Also the fuses trip faster in modern transformers due to sensitive electronics. 

Maybe I'm figuring it wrong, but a 20 volt AC variation would amount to about a 4 volt variation on the secondary side, hardly a high voltage spike. If breaker speed is a problem, that could be remedied with adding a fast one to an old transformer. Besides, adding a TVS is the recommended solution for spikes, and transformers don't have them.

Last edited by John H

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