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REVIEW: MRC’s “Power-G” ControllerModel Rectifier Corporation80 Newfield Ave Edison NJ 08837www.modelrectifier.com$224.98 MSRPreviewed by Brian ScaceAs most of you loyal readers may have gathered by now, Scaceis a proponent of the idea that the “Large Scale” folks have certainproducts useful for us, especially some pretty high-horsepowerthrottles. Several letters written to our august journal have voiced adesire for a simple high-capacity power supply that is ready to hookup and use. MRC has recently brought such a power supply to market,under the name of “Power-G”, and we’ll have a look at it.The Power-G is a hefty 10 amp capacity critter, attractively casedfeaturing a fist sized handle, making it strangely reminiscent of theold Lionel KW of my youth. It features two DC outputs, one variableand one fixed. The obvious thing to do was to carry the poor critteroff to the nether regions to suffer the tender mercies of the ScaceBoys (Your’s truly and his father, Robert) in the Dungeon of ElectricalTesting Gear. Using a Fluke true RMS digital multimeter and aTektronix oscilloscope, here’s what we found:• With no load, the fixed output was 23 volts DC, with a 9.0 Vrms ripple (about 25 V peak-to-peak).• With no load, the variable output was 0.3-22 V DC, 8.7 V rmsripple (also about 25V peak-to-peak)• With a 2.0 Ohm load, the variable output was 0.3-16 V, with a7.3 V rms ripple.• We didn’t have any low-value high-power resistors to test theoverloading circuitry, but the supply happily went about its thing at8 amps with what we did have.What this all means is that this is a simple, maybe even delightfullyarchaic, gutsy power supply. It also means this is an unfilteredsupply, using full wave rectifiers (one each on the fixed and variablecircuits). You should be aware of this, if you intend to use any addoncontrol components. As an example, many of the Radio Controlsystems out there, such as Locolink, have a requirement for filteredDC, which this supply does not provide. You’ll want to check theinstructions that come with any add-on control systems beforehooking them up to this unit. Also, for you DCC guys and gals, thereis no AC output available, which limits the utility of this unit as apower supply for DCC equipped railroads. Perhaps the good folksat MRC would consider a “Power-O” version, whose only differencewould the substitution of an AC fixed output for the DC one,to permit use as a potent DCC power supply. Those who want fixedDC to drive switch motors could pick the “Power-G”, and thoseusing DCC would pick the version with a fixed AC output.Product News & ReviewsMy only real beef with this thing is the handle. It is a slip fit, notnearly the solid bomb-shelter feel of the rest of the unit, with the irritatingtendency to lift off during my probably over-enthusiastic throttle-fanning.MRC says to slip a piece of tape around the shaft; abetter solution is to make a new handle or replace the current onewith a big ol’ knob, either one having a set screw to lock it in placeon the shaft. Perhaps MRC will re-engineer the current one withsomething more in line with the robustness of the rest of the unit.On the plus side, you asked for it, and MRC has offered a finehigh-horsepower piece of gear for the conventionally wired layout.The reversing switch is not some lightweight slide switch, but agood beefy toggle. All of the indicator lights are big “in-your-face”bulbs that will light up the room. The overall design goal can becharacterized as robustness rather than finesse, though it smoothlymade light work of two old USH Hudsons, with open-frame motors,and a string of lighted Joe Fischer passenger cars, which is, ofcourse, where thevalue really is. This isone of the few modern-madepower suppliesfor those of uswho revel in thesound of our heavyolder gear on our traditionalcab-controlrailroads. It’s aChecker, not a Cadillac.By the way, here’san important footnote.Not too longago, I found my oldest MRC Controlmaster 20 supply (another MRCproduct worth considering for O Scale) not performing up to thesame level as the other, albeit newer, versions I own. I gave them ashout and (without saying that I work at OST) sent it back for theirkind attentions. Now, realize that this thing is probably ten years oldand has been in use for that period of time horsing brass around.They gave it a good look-see, and determined that it was performingup to standards (the newer ones are just a little stronger) andreturned it at no charge. This tells me several things. They couldhave found “something wrong” or just arbitrarily changed out all theguts and charged accordingly, but they didn’t. They could have saidit was too old and not their responsibility, but they didn’t. Instead,they cheerfully looked at it, tested it, shot me a straight line, andreturned it (even covering the return shipping) promptly. Considerthis when considering price vs. value.Review: New York Central L3b MohawkSunset Models37 S Fourth StCampbell CA 95008408-866-1727, www.3rdrail.comreviewed by Brian ScaceSunset has just added a new Mohawk to their New York Centralstable. For those of you who may not know, the NYC rostered themost 4-8-2 locomotives in the US. Somehow, the generally acceptedterm “Mountain” just didn’t work on the Central, known forbeing “The Water Level Route”, so Mohawks they were.Sunset chose the Lima-built L3b as the prototype of this model.The L3b came in a couple of varieties, and this is the version with aninset Elesco feedwater heater, rather than the Alco-built Worthingtonheater. After unpacking the model, here’s what I saw.The fit and finish continues to improve on Sunset’s latest offerings,and this engine is no exception. The paint is smoothlyapplied, lettering straight, and assembly appears tight. There is anicely detailed backhead present, enough sliding roof vents andopening turret covers to satisfy the lid-flippers among us, and thedetail castings are up to today’s standards. Purists may quibblewith the gold lettering, rather than silver or white, on the numberplate. That minor detail can be easily dealt with, if it bugs you.Rather than worrying about that, there is much more here to likeas the locomotive and tender lettering is crisp and (finally!) in thecorrect font.Also vastly improved are the tender drawbar and electrical connections.The plate between the tender and locomotive flops downnicely between the two, right where it should be. The connectionsplug together easily and tuck up into the tender very unobtrusively,a great improvement over my B&M Berk, for example.The drivers and valve gear are well executed. Even the oiler linkageis there and functional. The Lima engines in this subclass weredelivered with either Boxpok or Union web-spoke drivers. On themodel, the main driver is a Union, while the other three axles areBoxpok, an interesting variation. I would suggest that future offeringswith mixed drivers include a replacement main, for those whowould want to backdate the model into the much more commonappearance of matched driver sets.(continued on page 48)July/Aug ’04 - O Scale Trains • 47