Several MRR manufacturers use felt pads to pack locomotives safely. Those felt pads are meant to prevent damages – but this works only when they are at the right places.
At the wrong places, felt pads can even cause damages. Continue reading Packaging: Damages caused by felt pads
There are many different couplers for use with H0 gauge models – provided they have NEM 362 coupler pockets. I introduce five couplers that are frequently used in the three-rail world. Continue reading Close Couplers for H0 Models
Sooner or later you will hear that blue transformers can be dangerous to modern decoders. It’s not the colour that makes them dangerous. Continue reading Electricity 101 (Part 4): Blue Transformers and Modern Decoders
Rectifiers can increase the effective voltage of AC. Or decrease it. No magic involved. Continue reading Electricity 101 (Part 3): AC and Rectifiers
Most of the time the voltage coming out of your transformer will be different from the voltage given on the type plate. Continue reading Electricity 101 (Part 2): What Does Nominal Voltage Mean?
What does “16 V AC” mean?
A light bulb should give the same brightness with 16 V AC as it does with 16 V DC. That’s by definition. “16 V AC” means “AC as efficient as 16 V DC”. Continue reading Electricity 101 (Part 1): What does “16 V AC” Mean? What is Effective Voltage?
The MM protocol is limited to five functions per address. But mfx decoders that also support the MM protocol are not limited to one MM address only, allowing you to control 9, 13, 16, or even 17 functions. Continue reading MM Protocol (e.g. CU 6021): Using 9 or 16 Functions with mfx Locos
When a loco that uses MM protocol (fx loco or Märklin Digital with 36xx/37xx ref. number) won’t run, there are several potential causes. Continue reading MS2: Loco with MM Decoder Won’t Run with Mobile Station 2
When an older loco with DIP switch decoder (“mouse piano”) does not react to commands from the digital controller, there could be a simple explanation: the wires to the feeder track have been swapped. Continue reading Older Loco with DIP Switch Decoder Won’t Run
mfx is Märklin’s latest and greatest digital protocol. With mfx, locos register automatically with the digital controller and automatically negotiate a unique address for the loco.
I disabled mfx in my digital controller. Continue reading mfx: Most(ly) Frustrating eXperience