Wondering what a replacement for the 9v speed regulator is?

[Jeff B]

I still have several 9v train motors that I’ve been running on Lego and FX Tracks, but was wondering what others are using instead of the Lego 9v speed regulator.  I’ve also tried Bevins Bricks train pickup, which works well with the PF large motors that I have in some steam engines.  FX Bricks will eventually come out with one, and I’ve seen seen some people using a Roco speed regulator, but that has a European plug and I’m in the US

[supertruper1988]

You can use a model railroad DC speed controller HO typically goes up to ~15VDC and can carry some amps so you will need to measure the output and mark it to not go over ~10 or so volts. 

You could also build your own with a PWM circuit and a ~9V DC wall adapter. Plenty of videos and guides on how to do such a thing. 

For track connection, you will need to solder directly to a piece of track or cut up a cable or use a PF extension cable to get the power to the track. 

[SDLgo9]

When I was a nipper and 9v first came out, I used a Hornby-Dublo regulator fed from a Sinclair Spectrum 9v power supply - because both of those were things the family already had.

 

Track connection was accomplished by poking the bare ends of wires into a track joint 

Edited July 26 by SDLgo9

[Jeff B]

Thanks, I’ll look into the HO and building my own possibilities.  Are there any specific brands for the HO that anyone found success and is using?

[ivanlan9]

I've successfully used an MRC HO unit that gave me sound and momentum; it's a 12-volt DC supply that's easy to use and hook up (you'll need speakers), and I was very happy with it.  There are two things not so great about this sort of solution, however.  1) it's NOT DCC, and the sound shows it--I had a choice of "steam" or "diesel" -- and that was it.  2) It very definitely produced more than 9 volts.  But this was not really an issue for me, as I hate the unprototypical maximum speeds that Lego is capable of, so I would never run my trains at anywhere near max voltage.  For me, it was a good setup and made running the trains fun--which was all I was after.  If I had more room I would probably want to use genuine DCC--but I don't.

[Feuer Zug]

When I moved from Deutschland to the United States, I had a similar issue. I visited a train show and noticed a number of the power supplies put out 12V DC. I found a cheap regulator at the show that I tested. With a volt meter, I was able to determine where the output reached 9V and marked it. I've never had issues in the 4 years I've run it with my LEGO trains.

[Jeff B]

Just to follow up on this topic.  I purchase a MRC Tech II Railpower 1400 and it works great for powering the 9v motors.  I took a voltmeter and marked out 9v and 12v, max is 14v but I haven’t gone past 11.

[Jeff B]

$28.50 which included shipping

[M_slug357]

@Jeff B have you tested the load capacity of your MRC controller? I’ve only tested it briefly with about 3-4 on a roughly 10ft loop of track

https://flic.kr/p/2q8h4xZ

[Jeff B]

I tested it with my modified Orient Express that includes an extended engine, tender and 5 passenger cars and it definitely supplied enough power 

[FGMatt]

One thing to remember with older power supplies is that the voltage with no load is often significantly higher than it will be under load, so measure them with a load applied (obviously building carefully up to the 9V max).

[Impact1]

If you're going to go the non LEGO route. You might as well use a PWM supply. As opposed to a varied voltage supply. These keep a constant voltage, IE 9v, but turn on and off rapidly to control the speed. I combined a combined a 5 amp variable voltage regulator, normally set to 10v, in series with a PWM motor controller and a reversing switch.

 One of these per pair of PWM:  AliExpress. Power Supply 12V 5A Adjustable 
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOGksM0

And one of these per track:  80W DC Motor Speed Controller PWM Speed Adjustable
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mq4y2BQ

[zephyr1934]

On 8/26/2024 at 3:11 AM, Impact1 said:

If you're going to go the non LEGO route. You might as well use a PWM supply. As opposed to a varied voltage supply.

A long time ago I had bad luck using PWM from a RCX brick controlling 9v train motors. I burned out two motors in a weekend at a show. Fortunately this was back when you could still buy more 9v motors from the manufacturer. It might have been other factors so I wouldn't say PWM was definitely the culprit but I would be cautious. Now if you toss a capacitor in there you could probably smooth out the signal to get the best of both worlds.

[Impact1]

I'm curious what frequency you used for PWM. PF and PU both use PWM to control their motor speed, at 1150Hz I believe.