# Experience with MRC 1817 or 1818 decoders



## Newsted (May 29, 2012)

Hey folks,

I have been considering purchasing a few of these decoders to use on some old aristo and REA locomotives. I have used some of the older (AD322) decoders but found the sound to be so poor that I can only describe it as "unique"! I am looking for a way to do this and keep costs down. My favorite decoders are QSI, but I can buy 3 of the MRC for the cost of 1 QSI. I would appreciate any
experience you may have had with these decoders.

THANKS,

Mark Newsted


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

I have the 1818 and do not like the rule 17 or no 17 settings.
Other decoders let you have any function output be any type.
OTOH the sound is good, but is generic whereas other mfg's have custom sounds for different engines.

You do get what you pay for.

And for a small engine, the Zimo MX645 is close to the MRC price and you get many more features such as in put sensors, servo control, and reprogrammable.

And Zimo has a 35 volt running/50 volt surge input spec and 3 watts audio, MRC is 21 volts max.

Also note the MRC can loose its address (this is straight from the MRC 1818 manual), and DC operations I find are not great.

I run my engines at shows on DC layouts so this is important to me.


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## Newsted (May 29, 2012)

Hi Dan!

Thanks for sharing your experience and expertise; it is much appreciated! I could not agree more that you get what you pay for. I love all the ways you can apply the technology in a decoder such as QSI (I am only familiar with their large scale decoders). I just did a gut job on an Aristo Dash9 and installed a QSI decoder. It turned out to be amazing!

I also hope that all Manufacturers will bring to market some decoders that are affordable and offer high-quality generic sound. They may be limited in functions, but installation should be easier. I think it would be a good way to bring new Model Railroaders into the wonderful world of DCC.

Thanks Again! 

Regards,

Mark Newsted


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