chessie_system3
Well-Known Member
As some members on here know. I recently purchased a Varipulse 852B walk around throttle. I spent a better part of three days working with it. Finding out what I like and dont like. Let me start off by saying Ken Stapleton is on point. I havent had such good customer service. I sent email to him before bed and had a response before I even got out of bed to get the kid to school. Also I purchased a built one. I felt it may be a safer bet that way. So out of pocket cost $55 including shipping. Which with current events took longer than usual. Nevertheless it showed up. So here we go with hooking it up. I power mine with my MRC Tech 4 260. Everything connects good and with just four wires to hook up took me no time at all getting it connected. Directions were spot on and away we go. Start out with an Atlas model for my first test. Now keep in mind my previous walk around. Well previous current throttle is a Troller TRH-40. When using it my Atlas locomotives literally jumped to life and as run time goes they begin doing an off the wall surge while at speed. So with the Varipulse I found that they slowly come to life. Basically start out at a very slow crawl. Now it's worth mentioning that the Varipulse has a more aggressive voltage application. This application does create a hum. However in the Atlas model it was very low tone. Not much different than any other throttle I've used. So that's a plus. Now let's move on to an Athearn RTR model. Apply the throttle and yeah that was short lived. The open frame on an Athearn creates a lot of vibration which in turn causes the shell to resonate. But it had great slow speed as well for the short period I actually ran it. So a negative point for the Varipulse. However let's not rule it out entirely. Next up is a P2K locomotive. Apply the throttle to it. It has a slightly more noticeable hum to it but nowhere near as bad as the Athearn. It has good slow speed as well. It may be worth noting that the hum varies with the P2Ks. My P2K GP7 hums more than my P2K GP30s. The GP30s are like the Atlas models. It's not really a noticeable change. Next up is a Bachmann. It responds just like the Athearn. Its noisy from the get go. However all the locomotives have had an increase in slow speed performance. If one could find a way to absorb the vibration through the shell I would imagine the noise would become a non issue. It's all about the build quality of the locomotives manufacturer. So then I figure why not put as many cars on a locomotive as I can. Let's do some switching. For this test I used an Atlas GP38. Behind it are 18 cars. So let's break the cars up into multiple trains. This is where a hum actually plays to the advantage. Once the hum is heard get ready because this locomotive is about to move. Move it does at a snail's pace. With no surge just a good even flow. So in all moves performance was smooth with no jumps or jerks. Just smooth operation. Also found that the hum does down in the Atlas locomotive the longer it runs. Made the tail end switches a little hard but still smooth performance wise. Now I decided to not try this test with the Athearn locomotive as I didnt want the wife to come down and put a thumping on me for the noise. So let's try the P2K GP7. Ok so it hums but moves smoothly. It hums at the same pitch no matter throttle setting. However performance is still good. It performed just as good as the Atlas model. It just has a more audible hum that doesn't die down at all. I didnt attempt to try out the Bachmann either as it is like the Athearn. So no point in getting bruised up over loud locomotives. So in conclusion here. I would recommend this throttle to anyone running a higher end locomotive. Slow speed control is amazing with this. Like i said earlier the Atlas locomotives start out with a very slight audible hum but no different than any DC throttle i currently use. Now keep in mind I only tested what I currently have. So results may vary. At first I'll admit I was a little let down. The more i messed with it the more i learned. I learned the hum gets lessened if the throttle is applied in a more slow manner as to jumping straight to setting. The slower the application the less noise. So theres that. If you can get past Athearns shell rattle I'd would say this would work well for them. Possibly do away with the hard screw motor mounts in it. May possibly take some of the vibration out. So the only complaint is noise. Get past that this throttle is a solid performer. And with the price point it's going to be hard to beat. Especially if you run Atlas or the like. If you aren't running mid range equipment and you are running DC then this is the throttle to have. I'll keep my Varipulse just for my Atlas locomotives. The creeping slow speed is a huge plus for me. This will basically sum up my take on the Varipulse. Long winded but worth it. So just in case nobody reads the full thing:
PROS- Great slow speed. Easy connection to the layout. Hardly no audible noise in higher quality locomotives. Great customer service.
CONS- Noisy in mid range locomotives. Does get warm in your hand but not really a con.
For anyone interested. This is the website:
PROS- Great slow speed. Easy connection to the layout. Hardly no audible noise in higher quality locomotives. Great customer service.
CONS- Noisy in mid range locomotives. Does get warm in your hand but not really a con.
For anyone interested. This is the website: