@RickO posted:Lionel recommends 12v-14v for these gateman as well as most other operating accessories. Running them at 18v is asking for trouble.
I run all of my accessories at 10v, including the Halloween gateman from a separate accessory supply. Which is a 180 brick set at 10v output from an AVC unit.
As far as the CW80 transformer is concerned. I originally had 2 from sets that I used for the accessory power. They even ran the accessories poorly, lights flickered etc.
My 180w brick runs the accessories smoother and more reliably at 10v than my CW 80s at 14v.
I got to thinking about this after I wrote it. I actually had a 12v output wall wart running the gatehouse and a couple other push button items.
