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Re: Powcon? what's this accessory for

The Powcons were just starting out in the 1990's when i was going to college
and one of the engineers that had class with me bought one ( i don't remember which one ) but he said it was the best smaw / tig he ever used.

I wanted to learn more about them but at the time they were out of my league
and inverter technology was kinda just getting started and still a lot of controversy about them back then and Powcon was one of the leaders in the industry at the time

Re: Powcon? what's this accessory for

Originally Posted by jackw19

Wow--have I ever put my foot in it. I was thinking the MRF-1 was a MIG pulser and that Powcon was way ahead of its time...but there it is right on the front in the lower right corner, "GTAW."

Well, Powcon was ahead of its time...

actually they were ahead of their time. the MFR-1 does have 5 pulse settings on it I think but i dont know what speed they are, I have yet to get around to wiring it up. Its buried in my shed right now so not going out in the cold to look. The switch on the lower right it to change between TIG and MIG, I have a Profax spoolgun setup to run off my powcon 400smt. My plan is to try and see if I can do a pulsed spoolgun setup with that unit. It has a digital readout and I am thinking the top current setting is for the background current for the pulse.
All the Powcon welders were 100% made in the USA but according to Eddie at Arc-products, those TIG/pulse units were actually imported. you do know you can download all the owners manuals and parts lists from their website right? They were also a small enough company that they would custom build units to the buyer's specs if they ordered enough units. the 300SM/5P I had was a good example of that.

the rotodrive wire feeder was another example of forward thinking design. I posted up a video and pics of that too. but it did not work well for thinner mig wires

I ordered the correct plug ends from Mouser for wiring it up and then discovered one plug was the wrong pin style so I still need to order 1 more plug. Those metal mil spec plugs are not cheap either, about 30- 45 bucks each. the plastic ones are about $10 cheaper.

Re: Powcon? what's this accessory for

Wow--have I ever put my foot in it. I was thinking the MRF-1 was a MIG pulser and that Powcon was way ahead of its time...but there it is right on the front in the lower right corner, "GTAW."

Well, Powcon was ahead of its time...

Re: Powcon? what's this accessory for

SouthPaw, did you ever put your Powcon MRF-1 unit into service?

I just bought an MRF-1 on ebay for $20 (altho the shipping was considerably more.) Can't resist Powcon parts at low prices--I put them on the shelf for a rainy day.

Seller says that the unit is compatible w/ Powcon 400SMT but doesn't mention 400SM. Maybe the hookup requires the remote capabilities of the SMT not present in the SM, even tho the MRF-1 looks to be a MIG accessory and not for TIG? Makes sense to me, but it also makes sense that Powcon would want this nice box to work on all its MIG units.

Re: Powcon? what's this accessory for

Call Eddie at arc products He can tell you about it and can get you a manual.

Re: Powcon? what's this accessory for

looks like a tig module with up slope down slope pulse with amp control post and preflow gas timers

Powcon? what's this accessory for

Anyone know what the Powcon MRF-I module is for? there is a seller on ebay selling several of them. (i already bought one) though not really sure what i would use it for but the price seemed like a deal.
Think its some kind of Pulser???
http://cgi.ebay.com/Powcon-MFR-I-mod...item4cf816d6b2