Test alternative point motor
Work out how to split the 4-way point group
Legs
It was all points this week, with the aim of reducing the need for bigger, louder bangs when the H&M points are changed. First, Geoff had 'dug out' a bag of Conrad point motors that he'd bought on eBay. These were reproductions of Hoffman point motors and were intended for his 'other' layout, but never used.
The unit comprised a small motor driving a gear train onto a rack, producing the push-pull action. Internal contacts stopped the motor at each end, but didn't provide any frog-switching facility. An old 00 point on a piece of ply was fitted with the motor and variable power supply applied. It was quiet and the movement prototypical at lower voltages, but had a clunk, not unlike the H&M's, at higher levels. We decided it wasn't worth swapping over to them.
The cross-over is one of the track main features on the layout. At present, all four points 'fire' at the same time, changing the routes to 'all straight' or 'all crossed', which requires just two feeds. We have found that the points and the micro-switches supplying the frogs can be a little temperamental, which caused short-circuits. The immediate answer was to increase the voltage to the capacitor discharge unit, which would work, but would also increase the 'bang' supplied to the other single and twin points.We had previously noted that it could be advantageous to rolling-stock movements, not to have all the points firing together, which would also reduce the load on the CD unit. We investigated the rail polarities and found two complete triangles of rail that would need splitting. The two 'frogs' at the centre of the crossover were already split horizontally and the board joint broke one side of the triangles, so only two further breaks were required. A couple of permanent jumpers were fitted and the assembly was successfully tested.
PS - An interlude to the wiring occurred when we assembled a trestle leg we thought might make a decent board support. It came from Ikea, called Lerberg and cost £5 (each). We were pleasantly surprised by the material quality and even more so, by the rigidity. We originally thought it would need adapting to make it collapseable, but decided they could be 'nested'. It is too low, but a plywood extension notched to suit the allotted board will not be difficult to implement. So, off to Ikea for the other three!
