In praise of the humble Select Controller

[Paul60]

I'm a total newcomer to model rail and only just received my Select contoller.

 

I'm not sure why so many folk knock it or dismiss it as a toy.

 

It's doing what I need it to do and with v1.5 firmware I can even get all the functions.

 

Big thumbs up from me so far.

[Paul60]

 Hey Magfan,

 

I have an Elite on the way too.

 

But this Select would be all you'd need as a beginner like me I'd reckon.

 

I have only ordered the Elite as it was offered to me for a crazy cheap price.

[Paul60]

 Thanks Magfan,

 

Yes, it will be great to have the Elite in my bag of tricks. I have watched a few Elite youtube videos. Nice bit of kit.

 

This Select though seems to do what many folk would want.

[Paul60]

 By the way, I'll be playing trains on the floor tonight. Don't want any more runaway locos taking a dive off my desk ! 😉

[Yelrow]

Paul, once you have mastered your elite, have a look at  David  Lane, on ebay, R8266 yellow walkabout cables, any length supplied. First class. Turns your select into fully fledged Walkabout, as once you have your elite, otherwise it will become un necessary. john

[Paul60]

Paul, once you have mastered your elite, have a look at  David  Lane, on ebay, R8266 yellow walkabout cables, any length supplied. First class. Turns your select into fully fledged Walkabout, as once you have your elite, otherwise it will become un necessary. john

Thanks John,

 

I'll look at that. I think I've made the right choice with the Select & Elite. I looked at that PC control thing too. But I don't like PC's. That's why I want a model railway. To escape from computers. 

[Yelrow]

Many on here, have the elite, some, like me have it connected to a PC, as i find,  changing CVs, and running sound locos, far easier. The pc, remembers all the functions for each loco, when entered.  If i had started with the elite, i probably would have just had that, but started with the Majestic set, which came complete with Elink and Railmaster. I have just substituted elink, for Elite, so can use knobs without turning pc on. Very content with Walkabout. john

[Paul60]

 Thanks John,

 

Yes, I want that tactile feel of the dials & controls, not a mouse and cursor on a screen. Plus the hassel of booting a PC or Laptop everytime.

 

I just found Dave Lane's ebay shop and added it to my cart. A 4 meter cable.

 

That Majestic set looks a cracker by the way.

[Yelrow]

It was fantastic value at the time, even more so now, as Hornby have it on promotion, £100 off. Glad you sorted a cable. It is plug and play. john

[Paul60]

 I was tempted to buy it. My local hobby shop still has them. Around $800AUS.

 

Instead, to be different, I went the other way (cart before the horse) & started with a loco, then some track & now a controller.

 

I liked the Mixed Freight & Somerset Belle sets too, but they had sold out.

[RDS]

@Paul60

That is just the way I went.  Select, then upgraded to Elite and added RailMaster to give the best of both worlds: Computer control with RailMaster and/or Manual control using the Elite.  My Select is now a Walkabout.  Excellent System (and it does not concern me at all that I cannot do everything from the Select)

[Paul60]

 By the way, I'll be playing trains on the floor tonight. Don't want any more runaway locos taking a dive off my desk ! 😉

keep your track clean ,invest in a track rubber,hopefully keeps dc runaways to a minimum,

 

Thanks Mag, I shall do that.

 

I have the track laid out on my foam board. It runs so smoothly now. 😀

 

[poliss]

Select limitations.

The Select isn't NMRA compliant. The National Model Railway Association has a set of standards for DCC controllers and decoders.

The Select can't change many CVs. It can't alter CVs 2,6 and 5 for example. These change the start, mid and maximum voltage. You need those if you want to speed match locos in a double header.

The Select can't reset decoders to default settings. You may need to do that if the loco doesn't respond properly.

The Select may not work with some American made decoders.

Although the Select manual says you can run one analogue locomotive, this is not recommended as it can burn out the motor in the loco, especially when the loco is stationary.

Firmware version 1.5 of the Select allows you to turn off Analogue/DC support. You should do this as it may prevent runaways and should also mean your Select will have a faster response time.

 

The Select isn't the worst controller in the world. I know of another that has even greater limitations.

[mjb1961]

It was fantastic value at the time, even more so now, as Hornby have it on promotion, £100 off. Glad you sorted a cable. It is plug and play. john

Hi yelrow ,£100 off ,where can I find this offer ,looked in the shop and no £100 off there ,,,,mjb

[96RAF]

It was fantastic value at the time, even more so now, as Hornby have it on promotion, £100 off. Glad you sorted a cable. It is plug and play. john

Hi yelrow ,£100 off ,where can I find this offer ,looked in the shop and no £100 off there ,,,,mjb

R1172 down to just under 300 pounds from 400.

 

100 pounds off a Select would be a bargain.

[Yelrow]

MJB hornby shop, Last Chance T o Buy  £299, reduced from £399. john

[poliss]

£230.00 in the Liverpool shop.

[choralc]

Paul60 if you type R1172 into ebay.com.au you'll find one much cheaper than $800 unopened.

[Paul60]

Paul60 if you type R1172 into ebay.com.au you'll find one much cheaper than $800 unopened.

 

Thanks Choralc,

 

I have done enough damage to my wallet already  ! 😀

 

By the way, my LHS are way overpriced. Not just rail. RC & everything. I only buy stuff from there when desperate.

[choralc]

Sorry P60 ... LHS?

[Paul60]

Sorry P60 ... LHS?

 

Sorry, weasel speak. I meant my Local Hobby Shop