hornby digital points decoders

[MICKTHECHAIR]

can any one tell me which surface point motors are best to use with hornby digital point decoders

[2e0dtoeric]

Simple - Hornby or Peco solenoids. Be warned the wiring standard is different!

Loads of threads about this on here.

[Chrissaf]

Hornby R8243 surface mount point motors are the only ones still made by Hornby and are best used with Hornby track. Note that Hornby use Black as the common return wire.

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PECO SL-11 surface mount point motors if using PECO track. Note that PECO use Green as the common return wire.

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Both are compatible with the Hornby R8247 Accessory Decoder. The common return wire goes on the decoder 'C' terminal

 

[pd91223]

I have all Hornby track & points. I started by using standard (normally mounted under the baseboard) Hornby R8014 point motors mounted in R8015 housings. I then tried Hornby R8243 surface mount point motors & Peco SL-11 surface mount point motors. The R8014/R8015 combination works ok, but can fail if not aligned correctly; the housings are not that aesthetically pleasing either! The Peco SL-11 doesn't align that well with Hornby points and, as Chris has mentioned above, mixing Hornby & Peco you have to be careful about the difference in wiring. So, I'm gradually converting over to the R8243s which work very well for me.

 

I did toy with the DCCConcepts Cobalt-SS stepper motors (slow speed of change compared to solenoids) but found them very fiddly and for Hornby points they require modifications to the tie bars which I wasn't prepared to do. I also found DCCConcepts very difficult to deal with!

 

Servo motors are the other "slow" way to go, but I couldn't find a simple & cost-effective solution at the time. I suspect, however, that these will improve in the future.

[Chrissaf]

To add further to PD9.....'s reply above.

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Also note that the R8243 also needs careful spot-on alignment. Do not overtighten the mounting screws. If you make the screws too tight, the case gets distorted and the soft iron slug inside sticks. The screws should be just tight enough to hold the Hornby R8243 in place, but loose enough to allow slight movement felt with the fingers.

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Also: I wrote:

"Hornby R8243 surface mount point motors are the only ones still made by Hornby and are best used with Hornby track."

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I should have wrote:

"Hornby R8243 surface mount point motors are the only ones still made by Hornby and are best used with the modern Hornby Nickle Silver track. Some of the old Hornby steel track points are not directly compatible with the R8243."

[96RAF]

Hornby still have the R8014 solenoid point motor in stock which can be surface mounted using the little shed, either trackside or more remote using the supplied extension bar. This decice is compatible with the R8247 accessory decoder.

Rob