GridNorth Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 I'm new to model railways so please forgive my ignorance. I have been told that Hornby Point Clips should not be used to power the whole track as the clips can get hot and melt the plastic, especially with large layouts, an argument that sounds a little dubious to me. Surely the current drawn is a consequence of the number of locomotives and any other devices concurrently running and has nothing to do with the legth of the track.Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 I believe they can get very hot if not fitted well, regardless of the layouts size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 They are bits of steel wire, not exactly the most conductive of materials. They are meant to provide continuity past points for a siding or two, not to provide a substitute for a proper power bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 There have been many posts on this forum where clips on even modest sized layouts have been seen to glow red hot with heat. So it is not a dubious tall story....it is based upon fact..It easily makes sense if someone has any understanding at all of 'Ohms Law'. In Ohms Law, watts = current squared times resistance. So even a very small resistance can generate a lot of watts of heat on even modest currents. The DCC point clips are just a push friction fit, and if fitted to rails that are already tarnished with oxidation, then they can actually promote a resistive current path through them..You have to remember that Hornby have a 'it's a toy mentality' they come up with solutions that just rely on being able to push and clip things together that are not necessarily 'best engineering practice'. Soldering is a word that is just not in the Hornby marketing department vocabulary..TIP: As a relatively newbie poster, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button..See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GridNorth Posted November 3, 2019 Author Share Posted November 3, 2019 Poor connections makes more sense than the other reasons put forward. I've not actually seen the clips so I will take your word for that. Cheers.Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 I don't think the reason they can get hot really matters, the fact is they can. I guess the more points you have the bigger the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Poor connections makes more sense than the other reasons put forward. I've not actually seen the clips so I will take your word for that. Cheers.Al https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/hornby-digital-electric-point-clips.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morairamike Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 These really belong in a staple gun. Ok for initial use but once you decide to go DCC then solder in a track buss or go electro frog and frog switching with a track buss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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