So many Point questions!

[WelshTyneside]

Hello all, hope you're well at this difficult time!

So depending on which forum you read and which guides you dowload there are a million and one different guides to point motors. I want to be able to operate my points electronically on my DCC layout with each motor mounted under the board. Please can someone offer some guidance, particularly with the following....

1. Which point motor is best for me under baseboard and using Hornby points?

2. What is the best way to control these points?

2b. Do I need accessory decoders?

[Souty Train Guy]

1) You can use many point motors with Hornby points. Servos will need the spring removed but draw less current than the typical hornby or peco solenoid

2) You can control these points via a DCC controller with an accessory decoder OR use standard switches with a 12v/16v DC power supply (as a separate system)

Some DCC systems allow for pre-planned routes with dcc-fitted points and signals so this is one benefit to the DCC route

[Rog RJ]

What you are asking is really just a matter of personal preference, apart from 2b which depends on whether you end up operating the points by switches or by DCC and what point motors you choose to use.

 

You need to decide whether you want to use Solenoid types such as Hornby or Peco or slow motion types like Tortoise or Cobalt.  Servos which have been used for many years by model aeroplane, car and boat enthusiasts are now being used by some railway modellers.

 

1 Which point motor is best?  Hard to say, there are many differnt makes & models to choose from.  As this is a Hornby forum we shouldn't really promote any other brands but some of them are Hornby, Peco, Seep, Fulgerex, Conrad, Cobalt, Hattons etc etc.

 

2 Best way to control.  I personally prefer to operate points via switches rather than DCC as it's quicker and easier than all the button pushing that's needed with the majority of DCC methods.  Some are easier than others.

 

2b Do I need accessory decoders.  If you choose to operate the points by DCC then yes, you will usually need some form of decoder between the DCC controller and the point motors.  Some point motors, such as the Cobalt digital point motors have built in decoders so they don't need a separate decoder.  Servos need a special decoder.

[Chrissaf]

Nobody can give a you definitive 100% truly consensus answer to those three questions. The answers are, I'm afraid ... 'it depends'. Put 5 layout builders in a room and ask them those questions and you will get 8 different views

.

1) OK just for the sake of argument let us assume that the answer to this question is Solenoid type motors (now I am not inferring that Solenoids are the best way to operate points).  There are so many brands of Solenoid point motors to choose from. They will all work with Hornby points. They will all do the job admiringly well. The choice really is not what is best, but what ones are good value for money in the quantities I want to buy. What are the easiest to fit and align given the conditions of and under my baseboard. Do I want 'built-in' integral switching contacts (not all Solenoid point motors have this feature). Then there is the question only you can answer. Do you want prototypical slow action point action (electric motor driven point motors). Or are you happy with a loud thud when you operate a point (Solenoid).

.

2) The choice is primarily do you want to operate the point motor by throwing a physical switch. Or do you want to operate them using your DCC controller. The answer to this choice is again not straight forward and has an 'it depends' element to it. It depends upon how many points are going to be operated, what DCC controller are you using. Some on here will favour the physical switch approach because you can put the switches in a 'mimic' panel that has graphics on it that represent your layout. Thus you can identify quickly what switches you need to throw. The main issue with DCC if you are using a hardware controller is the number of button presses that you need to press just to operate a point, plus the need to memorise (or have a written lookup sheet) that tells you which DCC address you need to key in for each point to be operated.

.

Where DCC control really becomes a 'no brainer' is when your DCC controller is a PC software package (like for example Hornby RailMaster). Then you have your 'mimic panel' displayed on screen as a software plan. You click icons on screen that represent your point to change them. The screen point indicators show what route has been chosen. Plus you can interlink different DCC products to work together at the press of a single button or develop 'programs' to run aspects of your layouts. None of these enhancements are really practical to do with just a basic stand-alone hardware DCC controller.

.

3) The Accessory Decoder becomes essential to include if you want to adopt the DCC point control aspect of your layout. If you just want to throw a physical switch, then the DCC Accessory Decoder is not needed.

.

But note this. Some Accessory Decoders (not made by Hornby) are more sophisticated and have the best of both worlds. They can be controlled by DCC commands from your DCC controller, but also have manual switch over-ride capabilities that allow them to be also operated from physical switches.

.

In Conclusion.

Rather than ask the question you have asked. You would be better to provide a list of the features that you want your point operating solution to have and ask the question what DCC Accessory Decoder / Point motors provide me with these features that I would like.

.

EDIT: All the others above me posted whilst I was still busy typing my reply.

.

TIP: As a newbie poster on the forum, 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/

.

[WelshTyneside]

Thank you!