Railmaster and Kato points

[96RAF]

Hi, guys, I have a Kato layout running Railmaster as the controller the layout has 5 Kato points controlled by the Kato hard-wired switch bank, I would like to control the points using the Railtrack system software, but no idea how to do it, what do I need to buy and how do I frig the layout software to make them switch  

[96RAF]

You need to drive the point motors from RM via an accessory decoder.

If you want to retain the manual switching then you interface a pair of relays to parallel the manual switching via the main contacts and for DCC operation you pull in the relay coils using the output from the accessory decoder.

[ben39uk]

Hi RAF96 thanks for reply do you have a model number of the decoder that would be suitable for this to work, would I need one for each point? or one to control all 5 points

[96RAF]

Hornby R8247;point and accessory decoder (PAD) will operate four solenoid motors.

 

Other makes are available some of which are easier to set up as they are self learning - some are available as single, four or eight channels). Hornby PAD is set up using various CV values. Google DCC accessory or points decoders for more choice.

 

If you have a pair of points say as a loop to loop cross-over then you can give them the same address and switch them both together. Hornby will not condone this setup official.y but it will work with R8247 and other make acc decoders. Pairing point motors saves on the number of acc decoder ports you need.

[Chrissaf]

Before running off and start ordering Hornby R8247 Accessory Decoders. Please check the existing Kato point motors and see if the are connected via 3 wires or 2 wires.

 

Most Kato point motors that I am aware of, use 2 wire 'reversible' stall type motors. These are not natively compatible with Hornby Accessory Decoders.

 

Hornby R8247 Accessory Decoders are designed to operate 3 wire solenoid point motors. Yes they can be configured for 'always on' instead of 'pulse' operation. But this 'always on' configuration is not compatible with 2 wire point motor operation. 2 wire operation requires a decoder that can provide 'reversible' voltage outputs.

 

The Kato 2 wire 'reversible' point motor may not be a true 'stall motor' in which case it needs a reversible power source that is timed to be live for a set period [check the Kato point motor manual]. If this is so, the Hornby R8247 can provide a configurable 'pulse on' time up to 25 seconds. So this variable timing configuration option if used in conjunction with the DCC Concepts adaptors below would provide a solution.

 

Note that on the linked DCC Concepts product page below. The text specifically states that the adaptor is compatible with Kato motors and suggests a 'pulse' time be configured between 2 and 4 secs.

 

Doable on the R8247 as long as your Hornby controller can write to CVs. This would preclude the pre-version 1.6 firmware Select, but not an issue with RailMaster using eLink / Elite controllers.

 

DCC Concepts sell an adaptor that can convert a 3 wire Accessory Decoder port into a 2 wire 'reversible' output. One adaptor required per Accessory Decoder Port i.e one per wired point motor.

 

https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/dcc-decoder-converter-3-wire-to-2-wire-3-pack/

 

Any 3 wire Accessory Decoder could be used with the above DCC Concepts adaptors as long as they have configurable 'pulse on' times. Most other brands of Accessory Decoders use 'address learning' configuration and can be a little easier to configure than the R8247. But as a RailMaster user, the configuration of the R8247 is specifically written into RM using a GUI interface which simplifies the configuration compared to a hardware only based controller with multiple button pressing.

 

[ben39uk]

Hi Chrissar yes they are two-wire point cables does this mean it get more difficult?

[96RAF]

Yes it does, but it is do-able, using electronics or relays. Chris looks as though he is about to produce a diagram or instructions for How-To.

 

I had locked onto Piko not Kato so thought they were standard 3-wire solenoids.

 

Acc deooders for solenoids provide a common positive and switched negatives for left and right.

[westernwill]

I use Kato track and points with Railmaster.

 

The Digitrains DS64 Point Decoders work perfectly with Kato points and Railmaster.