Elite Controller - Manual Point Operation

[DaveAus]

I have the Elite Controller and run DCC on my layout. Re point motors I'm not sure I want to go to the expense of controlling them via DCC decoders. What's the best way to provide manual power via R044 switches to 12 surface mounted point motors.

 

Thanks

 

David

[Rog RJ]

You can use the 15 Volt auxiliary output of the Elite to power your point motors.

 

I've been using the Elite to power my points for a long while ( more or less as soon as the Elite came out) and haven't had any problems. Adding a CDU may be helpful

 

to provide that extra bit of power if you need to operate 2 points together and also guards against point motor burnout.

[Gregd99]

interesting to hear from org that the point motors do not cause any issues with the elite.

 

for those not aware, when a point motor is operated there is a large but short current burst that flows. if power supplies have insufficient capacity or

 

are poorly regulated then there can be all sorts of side effects including resetting controllers. it sounds like this is not an issue for the elite.

 

a benefit of the CDU approach is that the current from the power supply is drawn over a longer period

 

of time and then discharged in a short period of time. this reduces stresses on the power supply, gives the points an extra kick but means that you need to allow a cdu recharge time between operations.

 

personally I use the aux output of an old dc controller

 

from a starter set to power my point motors.

[96RAF]

@David

I appreciate you don't want to go down the route of expensive DCC points operations.

I wanted the best of both worlds as I already had the DCC kit in hand.

I needed DCC points operation for pc route control and/or direct points selection

 

from the Elite, but I also wanted the convenience of manual operation on occasion, so I use rotary switches to select the (qty 18) points and push to make switches for the selection of straight or turn, this in parallel with DCC using cheap car relays as shown

 

here:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/26693-wiring-point-motors-for-dc-andor-dcc-operation/

You can of course use any manual selection system, pen & stud, srpung DPDT switches, R044 switches, etc in lieu of my method.

I use

 

an old H&M2000 controller to supply the AUX points power via a CDU so as to reduce the drain on the Elite. All the DCC does is provide a pulse the same as a manual switch would to pull in the relay long enough to fire the CDU onti the solenoid motor.

Rob