Alsared Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 HiI am a complete novice to this game so please bear with me.I have a Kato track set up and have just purchased the Railmaster software and elink unit and have installed software on to a laptop.what do i need to purchase to be able to control signals and point motors, ther Kato has motors built into the actual turnout section with wires attached.any advice would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDS Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Hi Alsared and welcome to the forum. It may be an idea to have a more meaningful title to your thread, so that members here can see what type of help you require. I will see if admin will change it. I have just looked at Kato. Not that it makes any difference but is yours N gauge?Normally all that is required to control a point motor from RailMaster is a Decoder which is connected to the point motor and takes its data and power from the track. Hopefully, someone else may be familiar with the Kato system to be able to advise the type of decoder you require. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDS Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 I just typed 'which decoder can i use with kato points' into Google and a lot of info comes up. Hope this helps, until someone familiar with the Kato system can expand further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 I've always been impressed by the Kato adverts in magazines - their kit looks well engineered.I see their motors are solenoids so note the caveat below re any accessory decoder that drives bi-polar solenoids such as Hornby.. Also this which may answer your Q's Alsahttp://www.kato-unitrack.co.uk/kato-n-unitrack-introduction-page-793-0.html It looks as if they do a nice double slip - they call it a scissors crossing..Please note this re signals:Kato Unitrack & DCC. With regards to the use of Unitrack with DCC, there is a capacity of DC12V @ 3A built into the product. The quality construction of Unitrack and reliable rail connection provided by the Unijoiner® assure that the DCC signal is dependably transmitted.Its also so DCC friendly that Digitrax & ZTC use Unitrack on their demonstration layouts at shows. Kato Promote & sell the Digitrax DCC systems in Japan, and Digitrax make the New Kato DCC decoders.Unitrack turnouts use a bi-polar solenoid drive for reliable operation. To switch the turnout digitally, be sure to choose a DCC turnout decoder that supports the bi-polar drive. Digitraxrecommends their DS64, DS52 or DS51K1 stationary decoder for operation of Kato Unitrack turnouts. LenzRecommend the LS100 (But you Can Use LS150 With Diodes). Some Unitrack components such as the Automatic Crossing Gate and 3-Color Signal were designed with DC operation in Mind only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Kato point motors are 12v DC only. They also use only two wires, instead of the three you would find on Hornby or Peco point motors.For more information about their turnouts, signals etc. I suggest you look at Quintopia's blogspot http://quinntopia.blogspot.co.uk/and also the Sumida Crossing website. http://sumidacrossing.org/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 It looks like I misread the blurb then poliss by assuming that bi-polar meant the normal 3 wire when its actually a current reversal method with just 2 wires....drives bi-polar solenoids such as Hornby.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alsared Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 I've always been impressed by the Kato adverts in magazines - their kit looks well engineered.I see their motors are solenoids so note the caveat below re any accessory decoder that drives bi-polar solenoids such as Hornby.. Also this which may answer your Q's Alsahttp://www.kato-unitrack.co.uk/kato-n-unitrack-introduction-page-793-0.html It looks as if they do a nice double slip - they call it a scissors crossing..Please note this re signals:<p >Kato Unitrack & DCC. With regards to the use of Unitrack with DCC, there is a capacity of DC12V @ 3A built into the product. The quality construction of Unitrack and reliable rail connection provided by the Unijoiner® assure that the DCC signal is dependably transmitted.Its also so DCC friendly that Digitrax & ZTC use Unitrack on their demonstration layouts at shows. Kato Promote & sell the Digitrax DCC systems in Japan, and Digitrax make the New Kato DCC decoders.Unitrack turnouts use a bi-polar solenoid drive for reliable operation. To switch the turnout digitally, be sure to choose a DCC turnout decoder that supports the bi-polar drive. Digitraxrecommends their DS64, DS52 or DS51K1 stationary decoder for operation of Kato Unitrack turnouts. LenzRecommend the LS100 (But you Can Use LS150 With Diodes). Some Unitrack components such as the Automatic Crossing Gate and 3-Color Signal were designed with DC operation in Mind only.many thanks for this info, i now have an idea of what to look for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 DCC decoders can be put inside the base of the points so that they can take power directly from the track without using any external wires.I have no idea how they could be operated by Railmaster when fitted though. :-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 A decoder fitted like this will work with RM just like any other decoder. If it is a Learn mode decoder for programming, all you have to do is set up your point addresses. If you have to program it, then pick any decoder in the RM list with the same number of ports and it should work. It will depend on the specific instructions for the decoder though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 So if a bi-polar solenoid is one with 2 wires relying upon current reversal to switch either way, what is the correct terminology for a 3 wire solenoid such as the Hornby, Seep, Peco, etc types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Here's a bit more help from G'Master re Kato points switching..http://www.gaugemaster.com/articles/guides/kato_power_routing.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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