NC1

The HM6010 problems driving point motors is also covered in the "HM6010 Issues" thread. To get more switching energy, it is possible to link the "C" outpits of channels 1 to 3 together. I found that this gave much more reliable switching with PL-11 point motors.

A few observations from my experiments ... With a total nominal available input current of 1A, 3 channels at 140mA and 1 at 500mA, uses up most of that 1A. If the design was beefed up, it is likely that some of the components would overheat, particularly given the limited case ventilation. The input is protected with a series diode for polarity reversal protection, so this drops the 15V to about 14.3V; and this is the final maximum capacitor voltage. With some combinations of point and point motor, I found that a strong switching action would cause the moving section to bounce off the target fixed rail, but the second pulse ensured that any small gap was closed. Where I had added another 2200uF capacior across the existing one, the "off" period, between the 2 pulses, was just about enough to recharge the capacitor to most of its target voltage for the second pulse.

The HM6010 outputs can also be used for signals and street lighting, so by keeping the common outputs separate, you avoid blinking signals and layout lighting if using one HM6010 for a mixture of point and constant loads. I found that there was enough space in the case to add 4-off 2200uF capacitors piggy-back on the existing ones, and this certainly gives me more reliable point switching.

Many thanks for the information on the update. I have now installed it on my tablet, and given it a quick try-out. The bottom of the "App Settings" screen shows "V1.2 (B61r1)"; I forgot to note the equivalent for the older version before I uninstalled it. My tablet is a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, Model No. SM-T713; running Android V7.0, and with a version date of Jul 01 2019. I could not find a pointer to the installed Bluetooth version, but a web search indicated "4.1 BLE". In theory, I believe that Android V8 is listed as the minimum for operation. It took me a while to provision an HM6000 - a full hardware reset on the 6000, bluetooth off/on on the tablet, and some swaps between mesh & ble. Once sorted, in "BLE" mode, I added a second HM6000, and found the "Speed Slider Customisation" section on the settings page to add the extra slider-related butons - a welcome addition. I also played with the PWM frequency in the "Edit Devices" section, and a quick test, with an old diesel (on its back with croc-clip leads on the pickup wheels), showed differences in overall motor noise, but I have not yet experimented with functionality under a train load. I have not used the Active Layout functions.

I measured the coil resistance of several different point motors. The Hornby R8243 was 1.7 ohms, Peco PL11 (similar size) was 3.9 ohms, and Peco PL10 (double bobbin to go under point) was 4.3 ohms. So, it looks like the R8243 is going to be the most demanding from a CDU. Thinking "Outside the box", or in this case, inside:- Channels 1 to 3 have identical circuitry, fed from the same power source. It is unlikely that a user would switch a series of points without a short delay between each one. On my Samsung tablet, I am lucky to be able to get reliable finger movement in under 2 seconds between channels. So, following the water tank analogy, we have 3 identical (2200uF) water tanks, each fed via the same-bore (140mA) pipes, but, at any one time, we only take water from one. If we linked the outlet pipes together, we would have 3 times the available water. With the HM6010, this can be achieved by using a link wire between the 3 "C" sockets. I tried this, and it made a big difference to an R8243 point motor. This will not work for channel 4, as it uses a different capacitor charging circuit. Note:- a "3C" supply will increase the power dissipation in the switching MOSFETs in the "A" and "B" channels, and these are likely to be damaged if the point motor wires short together - guess how I know? However, with care, they should be fine with a normal point solenoid load. The waveform, below, shows the 3-channel switching waveforms (400ms ON, 400ms OFF, 400ms ON, OFF) The equivalent for channel 4 is:- I am sure that the above would NOT be endorsed by Hornby, but I found that linking just 2 channels made all the difference when holding an R8243 point motor adjacent to an unmodified R8073 point, and 3 more so.

Because the 6010 has to provide an output that meets 3 requirements, (1) maximum pulsed energy for point solenoids, (2) constant current to drive LEDs, and (3) a 12V higher current capability on one output; and all from the same 15V plug-top supply, needed for the 6000 module; the Hornby designers have done the best they could, to minimise size and cost. Continuing 96RAF's excellent water tank analogy, the 4 water tanks are at maximum height (16V devices running at up to 15V - the results of an exploding electrolytic capacitor are not a pretty sight, or smell), and are taking up maximum space in the loft (the next preferred value being 3300uF, and roughly 50% more volume). The 6010 case is already slightly larger than that of the 6000. 96RAF's photo, above, shows that the capacitors occupy a significant part of the PCB area, but it is interesting to see that the white ink has additional circles for an alternative vertical-mounting option; however, as the circles overlap, not a practical option for the 4 capacitors.

I am new to the forum, and have a background in electronic design. I have started to use the 6010 to power point motors and was curious about the energy available to pulse them, particularly as I read elsewhere that the 6010's outputs do not have as much energy as some of the dedicated CDUs. Having sorted out a tool to unscrew the "tamper-proof" screws, it was obvious that each channel had a CDU capacitor of 2200uF. Channels 1 to 3 have a fully-charged voltage of 14.25V, but channel 4 is only 11.94V. The quick-start instructions mention the nominal 12V for channel 4, but only in the "Street Lighting" section. It is not obvious in the user manual or the quick-start guide, that, when used for switching points, this channel will have less "ooomf" to drive a points solenoid. The energy stored in a capacitor is proportional to its capacitance times the square of the voltage so this channel will, when driving similar loads, only have about 70% of the energy of the other three. This is likely to be a problem if the points have a stiff operation. I wonder if any other members have found this to be a problem.