I have played around with blue points, tortoises (or is that tortoisi?) ground throws and ANE Servos.
If you want the Cadillac of switch machines then the servo is the way to go (including the Cadillac price!). With the tortoise I have struggled with the throw tension. The sliding piece on the throw wire affords some flexibility but not much and always seemed to move on its own. Mostly, I experiemented with different sizes of piano wires but was never totally satisfied with the results (probably partially the result of my hand built turnouts which had variable throw bar tension depending on how well I constructed and mounted them). The Bluepoint, while cheaper than the tortoise, still throws the same way. The adjustment, though, works better than the tortoise - greater effective range of throw distance and tension. The ANE servo switch machine, however, depending on how you mount it, is totally devoid of the issues I experienced with the tortoise and blue point. Not only can the switch throw speed be adjusted (from dual solenoid speed to about 2 minutes to throw a switch!) the throw tension and distance can also be independently programmed. The throw occurs from an arm on a rotating wheel which pulls or pushes the switch rod, much like the prototype. My present layout is basically an around the room shelf and the ground throws work very well because they are relatively close to the operator and for feel during an operating session I don't think they can be beat. I am using Fast Tracks jig-constructed turnouts and British made metal ground throws for most. I will use the ANE servos I have for the few out of reach turnouts. I have 11 USED Tortoise switch machines from my old layout available for purchase. $55 for all 11 plus shipping. Some have some of the mounting tabs busted off (may have to glue to a plate to attach to the layout?) and some of the circuit board traces are beat up but could still be soldered to (edged connector might not work?). I powered each of them and they all "threw" appropriately. Let me know off list if you are interested. ([email protected]) Walt Jopke > > > --- In [email protected], Richard Karnes <rnk2202@> wrote: > > > > Bill Lane et al -- > > > As such, both require drilling a hole between the points. As someone > > else pointed out, that means you either have to drill the hole before > >installing > > > > the turnout, or else remove the throwbar to drill the hole. > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
