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Dapol working signals review


Andy Y
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  • 1 month later...

Are the 00 single signals now operated by servo? 

The old ones on the club layout have all now failed and there does not appear to be a remedy save replacing them all with the same design.

The new O gauge single signals seem far better especially because they can be switched from proceed to stop with a single pole double throw switch.

Norman

  

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I've just looked at both Rails and Hattons web sites and they both show the old design of single signals.  Only the brackets are servo.

Warranty is 12 months surely not 3 months. The shop is responsible not Dapol or its agent.

Norman

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1 hour ago, norman said:

Are the 00 single signals now operated by servo? 

 

  

 

On ‎19‎/‎06‎/‎2019 at 09:10, Free At Last said:

I enquired as to the purpose of the 'control unit' and whether the present range will come with one...

Quote

The control unit houses the servo motors and the PCB board and clips onto the base of the signal once you have installed the signal super structure. at this current time there are no plans to change over to this method of control for the single arm signals in OO or N Gauge but we may investigate the possibility in time.

 

 

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Hi Freebie

thanks for the info: "there are no plans to change over to this method of control for the single arm signals in OO"

 

That's what I feared.  The old design is a disaster and a good solution is available but ............ no action.  How sad is that.

Norman

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  • 1 month later...

I bought three Dapol signals recently, two home and one distant.

 

The first one stopped working after less than 5 minutes!

 

As a result I put them away for a while.

 

I took the advice on RMWEB  and bought a 12v DC smoothed and regulated transformer.  I also bought a couple of Heathcote Electronics automatic controllers for them.

 

3 signals, a new transformer and the Heathcote units and we are well over £100.

 

Sadly within 5 minutes of getting the two remaining signals out and connecting them to the new power supply, the second one went pop aswell despite using the recommended power supply after.

 

Two down one to go.

 

This has to be the worst model railway product I have ever had the misfortune of buying.

 

I know what I'd vote for if the British Railway Modelling awards had a category for worst product of the year.

 

My advice if you are contemplating buying them is simple - don't.

 

Seems the best solution may be to convert them to servo control.  Based on the failure rate I've experienced Dapol must have a skip or two full of them from returns.  Maybe they could do us a favour and sell them at a knock down price so we can add servos and have a working signal that last more than 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Edited by Waverley47708
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12 hours ago, Waverley47708 said:

I bought three Dapol signals recently, two home and one distant.

 

The first one stopped working after less than 5 minutes!

 

As a result I put them away for a while.

 

I took the advice on RMWEB  and bought a 12v DC smoothed and regulated transformer.  I also bought a couple of Heathcote Electronics automatic controllers for them.

 

3 signals, a new transformer and the Heathcote units and we are well over £100.

 

Sadly within 5 minutes of getting the two remaining signals out and connecting them to the new power supply, the second one went pop aswell despite using the recommended power supply after.

 

Two down one to go.

 

This has to be the worst model railway product I have ever had the misfortune of buying.

 

I know what I'd vote for if the British Railway Modelling awards had a category for worst product of the year.

 

My advice if you are contemplating buying them is simple - don't.

 

Seems the best solution may be to convert them to servo control.  Based on the failure rate I've experienced Dapol must have a skip or two full of them from returns.  Maybe they could do us a favour and sell them at a knock down price so we can add servos and have a working signal that last more than 5 minutes.

 

 

 

 

First mistake is running them on 12v. Dapol recommend no more than 9v these days and I run mine on 7.5v without any issues at all.

 

Mind you conversion to servo control sounds like a good plan especially as the new junction signals they have produced use servo control or so I am led to believe.

 

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Dapol recommend 12 volt - according to the info sheet with the signal. 

A regulated supply and lower voltage may be of benefit but the recommendation from Dapol is 12 volt.

At our club we have collectively bought more than 20 and only one or two are still working. all connected as per instruction sheet.

I asked DCC supplies recently if they had any failed ones for sale because I thought if there were enough I could make a little business converting them to servo control.  But they said they have no stock. I've seen them being sold cheaply at shows in the past but they must be just chucking all the ones returned.

Norman

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I was under the impression, from what I had read elsewhere, that they had dropped the voltage considerably from first launch because of the reliability issues.

 

I am unimpressed by the in built limit switches as well, they seem pretty hit and miss.

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5 hours ago, Richard E said:

 

First mistake is running them on 12v. Dapol recommend no more than 9v these days and I run mine on 7.5v without any issues at all.

 

Mind you conversion to servo control sounds like a good plan especially as the new junction signals they have produced use servo control or so I am led to believe.

 

 

No my first mistake was buying them!

 

I can confirm they recommend 12v DC.  They say you can use a 9v DC battery, and pretty sure it still refers to 14v AC.

 

As I say I even bought a 12v DC smoothed regulated transformer specifically for them and still 2 have failed.

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21 hours ago, Waverley47708 said:

I bought three Dapol signals recently, two home and one distant.

 

The first one stopped working after less than 5 minutes!

 

As a result I put them away for a while.

 

I took the advice on RMWEB  and bought a 12v DC smoothed and regulated transformer.  I also bought a couple of Heathcote Electronics automatic controllers for them.

 

3 signals, a new transformer and the Heathcote units and we are well over £100.

 

Sadly within 5 minutes of getting the two remaining signals out and connecting them to the new power supply, the second one went pop aswell despite using the recommended power supply after.

 

Two down one to go.

 

This has to be the worst model railway product I have ever had the misfortune of buying.

 

I know what I'd vote for if the British Railway Modelling awards had a category for worst product of the year.

 

My advice if you are contemplating buying them is simple - don't.

 

Seems the best solution may be to convert them to servo control.  Based on the failure rate I've experienced Dapol must have a skip or two full of them from returns.  Maybe they could do us a favour and sell them at a knock down price so we can add servos and have a working signal that last more than 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Yep, as per my earlier post I lost £70-worth of signals in the same way, but the worst thing was Dapol's refusal to accept liability, even after such a short time on the layout; they were very rude and dismissive.

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On 20/01/2020 at 23:38, Waverley47708 said:

 

 

I took the advice on RMWEB  and bought a 12v DC smoothed and regulated transformer.  I also bought a couple of Heathcote Electronics automatic controllers for them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buying a 12V regulated *transformer* seems an expensive way of doing things - a 12V regulator circuit can be built and wired into the output from an existing transformer for under £1!

Edited by RJS1977
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I was appalled by the overbrightness of the lamps using 12v DC, and bought a regulated DC power supply from the electronics stall in my local indoor market, with different voltage setting.  Cost me £5.75 and I'm sure I could have found cheaper online if I could have been bothered.  I'm running two signals off it, at 6.5v, and they work ok.  I'd still like the lights to be a bit dimmer (a real oil lit signal lamp is not particularly bright) but this is the best compromise; lower voltages would not allow the arms to work.  The problem isn't so much the light as shining through the red and green spectacle plate on the signal arm as the amount of white light spilling out of the side between the bulb and the spectacle.  I am experimenting with methods of baffling this light, but am so far more baffled myself!

 

I bought a left hand splitting bracket as soon as they came out, and this, as has already been noted, is a much better model.  The light levels are more acceptable (but still spill a bit) and the operation seems much stronger, and seems to replicate the 'pull' of a signal being pulled off and the spring back and bounce when the lever is returned in the frame.  The additional load of 2 extra arms proved too much for my original market-bought power supply even at 12v, and I am running them off a 9v DC supply whose original provenance is as one with the snows of yesteryear.

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You could dim the LED further by running the Dapol signal on something like 6V AC via inverse parallel diodes. Just add more diodes in one side to dim the lamp. It will take a bit of experimentation to get the appropriate brightness. The mechanism inside is regulated and rectified, but the LED is not. 

 

Alternatively if you don't mind taking the signal apart you could replace the internal 820R resistor with a higher value to suit.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello Johnster, I now have a total of 7 working Dapol 00 lower quadrant signals fitted on my layout 'Sproston', two of them being on one of the new  LH brackets.  They are powered by a redundant 3 pin plug-in charger with an output of 5.8v DC. This feeds  the seperate + and - under baseboard terminal strips, to which each signal is then wired.

I treat all the lenses of the signal lamps with a thick coat of Tamiya x-24  acrylic 'clear yellow' paint, which reduces the brightness still further, and gives a gentle yellow tint to the light produced, simulating oil lamps. I will add a few photos of them on the layout.

HTH.

Regards

SIGTECH.

Steve.

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074 (1824 x 1368).jpg

 

076 (1824 x 1368).jpg

077 (1824 x 1368).jpg

078 (1824 x 1368).jpg

079 (1824 x 1368).jpg

080 (1824 x 1368).jpg

081 (1824 x 1368).jpg

068.JPG

Edited by sigtech
WSF- signal 2 showing off for wrong route set
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  • 1 month later...
  • 5 weeks later...
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Hi

 

I am considering purchasing a couple of Dapol GWR Bracket Signals (4L-001-005).

 

I can't find any specifications on the web.

 

Could someone please advise dimensions, in particular the servo box that sits below the base board.  I am a bit tight for space.

 

Cheers

Edited by papadelta
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Clearance below the baseboard depends on the thickness of the board, but you need a minimum of 64mm below the baseplate of the signal, inclusive of the thickness of the board.  Length of the gubbins underneath box is 58mm and width 50mm, but don't forget you must allow about 5mm minimum extra clearance at one end for the wiring and connectors, and because the signal only mounts one way into the gubbins box (you physically can't mount it wrong and there is a yellow line to show you the correct alignment), you don't get a choice which end!

 

Height is 148mm from baseboard level including the base plate, and width 48mmm across the signal boards themselves from spectacle plate to opposite signal board end.  The gubbins underneath box is quite bulky if you are strapped space down there and the casing could be presumably cut away if this helps, but I don't recommend it as it will be a fiddly job as well as voiding the warranty.  If you have to resort to this I'd suggest replacing the removed casing with plastic sheeting to keep the dust out; there are 'no user serviceable parts' in there.  Ensure the gubbins box is sited somewhere it is safe from accidental knocks and bumps, especially important on a layout that is not permanently erected, and it may be advisable to build a protection box for it if you cannot do this; more space, which is your problem in the first place...

Edited by The Johnster
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