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Heljan UK 89111 Turntable


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Hi all,

 

I received an e/mail from Hattons yesterday reference a request I had put in with them to let me know when the Heljan 89111 DCC ready turntable would be back in stock.

 

Basically it said that the e/mail was to let me know that the item I was interested in had been "cancelled from production and that it is now not expected to be released"

 

Has anyone out there heard any more reference the above, or have Heljan finally given up on their "problematic"turntable?

 

I was really hoping that they might have finally "ironed out" all the bugs.

 

Hey Ho, onwards and upwards or should that be "roundy roundies" with reference to turntables?(sorry bout that!)

 

Regards B.L.

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Hi

April edition of the Railway Modeller has an Heljan advert on page 34a where the new turntable is shown.

 

Item No 89121 Operating 90 ft Turntable OO DCC Ready. 2nd Quarter 2012.

Price £225.00.

Ouch!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I emailed Heljan about a week ago to ask when it 89121 (third generation turntable) would be released and was advised;

 

The Turntable (item 89121) is expected beginning of 3rd quarter 2012.

 

The second generation turntable 89111 is very hard to get hold of, this week i found a brand new one at Alton Model Centre - so if you would like one asap it might be worth emailing or calling the store in case they have some more! The first generation version which is none DCC 89011 i know that 53A models of Hull have one in stock. Also there is one on Ebay currently.

 

In my quest to find 89111 i downloaded the Heljan stockists list from their website, and started emailing stores in turn, so if Alton cant help that might work for you.

 

Re the bugs on 89111 Howes have told me that often its due to overloading caused by blocking of the pit mechanism, this blows some of the components on the circuit board and hence the turntable stops working. The key is for a level table patience in installation, and keeping the pit clean.

 

Good luck with your search.

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Lord & Butler in Cardiff had one last week.

 

I have installed one on Danemouth - works well but every now and again find myself having to do a factory reset and then reprogram it. As Banburysaint says keep the pit clean; whenever I work at that end of the layout I remove the bridge and put masking tape over the hole,

 

Dave

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  • 3 months later...
  • 4 months later...

Hi All.

 

I see that this product is available again in the UK. Gaugemaster has a kit without motor; others have DCC ready units with motor. My question is, what decoder is required to operate the turntable? I have a spare Bachmann 36-554 (21 pin) - would it be suitable? As the unit is DCC ready, I assume it is a question of plug-and-play (given the right decoder)?

 

Harold.

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Lord & Butler in Cardiff had one last week.

 

I have installed one on Danemouth - works well but every now and again find myself having to do a factory reset and then reprogram it. As Banburysaint says keep the pit clean; whenever I work at that end of the layout I remove the bridge and put masking tape over the hole,

 

Dave

I concur with Harold's comment and would add that as long as the rather difficult to follow instructions are followed carefully the Turntable a super addition to any loco facility

 

GW

Edited by Mikado
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Hi All.

 

I see that this product is available again in the UK. Gaugemaster has a kit without motor; others have DCC ready units with motor. My question is, what decoder is required to operate the turntable? I have a spare Bachmann 36-554 (21 pin) - would it be suitable? As the unit is DCC ready, I assume it is a question of plug-and-play (given the right decoder)?

 

Harold.

 

According to the Manual For DCC Turntable it is already fitted.

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 Thanks Pete.

 

The manual doesn't mention having to fit a decoder so it seems it doen't need anything else. A rare occasion when "DCC ready" menas exactly that!

 

Harold.

The turntable has a decoder IIRC if you stick with the defaults the addresses start at 229 for road 1.

 

Regards,

 

Dave

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  • RMweb Gold

I have just installed the Walthers TT which is actually the Heljan TT in a Walthers (Cornerstone) Box.

 

The TT is indeed DCC ready.......you just hook it up to the DCC bus (see below!!!) There is a slightly complicated arrangement with the addresses....the default decoder address is 57 (but that can be changed) and from that ((57 x 4)+1 = 229 mentioned above) flows addresses for each of the tracks you set up

 

It was the work of a moment to get my lenz system operating it........each track is treated like a turnout so entering 229 + gets the house on the bridge to turn to Track 1........229 - will get the other end of the bridge to Track 1. Track 2 is the other side of the TT regardless if you have laid track

 

Calibrating is a little tricky and the numbering system can be quirky but once done the indexing is ultra accurate and consistent......and I am very happy with itn

 

Some words of warning.......the wiring diagram supplied with the TT was incorrect.....I had to download a PDF from the Heljan site......there is also quite a good instructional DVD. The earlier comments about keeping the pit and sensor super clean are still valid......the racking teeth are very small and the slightest amount of debris will jam............I remove my bridge and tape over everything when ballasting......and there I discovered another problem....if the bridge TT is hooked up and the bridhe removed.....you get a short! Its easily resolved once you have realised what the problem is but it would have been nice to have been forewarned.

 

Getting it to work with RR&Co took longer! Happy to explain if required

 

Regards from Vancouver

Edited by john dew
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Dave/John - thank you both.

 

I have watched an installation video so I have some idea of what is involved, though actually doing something I find is usually more difficult than I expect. I have noted the warnings and will take care to "keep it clean". Interestingly, it shows up in the advertising with a different code number - 89121.

 

I don't have RR&Co - I use NCE Powercab and Procab. As a matter of further interest, the manual says the TT should be powered from its own transformer (not supplied) but you say, John, that yours is just hooked up to the power bus; I wonder why a separate transformer is advised?

 

Harold.

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  • RMweb Gold

You only need a separate transformer for DC usage.........DCC you hook directly into the DCC bus.......although its slightly different if you are using occupancy detectors

Edited by john dew
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  • RMweb Gold

John

 

I have the updated version of the Heljan TT (89121) and use LDT RS8 occupancy detectors. Can you please explain how to connect the TT to the DCC bus using the LDT RS8s?

 

AlexC

I use Lenz Occupancy detectors LB and LR 101s but I imagine the principles are the same

 

There are 4 connectors on the control box.......two for the box itself and two for the bridge.........regular DCC all four connections are fed from the DCC bus.....with occupancy detection I made the bridge a detected block and fed the supply to the control box from an LR101......does that make sense?

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  • RMweb Gold

John

 

Thank you for the reply.

 

If I understand you correctly power from the DCC bus is connected directly to terminals 3 & 4 on the TT control box and also separately from the DCC bus via the detector to terminals 1 & 2. i.e. no connections between 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 on the TT control box as shown in the DCC connection diagram for the 89121 TT.

 

AlexC

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  • RMweb Gold

John

 

Thank you for the reply.

 

If I understand you correctly power from the DCC bus is connected directly to terminals 3 & 4 on the TT control box and also separately from the DCC bus via the detector to terminals 1 & 2. i.e. no connections between 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 on the TT control box as shown in the DCC connection diagram for the 89121 TT.

 

AlexC

Hi Alex

 

Correct........although in my case I treat 2 and 4 as common from the DCC Bus so the separate feeds are 1 and 3

 

Sorry if I was less than clear in my initial reply.....it was past midnight here.

 

Out of interest do you get a short when the power is on and the bridge is out?

 

Regards from a snowy Vancouver

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  • RMweb Gold

John

 

I have not installed the new turntable yet. I got it to replace an anologue one (89011 I think). I am also in the middle of re-building the layout including starting from scratch again with RR&Co Gold ver8 rather than transferring the files from ver7.

I will try and wire up a test rig tomorrow and let you know if it shorts when the bridge is removed.

 

We have a slight dusting of snow here in London, although this afternoon it has turned to rain.

 

AlexC

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  • 1 month later...

I thought I would resurrect this thread rather than start a new one.

 

I have fitted my Heljan 89121 and it is a delight to use - well, almost.  There appers to be no way of controlling whether the bridge moves in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction.  Using the supplied control panel, the move to an exit is started by pressing GoSet and the chip takes over.  If you enter the bridge on a track at six o'clock and want to leave on a track at two o'clock you want the bridge to move clockwise but, like as not, it will go the other way - turning the loco round as a result.  The only way I know to rectify that is to press GoSet again so the bridge turns through 180 degrees.

 

Is this what is supposed to happen or am I missing something?  It is no different when I use Powercab as the controller.  Selecting (say) Accessory 229 for exit five brings up the screen offering a choice of "1" or "2" but the result is the same whichever number I press.

 

Solving this would be the icing on the cake.

 

Many thanks,

Harold.

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