Cobalt-S Point Levers

[Budgie]

Today I accidentally short-circuited the second switch on one of my Cobalt-S levers. I was trying to discover where my wiring had gone wrong, and I had a pencil in the same hand as one of my test meter probes, and it was the pencil lead that touched two soldered joints on the circuit board simultaneously.

 

I immediately noticed that the lever no longer locked at both ends of its travel. This may have been caused by things heating up as a result of the short-circuit, but it may be completely coincidental. I don't know if this is covered by the no-quibble guarantee, but I thought I'd figure out what had gone wrong first before trying to find out. The lever is held together with four very small cross-head screws, so I used a PH000 screwdriver to dismantle it. I saw that the lock had become unsoldered from the stiff wire behind the lever, so a drop of flux and a touch of the soldering iron put that right. Screwing it back together meant that it is now as good as new.

[Torper]

The Scalefour Society produces an etch for a 5 lever frame. No electrical gadgetry included, but the frame takes standard microswitches (not supplied) or can be connected by a mechanical linkage. It's available to both members and non-members at £19.  Turned steel handles, which set off the frame very nicely, are also available at 85p each.

http://www.scalefour.org/eshop/ (fairly near the bottom of the page).

 

DT

[Ray H]

The Scalefour Society produces an etch for a 5 lever frame. No electrical gadgetry included, but the frame takes standard microswitches (not supplied) or can be connected by a mechanical linkage. It's available to both members and non-members at £19.  Turned steel handles, which set off the frame very nicely, are also available at 85p each.

http://www.scalefour.org/eshop/ (fairly near the bottom of the page).

 

DT

 

Is there an illustration showing how the micro switches are "fitted? Presumably there's a maximum number of such switches that can be fitted to each lever.

 

I've just fitted a 6 lever version of the Cobalt levers to a friend's O gauge layout. They really look nice.

 

We're using them to operate some recycled SEEP motors that have been lay unused in my integral garage for a few years.

 

I'm not yet convinced whether the passing contact switches within the levers are a bit tetchy or whether the SEEP motors have suffered from their idleness for so long. The levers do seem to respond better if they're operated cautiously rather than the way that one would operate a switch for example.

[HarryBill]

Is there an illustration showing how the micro switches are "fitted? Presumably there's a maximum number of such switches that can be fitted to each lever.

 

I've just fitted a 6 lever version of the Cobalt levers to a friend's O gauge layout. They really look nice.

 

We're using them to operate some recycled SEEP motors that have been lay unused in my integral garage for a few years.

 

I'm not yet convinced whether the passing contact switches within the levers are a bit tetchy or whether the SEEP motors have suffered from their idleness for so long. The levers do seem to respond better if they're operated cautiously rather than the way that one would operate a switch for example.

The point-operating contacts are not actually true "passing" contacts. They are momentary switches which function at the extreme ends of the lever's travel.. A spring prevents them from staying in this position. When you operate them, you must push or pull the lever as far as it will go and then release it. I have a set of these switches and they operate faultlessly. Just be careful when fixing the brass castings on top that they (or your glue) do not foul the lever. If they make it stick at the extreme end of its travel, you will burn out your point-motor.

[Montague]

Are there any of you who have had these levers installed and used now for some time that can verify they work well? I have bought one to try and am on the fence of ordering a dozen more.

[Ray H]

The original six (and one other since installed) are still working OK although there continues to be a slight issue with the "forced" momentary contact at the end of travel.

[philsandy]

Am I right to assume these will also work with Tortoise point motors?

[garethashenden]

Am I right to assume these will also work with Tortoise point motors?

Yes they work quite happily with Tortoises. I've set up 6 on a club layout and they have been working well for over a year so far. Everyone comments on how good they look and feel to operate. A very satisfying click!

[Barry Ten]

I've had 12 of these in use for a year, and have now added another 6. I've found them reliable, except for one issue (which has come up a couple of times) where one of the switches appears to get stuck in its "home" position so that instead of being a momentary contact, it's passing some amount of current which prevents my CDU from charging up, and therefore freezes out the working of the other point levers. The workaround I've used is to assign the faulty lever to operating a servo-driven signal, which uses a different set of internal contacts. It might be that the internal spring isn't quite doing its job.