Seanem44 Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 For those of you with relatively small layouts, what do you use to control your points? Tortoise, Peco, Cobalt, Rod in Tube or Finger of God? I am debating what to use right now as I build my small 5 point terminus layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 How about the lever frame about 3/4 of the way down http://www.scalefour.org/eshop/eshop.html and wire in tube? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold westerhamstation Posted November 27, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 27, 2013 Rod in tube works for me. regards Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twright Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 As I don't exhibit, I use hand of god method. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
L&Y Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I converted to wire & tube years ago. Used to use the nylon tube cornard system with brass levers & angle cranks. Don't know if there still available. Fraction of the cost of point motors & more prototypical. Bicycle spokes running in eyelets under the board with spring wire risers also worked very well on narrow boards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
corax67 Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Used to use 'rod in tube' which worked really well - I had a lot of RC aircraft sleeved control rods and bell cranks and used those. Nowadays I fit Tortoise point motors on my layouts as they are simply awesome and have the advantage of built in switches to control point feeds & you can easily wire in LEDs to provide route indication. Well worth the cost investment as they can be reused time and time again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 It's worth taking a look at this thread on manual point control. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ColinK Posted November 27, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 27, 2013 Piano wire in a slot cut in baseboard top. Cheap and quick to install, but you'll need very strong wire cutters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodshaw Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 My layout is only 12 inches deep and 4 feet long, and also has 5 sets of points. I use wooden dowels running under the baseboard from back to front, with piano wire stuck in at right angles and coming up through the hole between the switchblades. I can work them from front or back, depending on whether I'm exhibiting or at home. On previous layouts I've also used piano wire, or Slippery Sid flexible wire in tube, dug into a channel in the cork baseboard surface. I think low-tech is best if the controls are within easy reach - and cheapest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfsboy Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I use wire in tube operated by those little slider spdt switches so from switched as well . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 I'm just building an 8' x 2' layout with 6 points using Blue Point turnout controllers [http://www.newrailmodels.com/blue_point_instr.htm] Also available from Micro Mark. These are manually operated devices which combine a tie-rod throw (like a Tortoise) and two frog polarity switches. I am using aluminium knitting needles as operating rods. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
maunsel Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 bicycle spokes, paperclips, wooden drawer knobs and electrical "chocolate" blocks. Plus I have some spiffing Gem Mercontrols. Regards Eric Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Lee Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Hand-of-god operating manual point levers. (I was going to use the Gem Mercontrol system, but the points I ended up using are a little stiff for wire-in-a-tube.) If (when) I do another small layout I am likely to use wire-in-a-tube unless I use the same kind of points that I am using now. If I do use them then I think that I would try to budget for some kind of point motor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJ Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 If using manual control how do you ensure you change the frog polarity? On my small layout I have use Peco motors just so I can fit the polarity switch underneath. If there is a way of changing polarity with manual operation I'd be very interested Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 If using manual control how do you ensure you change the frog polarity? On my small layout I have use Peco motors just so I can fit the polarity switch underneath. If there is a way of changing polarity with manual operation I'd be very interested The lever frame in post 2 has a facility for a microswitch as well as manual control Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete 75C Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 If using manual control how do you ensure you change the frog polarity? On my small layout I have use Peco motors just so I can fit the polarity switch underneath. If there is a way of changing polarity with manual operation I'd be very interested There are a number of simple ways of achieving this without relying on a motor. Take a look at this as an example... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/955/entry-9406-point-operating-mechanism-cheap-and-works-well/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodshaw Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 If using manual control how do you ensure you change the frog polarity? On my small layout I have use Peco motors just so I can fit the polarity switch underneath. If there is a way of changing polarity with manual operation I'd be very interested In my case, a piece of piano wire projecting from the under-board dowel and pushing against the lever of a microswitch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ColinK Posted November 29, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2013 Some ways for controlling frog polarity with manual points... One of my friends who is good with woodwork used wooden pushrods with a piece of stiff wire through them, one end of the wire went into the hole in the Peco tiebar to change the direction, while the other end controlled a Peco accessory switch mounted under the wooden pushrod. Worked really well. On one of my 0-16.5 layouts I had a eperate SPDT switch next to the bike spoke used to switch the points. Very simple to install and it did work, but if you changed the point and forgot the switch, everything shorted out. So not recommended. On my current build OO layout, which is 13" wide and DCC. As mentioned earlier, point control is piano wire, with frog polarity switched by hex frog juicers. A bit expensive, but very easy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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