torikoos Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Just curious, who has been thinking, or purchased these 'new' turnout controls from Peco, with slow motion servos? Pricing seems good, and a complete set are already offered for £55,- , enough for 4 turnouts. Any first experiences to share? Koos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
torikoos Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 Update: This system is manufactured in Taiwan by ANE models, and has been on the market for a while under that name. Here's an article about it it this magazine: http://www.nmra.org.au/mainline/Autumn%202009.pdf, the big advantage of this (and also other servo control systems such as that of ESU) is that you can set the home position of the switch with a few button presses, no manual adjustments, spending time in uncomfortable positions under the layout etc.. Koos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 We've chatted about this in our little group, our consensus seems to be that it's not quite cheap enough to make sense for us... If you look at what else is out there - if you wanted (say) 4x points powered with DCC control, then you can do that with 4x TT300s for £80 (Hattons price £20 each) and they are pretty easy to install and use. To do the same with this would seem to need: 1x basic kit - £55 (street price) 1x decoder - £12 (street price) 4x smartfrogs - £37 (street price) Puts it just over £100 That said - it looks very well designed and there's a lot to like. I like that it's marketed to be a simple system that folk don't have to be nervous of getting involved in for instance, and I like that you can install the basic system, then if you decide to add DCC control later it's a simple (and actually quite cheap!) upgrade. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzie Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Coastal DCC are usually good on price and have the ANE models version listed, but I think it is still quite expensive at £97 for the full set including the decoder and frog switches. A cheaper alternative might be the Signalist SC2 for £47 which also has the advantage of being decoder, controller and frog switches all in a single module - just add servos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil H Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Hi All I brought this up 3wks ago, as yet have had no reply from Peco as to the over all height of unit as mounting under base board if you have 2 levels between boards of 4inch/ 100mm. May be to small a gap? To facilitate said unit and loco's running at the lower level. Phil H. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Both ESU (as mentioned above) and Digirails make quad servo decoders for DCC. Both need add-on bits to do frog switching. I have examples of both and they are pretty easy to work with. ESU: http://www.esu.eu/en/products/switchpilot/switchpilot-servo-v20/ http://www.esu.eu/en/products/switchpilot/switchpilot-extension/ Digirails: http://www.digikeijs.com/complete-set-including-1x-servo-decoder-4x-mini-servo-and-4x-50cm-extension-cable.html http://www.digikeijs.com/dr4102-points-crossing-interface.html The Digirails decoder has a neat mode to run a level crossing - two servos and two outputs work together to move the barriers and flash the lights. Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
torikoos Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 We've chatted about this in our little group, our consensus seems to be that it's not quite cheap enough to make sense for us... If you look at what else is out there - if you wanted (say) 4x points powered with DCC control, then you can do that with 4x TT300s for £80 (Hattons price £20 each) and they are pretty easy to install and use. To do the same with this would seem to need: 1x basic kit - £55 (street price) 1x decoder - £12 (street price) 4x smartfrogs - £37 (street price) Puts it just over £100 That said - it looks very well designed and there's a lot to like. I like that it's marketed to be a simple system that folk don't have to be nervous of getting involved in for instance, and I like that you can install the basic system, then if you decide to add DCC control later it's a simple (and actually quite cheap!) upgrade. True, but if you use insul-frogs, you don't need the smart frogs, saving 37 pounds , and then things get interesting perhaps. Certainly nice to see a 'big name' getting in on the act, even if it's with a re-branded product. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanks522 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I bought the complete set a few weeks ago and got to say i was impressed, everything needed in the box down to the last screw, very easy to install on the layout and nice simple instructions. unfortunately i managed to short out the main circuit board by allowing it to touch the DCC track, that was an expensive (£25) mistake, second problem i have found is using them on three way points isn't ideal, they work fine but if the leading set of blades aren't set first the second set won't putting quite a strain on the servo which i'm sure will do it no good in the long run. All in all though i think they are good and shall probably be using more. Graham. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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