Hi everyone, been looking through these forums for a while but this is my first post. I have quite a few different questions so will write it out best I can!
I have a fairly large layout with 4 different tracks and would like to know thoughts on the best controller. I have had layouts for over 20 years so have used a fair few but I have concerns about my current setup.
Over that 20 year period I have had a Gaugemaster series DF controller. This has been faultless the whole time and it still powers 2 of the tracks. However I felt that it wasn't the most powerful controller. Many older models, Wrenn, Triang and some Lima etc were quite sluggish and having trialled a different controller I realised they had more speed in them. I was given an old Hornby 900 power control controller and this was very powerful and many models seemed much better. The only drawback was it is very bulky to control one track and it had a bit of a fault with the dial. I then decided to get a Hornby HM2000 controller. It seemed OK but the one I bought wasn't perfect and it had some strange characteristics so I bought another one brand new. It has the same curiosities! Having read other topics it seems that is how they operate with a "dead zone" for much of the dial and then the last little bit, dots 13 to 14 the models speed up like mad! I can live with that but I have had multiple loco failures using the controller and I am worried the controller has caused them. The failures are as follows:
Hornby Terrier - Smoke coming from motor, burnt out, dead
Hornby County - Smoke coming from motor, took apart and back together and runs OK, no sign of damage
Dapol Western - Loco stopped, bit of smoke, totally dead including lights
Hornby J15 - Loco stopped, completely dead
Hornby class 71 - Lights suddenly went out, works fine but no lights
They all seem fairly similar faults and could be caused by too much power going to the motor? I believe the Terrier, County and 71 all failed when the controller was on full power.
The HM2000 shows the voltage to track being 0-17V, this seems very high so if 17V is going to the track when on full power are failures pretty likely? Obviously I could regulate the power and stay off full but I would rather have a controller which I can use properly without worrying. I find it hard to believe that a current Hornby controller should throw out too much power for a current Hornby model.
My Gaugemaster DF shows 0-12V but also max 9.6VA to each track. I am not an expert with electrics but does that mean it doesn't deliver 12V to the track? I have looked at a Model Q 4 track controller and that shows max 12VA to each track so sounds better.
So I am looking at what my options are. I want a controller that isn't going to damage any more models but is also powerful enough so older models run at a decent speed. I am a big fan of the Gaugemaster controller, the dial changes the speed throughout the range unlike the HM2000 where most of the turn makes no difference. The model Q or 2 track equivalent is what I'm thinking, is this more powerful than my current series DF one? This also adds the question of feedback controllers (which I believe is what the series DF is). I don't know what difference they make but don't really want a controller that isn't suitable for certain models. My series DF has never damaged any models.
Just one last point. I have a DJ models class 71. On the Gaugemaster DF it is pretty slow. On the HM2000 it is even slower. Bizarrely I have a Hornby R965 small controller and it is pretty nippy on there! I have found the R965 is pretty powerful but it lacked the finesse I wanted for a main controller but the power it provides is great. I don't know though if they could damage models too. I have a number so could use those but just interested to hear any views.
I have all sorts of models from Hornby Dublo, Wrenn, Triang, Lima, Mainline, Dapol, Bachmann, Hornby etc and continue to buy the current models so some very different mechanisms and technology but it has all been newer models on newer controllers that have been the problem.
Sorry for the long message. There are loads of questions in there but if you have any views on just one I would be interested to hear.
Many thanks
Steven.