Controller Recommendations
Ian J.
for 12V DC railway?
I did look at the Gaugemaster Handheld controller, but advice is not to use
them with coreless motors, so I wondered what other companies make
controllers, and of those, which have a good quality handheld (preferably
with some form of feedback).
I used to have (I think I've still got it somewhere but I can't find it) an
H&M handheld, but even if I could find it, I have no idea whether it would
be suitable for coreless.
One day I will go DCC, but for the moment it's not an option.
Ian J.
Bill Campbell
<leftf...@hotmail.com> writes
club has standardised on for many years. Our stock of these controllers
is used indiscriminately between our two OO gauge and one N gauge
layouts. They have proven very reliable to such an extent that none has
failed despite intensive exhibition use. The only sign of wear and tear
is that on the older ones the printed scale around the knob is fading.
We decided on these after trying a selection of what was and still is
(in many cases) on the market.
--
Bill Campbell
Ian J.
> club has standardised on for many years. Our stock of these controllers
> is used indiscriminately between our two OO gauge and one N gauge
> layouts. They have proven very reliable to such an extent that none has
> failed despite intensive exhibition use. The only sign of wear and tear
> is that on the older ones the printed scale around the knob is fading.
>
> We decided on these after trying a selection of what was and still is
> (in many cases) on the market.
> --
> Bill Campbell
Unfortunately the problem of the Gaugemaster Handheld not being suitable for
coreless motors remains. I would like to find a handheld controller suitable
for use with the coreless types (such as Portescap), and in fact all types
of commonly available motors.
Ian J.
TonyComber
It sounds like the sort of controller you are after is one of Stuart Hine's
Pentrollers. These were originally developed for use at the Pendon Museum and
feature a switch so that '12' and '16' Portescaps and iron cored motors can be
controlled. I've three cased models at home and the club has three handhelds
which have seen much exhibition use. Unfortunately I don't have a contact
address at hand, perhaps someone else on the list has the details otherwise
I'll start a hunt. Sales are normally at a few shows each year or by mail
order.
Tony Comber
jmhc...@aol.com
wrote:
>
>Unfortunately the problem of the Gaugemaster Handheld not being suitable for
>coreless motors remains. I would like to find a handheld controller suitable
>for use with the coreless types (such as Portescap), and in fact all types
>of commonly available motors.
>
>Ian J.
>
>
I've used one of these excellent controllers with a mixture of
coreless and ordinary (some *very* ordinary indeed!) motors for years
and never noticed any bad effects at all - certainly no burn-out or
over-heating.
The only problem I've had with it is that about three years ago the
operation became erratic, and I presume the potentiometer inside was
getting worn from constant use. I sent it back to Gaugemaster who
fixed it free of charge within a few days - wonderful service!
John M Hughes
West and Wales Web at http://westwales.co.uk
Jim Guthrie
wrote:
Ian,
>Unfortunately the problem of the Gaugemaster Handheld not being suitable for
>coreless motors remains. I would like to find a handheld controller suitable
>for use with the coreless types (such as Portescap), and in fact all types
>of commonly available motors.
I bought a Gaugemaster WS hand held three years ago to use as a bench
test controller for my coreless powered chassis, on the recommendation
of the retailer. It has been used to do a lot of testing with
Faulhaber motors and Portescap RG4 units - a lot of the tests being
long running "soak" tests at low speed, and I haven't had a problem.
Also, the motors I'm using are not in their first flush of use, the
Portescaps being nearly twenty years old and well used, and the
Faulhabers being ex British Rail equipment which I was given some
twenty years ago and are of unknown age and usage.
What evidence did your source of information have that the Gaugemaster
handhelds are not suitable for coreless motors? There are other ways
of ruining coreless motors which are not down to the controller used.
JIm.
Ian J.
news:umi51v4undfhcd7fr...@4ax.com...
That's interesting, because the Hattons website (my source, so to speak)
advised against it (in small print under the specific product). I took this
to mean they didn't want to have the trouble of dealing with cases where the
controller was responsible for motor burnouts, so were trying to save
themselves money and time. Curiously if the controller is compatible, then
they are losing customers with that statement!
It at least means I can look back at using the Gaugemaster Handheld again.
Though I'd still like to know what other similar types of controller from
different makers are available, just to get a good comparison.
Ian J.
Charles Towler
news:ausufd$a2dct$1...@ID-115975.news.dfncis.de...
> Can anyone give me recommendations for a standard (ie not DCC) controller
> for 12V DC railway?
>
> I did look at the Gaugemaster Handheld controller, but advice is not to
use
> them with coreless motors, so I wondered what other companies make
> controllers, and of those, which have a good quality handheld (preferably
> with some form of feedback).
>
> I used to have (I think I've still got it somewhere but I can't find it)
an
> H&M handheld, but even if I could find it, I have no idea whether it would
> be suitable for coreless.
Also take account of whether you want 'centre-off' or 'switch' direction
control. If you are used to a centre-off design, such as the All Controls
design I prefer (and old H&M controllers such as the Clipper and Duette),
you may find it takes quite a time as well quite a lot of crashes before you
get the hang of switch direction controllers, such as Guagemaster...
Charles
John Turner
"Bill Campbell" wrote
> Gaugemaster do a non-feedback, non simulator, hand controller which our
> club has standardised on for many years. Our stock of these controllers
> is used indiscriminately between our two OO gauge and one N gauge
> layouts. They have proven very reliable to such an extent that none has
> failed despite intensive exhibition use. The only sign of wear and tear
> is that on the older ones the printed scale around the knob is fading.
I use the Gaugemaster W (non-feedback hand-held) and can unreservedly
recommend same for those who do not want to go down the DCC route.
John.
Jim Guthrie
wrote:
Ian,
>That's interesting, because the Hattons website (my source, so to speak)
>advised against it (in small print under the specific product). I took this
>to mean they didn't want to have the trouble of dealing with cases where the
>controller was responsible for motor burnouts, so were trying to save
>themselves money and time. Curiously if the controller is compatible, then
>they are losing customers with that statement!
I've just checked out Hatton's site and see that they make their
recommendation to not use coreless motors with the Gaugemaster HH
model. The model I am referring to is the WS model (or the W model
without the simulation) which is not referred to on the Hatton site.
I got my controller from Chris Challis and he is very much a hands on
modeller as well as a retailer, particularly in S4. I took his
recommendation based on his experience of actually working with
coreless motors in S4. I understood from Chris that the Gaugemaster
Type W hand held controller had been developed to cater motors which
didn't welcome feedback or pulsed output.
Jim.
Chris White
wrote:
...
>recommendation to not use coreless motors with the Gaugemaster HH
>model. The model I am referring to is the WS model (or the W model
According to their website,
http://www.gaugemaster.co.uk/handheld.html, it's only the HH which is
'not recommended' for use with coreless motors.
--
Chris White
http://www.bentleymrg.org.uk/
NC
"TonyComber" <tonyc...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030101030650...@mb-cf.aol.com...
> Ian,
>
> It sounds like the sort of controller you are after is one of Stuart
Hine's
> Pentrollers. These were originally developed for use at the Pendon Museum
and
> feature a switch so that '12' and '16' Portescaps and iron cored motors
can be
> controlled. I've three cased models at home and the club has three
handhelds
> which have seen much exhibition use.
Stewart Hine,
44 Waverley Road,
Rayners Lane,
Harrow
Middlesex,
HA2 9RD, UK
Pentrollers are still available, though I'm not sure if every variant is
currently in production.
Standard variants used to be:
- handheld, speed controller only with wander lead
- small panel mount, speed controller only
- large panel mount, speed controller & ammeter (handy for testing locos to
iron out any tight spots in mechanisms).
- large panel mount, regulator and brake simulator (twin handle) controller
All require 16-18v AC input (old H&M controller AC-out is ideal).
All standard forms had switch to swap between iron cored motors and two
grades of coreless. Special versions, eg. different motor grades, were
available on request.
- Nigel,
webmaster for 2mm Scale Association, http://www.2mm.org.uk/
Mick Bryan
I've eventually moved onto a Modelex controller after using a variety of
Gaugemaster and AMR hand-helds for the last few years. Whilst the Modelex is
physically larger than the AMR/Gaugemaster types, my experience so far shows
it to be a better controller. Admittedly not used on any coreless motors but
I'm pretty certain that it is ok with them. And priced at £22.95, it's a
reasonable deal.
Cheers,
Mick
Ian J.
with a Gaugemaster WS, and attach it to my H&M Clipper (a venerable old
thing, I must have had it for something like 23 years or more!).
Ian J.