I will spend £150 - £250 on a loco but nothing on a controller

[Phil Parker]

16 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Dahhhhhling wired controllers are soooooh passe now, what you want is wifi enabled chips in your models connecting to your computer for control.  Real trendsetters are using rechargeable batteries using WPT, that's Wireless Power Transfer dahhhhhhling, to power their models for a truly wire free experience and no need for those awwwwful frog juicers that went out of fashion in 2020.

 

Good point. I have a 16mm scale railbus that uses a Loco Remote controller - the device sets up its own WiFi hotspot so you can log on and control the model using a phone.

[spamcan61]

2 hours ago, RedgateModels said:

I think one of the reasons that folks cling to their Clipper/Duette is the centre off control. All the more modern controllers I have come across relies on a switch to change direction. It takes a lot to break the habit of just turning the knob one way for forward and the other for reverse. 

I've often thought about sticking new electronics in my Duette knob + casing for this reason, but needless to say haven't actually worked out a cunning plan of how to make it work.

[RedgateModels]

7 minutes ago, unravelled said:

I treated my layout to a Morley controller last year, and almost the first thing I did was to make  a stand to put it at the same angle as the old H&M I use for part of the layout.  Some thought went into the old designs.

 

 

Dave

 

Maybe Morley should build them into old Duette cases 🤣

[RFS]

Similar issue occurs in the DCC world.  How often do we see posts from users who've purchased a brand-new state-of-the-art loco costing £150-200 and then complain it performs badly with a £10 decoder chip?

[RedgateModels]

1 minute ago, RFS said:

Similar issue occurs in the DCC world.  How often do we see posts from users who've purchased a brand-new state-of-the-art loco costing £150-200 and then complain it performs badly with a £10 decoder chip?

 

Common pitfall #1

 

I feel an article coming on .......

[AY Mod]

5 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

 

Good point. I have a 16mm scale railbus that uses a Loco Remote controller - the device sets up its own WiFi hotspot so you can log on and control the model using a phone.

 

I'm having problems with your railbus. It works for making calls (which is all I ever need blah, blah) so your railbus must be faulty.

 

[BMacdermott]

4 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

 

Good point. I have a 16mm scale railbus that uses a Loco Remote controller - the device sets up its own WiFi hotspot so you can log on and control the model using a phone.

 

Hello Phil

 

I think this and other comments above go to show that controllers are very 'personal' choices.

 

I guess a mobile phone requires two hands(?).

 

I hold my controller in my left hand and 'operate it' simply with my left thumb; the reverser and speed dial are in an ergonomically correct position. I seldom if ever have to put the controller down and my right hand is free for uncoupling, point changing etc.

 

Brian

[Phil Parker]

2 minutes ago, BMacdermott said:

 

 

I hold my controller in my left hand and 'operate it' simply with my left thumb; the reverser and speed dial are in an ergonomically correct position. I seldom if ever have to put the controller down and my right hand is free for uncoupling, point changing etc.

 

Brian

 

That's how I work my Gaugemaster handheld. I even go so far as to gear the locos on Melbridge Dock so all the speed we'll use if within one sweep of the thumb so you rarely take your hand off it.

 

I need the other hand for tea/cake/KitKat duties.

[pete_mcfarlane]

3 hours ago, AY Mod said:

Do you still watch TV on a CRT TV? 

Err, yes. It hasn't gone wrong yet, so I've not replaced it. But I don't watch much TV. 

 

1 hour ago, Flying Pig said:

There must surely be a market for old school H&M units gutted and rebuilt with modern electronics as a simple DC controller.  After all people pay extra for standard Hornby mechanisms in retro metal bodies (and as people have pointed out there is actually something to be said for the ergonomics of the centre-off knob).

And cue an episode of 'Hornby: A model world" where Simon digs out an old H&M Duette from his loft, and they start designing a  modern replica. 

 

 

[Robin Brasher]

I spent nothing on my Hornby Dublo B3 battery controller in 1955 because my father bought it for a birthday present. It is very well engineered and probably cost the same as my Hornby Dublo 0-6-2T. My view is if it isn't broken don't fix it.  

[Legend]

I suppose a Controller is just not as sexy as a new model locomotive . People can admire the rich colours handsome lining of a Caley 812 but a controller is purely functional and not thought of in the same way , although an essential piece of equipment 

 

I think everyone recognises the old Hornby trainset controllers as pretty duff , even the new ones come to think of it .  But what is an old controller ?  I have a Gaugemaster DS from 30 years ago . I dont think I need to replace it - there is still a Gaugemaster DS in the range now , is it any different?

[Captain Kernow]

Very interesting thread and a good question posed by the OP.

 

It's got me thinking - I use a Gaugemaster mains unit of around 30 years old, plus more recent aquisitions.

 

Does anyone know whether the basic DC circuitry in such Gaugemaster products has changed over the years?

 

Mostly, though, I use the Gaugemaster units as a back-up for my AMR slow-speed hand-held units, which are probably almost as old but work very well with Mashimas and the like and are also kind to coreless motors (they seem to have slight feed-back characteristics) . I've been using AMRs with Portescap-fitted locos all that time with no ill effects. Just a pity that they are no longer obtainable.

 

I did recently use a KPC hand-held unit on a friend's layout and wasn't aware that it had a feed-back switch fitted - what a good idea!

 

Has anyone any experience of the Morley slow-speed version of one of their control units, please?

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by Captain Kernow

[rogerzilla]

18 minutes ago, Legend said:

I suppose a Controller is just not as sexy as a new model locomotive . People can admire the rich colours handsome lining of a Caley 812 but a controller is purely functional and not thought of in the same way , although an essential piece of equipment 

 

I think everyone recognises the old Hornby trainset controllers as pretty duff , even the new ones come to think of it .  But what is an old controller ?  I have a Gaugemaster DS from 30 years ago . I dont think I need to replace it - there is still a Gaugemaster DS in the range now , is it any different?

My DS isn't very old and it looks as if it was designed in the 70s.

[sncf231e]

26 minutes ago, Legend said:

I suppose a Controller is just not as sexy as a new model locomotive

A LIONEL ZW is!

Regards

Fred

[Junctionmad]

As a diesel man this is my kind of dcc throttle 

 

 

[AY Mod]

10 minutes ago, Junctionmad said:

As a diesel man this is my kind of dcc throttle 

 

 

 

I had a quick play with one last year, hugely impressed!

[t-b-g]

A small selection of the power supplies on Buckingham. It really all comes down to getting roughly plus or minus 12v dc to a motor. I was told that the motors we use are designed to work best on a smooth dc supply, as the brushes and commutators create their own pulses of power to the coils on the motor and we can create a less than efficient arrangement by adding in a second set of pulses, which may or may not be in phase with the ones already there. Some modern arrangements do seem to be far more complicated than they need to be, with lots happening to the electricity before it reaches the motor.

 

 

The Hornby Dublo and Clipper just provide auxiliary power for block bells and a 16v ac supply to the panel mounted controller, believed to be by Codar but wiphich lost any identification Mark's long ago. I did put a new "pot" in it a while ago but other than that it has been in use since the late 1950s with no problems.

 

The "Precision" rig was the late George Norton's test rig. There is something rather "touchy feely" about the lever type of control compared to a knob to turn.

[woodenhead]

54 minutes ago, Robin Brasher said:

I spent nothing on my Hornby Dublo B3 battery controller in 1955 because my father bought it for a birthday present. It is very well engineered and probably cost the same as my Hornby Dublo 0-6-2T. My view is if it isn't broken don't fix it.  

That looks like it belongs to Dr Frankenstein

[woodenhead]

2 minutes ago, t-b-g said:

 

 

 

An image that would make absolute sense to @Clive Mortimore

[08221]

Oh no, what have you started!

 

This looks rather splendid...

 

[Robin Brasher]

12 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

That looks like it belongs to Dr Frankenstein

It is easier to connect to the track than a Gaugemaster controller.

 

[Phil Parker]

10 minutes ago, 08221 said:

Oh no, what have you started!

 

This looks rather splendid...

 

 

Looks rather fun, and withing @AY Mod's budget acording to the OP - https://www.plazajapan.com/4543736055181/?setCurrencyId=4

 

I wonder what the power input is?

[Barclay]

Just a word of caution to anyone thinking of putting new guts in a H&M unit - the resistance controllers (Duette and Clipper) are very likely to contain asbestos as part of the resistance mat. OK as long as it remains sealed up but I wouldn't want to take one apart. I'm still a big fan though - I use a Powermaster on my workbench and also have 2 Clippers and a Duette for supplying 16V AC to my more modern controllers - I mostly use a Pentroller and a Gaugemaster HH and full marks to both, light years ahead of the old stagers. 

[AY Mod]

2 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

Looks rather fun

 

I've moved on to more complicated stuff.

 

https://youtu.be/mLMc6VnGHgA

[Phil Parker]

2 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

I've moved on to more complicated stuff.

 

 

 

What is Number 4?

 

https://www.newhallstation.com/images-lib/tomix_n_scale/TO-5521/