Controller recommendation

Well, I use the little hand-held Gaugemaster feed-back controller, which is absolutely brilliant, though I can't say how it would work with the older locos. At a little over twenty quid, well worth a shot I'd say.

A few years ago the control potentiometer inside mine started to misbehave, so I sent the unit back to Gaugemaster to be repaired. Back it came at double-quick speed all fixed and AT NO CHARGE! Brilliant!

John M Hughes West and Wales Web at

wrote

Gaugemaster traditionally guarantee all their products for 'life' - providing that parts continue to be available to allow them to effect a repair.

john.

Gaugemaster do indeed give a lifetime guarantee - but as the unit had already done several year's work - including hard slog at a number of exhibitions - I wouldn't have been surprised or offended if they'd treated it as having done all that could reasonably be expected of it during a normal life-time.

Either way, I bought another one earlier this week for another layout. Double-quick service from their online shop, and I now own another smashing little controller.

John

If you can find a local electrician to do a safety test on the old H&M controllers (and they pass), then I would carry on using them. Mine is a Duette, and I recall getting it about 1980 (though 2nd hand then). Works great, just like the old saying... they don't build 'em like they used to.

If you do buy new, go for Guagemaster controllers. They are solid and reliable. Avoid the Hornby RM2000 (which are modern H&M, but poor design, IMO)

I'd rather doubt that any mains-connected controller built before current regulations came in would actually be considered safe nowadays, even if in reality there's nothing at all wrong with it.

Not, perhaps, a problem for home use, but I can just imagine what would happen if you took an old unit to an exhibition and got caught by someone on the ball with Health and Safety.

John M Hughes West and Wales Web at

Hello

I have looked hard and long at this very matter and have some conclusions that I can offer.

My original controller was a H&M Safety Minor, this is a variable voltage controller/transformer and as such was considered very high tech in its day. In the mid 80's I replaced the selenium rectifiers for modern 5 amp bridge rectifiers, I also removed the half wave facility which has no place with todays motors! This controller still works today and provides solid performance on my test track. There are a number of safety enhancements that I also made for little or no cost.

Also on my test track I use a Kent Panel Controls hand held switchable feedback controller with reduced feedback. This is the best of both worlds. I hardly ever use the full feedback (reduced by me) setting and in fact I find that modern high efficiency motors hate this and actually run slower and hotter! The minimum setting provides good control over a wide range of motor types.

And my last and main controller is a Gaugemaster hand held normal darlington pair controller. This works fine with all motor types and is quite safe! It is fed by the AC output of the Safety Minor :-)

All in all, older motors will benefit from the kind of output you get from the older controllers but always full wave rectification! never use pulse. Never use feedback on coreless motors and avoid it for modern motors.

To answer your question, look at a Gaugemaster Combi controller with its 1.1 amps output this should be fine for your older models and safe for the newer ones.

Hope this helps

Mike

Keep it.

I seem to remember reading (in an MRJ?) that a high-end manufacturer in Europe still makes variable transformer controllers.

Hi people,

Many thanks for the info - helps me out quite nicely.

-- Rod

So what are you going to do? :-)

Mike

Read through the Gaugemaster website, save my money and then pick one :-)

-- Rod

Do check other shops like Rails who seel cheaper than GM do!

seel!?? I mean sell of course :-)