Mole point motor

[Bilton Junction]

Has anyone experience of the new "Mole" point motor listed on Reicherts Proto 87 Store? It seems a lot smaller and cheaper than a Tortoise. I just wonder how it compares for noise and reliability. Also whether anyone has tried them on a lower voltage. I run my tortoises on a 6V supply to keep the noise down and hopefully prolong motor life.
Carl

[AnthonyFerguson]

Carl
Did you get any answers to this post?
I have just ordered some of these moles, on the basis that they look cheaper than anything else I could find save tube/wire-in-tube. I'll let you know how I get on.
I should add that I have no electrical or electronic skill at all and will be following their instructions as their website, without experimenting with lower volts.
Anthony F

[David Thorpe]

I have just ordered some of these moles, on the basis that they look cheaper than anything else I could find save tube/wire-in-tube.

Not as cheap as the Conrad units at £3.99 - http://www.conrad-uk.com/ce/en/product/ ... 0&ref=list

DT

[Re6/6]

We've used the Conrads very successfully, and at a quarter of the price of the Hoffman http://finneyandsmith.co.uk/finneyandsmith/hoffman.html which is virtually identical.

[Ian Everett]

We've used the Conrads very successfully, and at a quarter of the price of the Hoffman http://finneyandsmith.co.uk/finneyandsmith/hoffman.html which is virtually identical.

I need to replace a failed Hoffman motor and like the look of the Conrads, which look as though they would just slot in without any significant changes to the turnouts, baseboard or wiring (whereas to fit a Tortoise would). Does anybody know of a British distributor of the Conrads?

Google tells me that the Conrads were originally licensed versions of Hoffmans, hence the similarity.

Incidentally, the Hoffman failed because I sprayed it with WD40 to try to get the polarity switch to work, whereon it fell apart. Yes, I know I was daft but the motor was inaccessible and needed repairing immediately before an operating session so I panicked.

Learn from my mistake!

Ian

[grovenor-2685]

Does anybody know of a British distributor of the Conrads?

See link from 2 posts above

Not as cheap as the Conrad units at £3.99 - http://www.conrad-uk.com/ce/en/product/219998/Universal-Point-Mechanism/1606490&ref=list

Keith

[Ian Everett]

See link from 2 posts above

Not as cheap as the Conrad units at £3.99 - http://www.conrad-uk.com/ce/en/product/219998/Universal-Point-Mechanism/1606490&ref=list

Keith

That's actually an English language version of a German web site. They state that delivery is from Germany and it's pretty expensive for sample quantities. I was hoping a British distributor might charge less postage.

Remember I am a mean Yorkshireman!

Ian

[David Thorpe]

That's actually an English language version of a German web site. They state that delivery is from Germany and it's pretty expensive for sample quantities. I was hoping a British distributor might charge less postage.

As I see it, it's Conrad UK's website and they're based in Berkshire. Delivery prices don't seem unreasonable - standard delivery (5 - 7 days) is £5.95, with faster options being more expensive (48 hour is £7.95). Delivery is free for orders over £67. See http://www.conrad-uk.com/ce/en/content/ ... y/Delivery

DT

[Ian Everett]

Sorry to be pedantic but Conrad's web site says, "All orders are shipped from our Warehouse in Germany, delays may occur if there are public holidays in Europe."

Next delay delivery from Andrew Hartshorne (Wizard/SME) would cost me £3.40 but £19.95 from Conrad.

Call me a mean B****** but I would prefer to buy my goods from Andrew!

Ian (Who is also genetically half Scottish)

[nigelcliffe]

Sorry to be pedantic but Conrad's web site says, "All orders are shipped from our Warehouse in Germany, delays may occur if there are public holidays in Europe."

Next delay delivery from Andrew Hartshorne (Wizard/SME) would cost me £3.40 but £19.95 from Conrad.

Call me a mean B****** but I would prefer to buy my goods from Andrew!

Ian (Who is also genetically half Scottish)

Try clicking through the site, ordering a few turnout motors. You get to a checkout with the £5.95 postage mentioned higher.
Conrad are like a number of German retailers, their website is primarily in German (so expect things to drop back now and again to the German stuff), but they have fullfilment/delivery in the UK at typical UK mail order postal prices.

In terms of personal service, I expect Andrew Hartshorne will do a better job than any large "tin shed" retailer such as Conrad.


- Nigel

[David Thorpe]

I'm getting confused now. What's the relevance of Andrew Hartshorne to this?

DT

[Ian Everett]

I'm getting confused now. What's the relevance of Andrew Hartshorne to this?

DT

My fault! I'll try again.

I originally asked whether there are any British distributors of Conrad point motors. I asked because I think that a British distributor should offer lower postal charges than Conrad, who would deliver from their warehouse in Germany. I gave as an example Wizard/MSE's 1st class postal charge of £3.40, which I still think compares favourably with Conrad's next day (from Germany?!) charge of £19.95 (although, admittedly Conrad do offer lower charges for slower delivery).

Andrew Hartshorne runs Wizard/MSE and he includes point motors other than Conrad in his catalogue - and offers brilliant service and low postal rates. I will ask him of he would like to source Conrads because they look to be tremendous value for money.

And I wrote this because I am a mean Yorkshireman with Scottish genes who likes to count the pennies.

Ian

[David Thorpe]

Gottit now Ian, thanks - I seem to have to have started off 2013 in none-too-bright mode.

Comments I've read of heard about the Conrads vary. Up at Aberdeen's Model railway show last year I spoke to the electrical whizzkids at their club layout - you know, the ones who control the trains with their phones and laptops - and they were very enthusiastic about the Conrads, which they use on their 00 layout and which apparently work well. On various fora, however, i've read (from an N gauge modeller) that they're a bit gutless and don't switch his points properly, and from an 0 gauge modeller that they work fine with his Marcway points. I took the view when I bought them that if they're good enough for the German market there can't be too much wrong with them, and even if they don't do points properly they'd at least do signals - they're no more expensive (and a lot simpler!) than servos.

If you only want one, Conrad are selling them on ebay for £6.99 including postage - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALL-GAUGES-PO ... 51a4099e8e. They even have a 2-year guarantee!

DT

[Tim V]

WD40 is just about OK on sticky hinges. It is an insulator (hence its use on distributor caps in the old days). It should not be used on point motors. There are switch cleaners for that purpose.

[John Bateson]

I have been getting the wiring sorted for some Conrad Point Motors.
Confused I am.

It seems that they use diodes in 2 input lines (brown) to create +12v and -12v from a 15vac source using the red wire as a common return. Wanting to know if I could use +/- 12v dc instead I did some experiments based on a trawl through another place for advice.
The only one I can see recommends that the two brown wires are connected together (without diodes presumably) and this common brown and the red go through a DPDT switch (I use relays). However, the motor continues to hum after the throw and on taking the thing apart it is because the brown wires have a limit switch which breaks the circuit. If the brown wires are connected together the limit switch (one end or the other) will always be in the circuit. Thus they are NOT stall type motors since they rely on limit switches to break the circuit - which has also been said elsewhere.

Slightly annoyed because I am going to have to run another wire to each and every point location (and change all the drawings).

Still, they do seem to have the requisite power at 9v dc to achieve a good throw.

[allanferguson]

John, I suspect this is what you are looking at

Bonnybridge Points Wiring.jpg

This was the way we wired Bonnybridge many, many years ago. It did work very well.
The point (sorry!) was that each points motor only required one wire plus a common return.
We slightly jiggered it by switching the crossing polarity at the switch panel, thereby adding an extra wire (I've never trusted polarity switching on points motors)

Allan F

[Will L]

John

When we discussed this at Scale 4 North forum I wasn't very helpful as I wasn't at all sure how the Conrad point motor worked. I've had a look since so I can be more helpfull now. Electrically they seem to work very much the Fulgerex point motors.

A few diagrams which I hope will help.
This is what I think the Conrad instructions ment, though it isn't all that obvious.

John Pmotor 1.jpg

This is what Alan was suggesting, this saves quite a lot of wiring but needs extra diodes.

John Pmotor 2.jpg

These things are intended for Ac operation, If you must use DC then what you need is this

John Pmotor 3.jpg

Will

[John Bateson]

Power Switching A.png

Will,
Thanks for that. I think I had the brown wires joined together on the'inside' of the diodes which would account for the continuous feed to the motor.

[Russ Elliott]

Are the diodes part of the internal circuit of the Conrad?

If this is so, given you have split dc supplies, John, you could work each motor with just one wire (plus a common return for the motors), but it does depend on exactly what the internal circuit is.

[John Bateson]

Russ,
The diodes are included with the Conrad point motor in the two brown leads, presumably to give a +12v and a -12v supply. They can easily be removed with a pair of snips!
However, the internal circuit breaks the supply when the switch is thrown.
John

[grovenor-2685]

If you use Will's middle circuit and reverse the switch/diode combination you only need one pair of diodes for as many motors as you like.
Keith

[John Bateson]

In the end I decided to keep the Conrad motors as designed, i.e. with in-line diodes to create the voltages to drive the motor. The main reason was that I found the Conrad motors for any other configuration still had 150mA flowing through the motor at the end of the throw. It also allowed me to get rid of the 12 v power supply which derives from a SMPS which is now 30+ years old.
It weas easier to redesign the control panel switching panel in the end, which is now complete (except for the actual front panel) and 6 Conrad motors switch left and right to order, either in pairs or separately. Thank goodness for a test box I built to check things out, a couple of the problems I had were a real *****r to find.
Now to fit them to the base boards!

Another 6 motors now on order...

I also remembered another thread from long ago where power sources could easily be found complete with 3 pin mains plug etc. Can recommend Hunterfield, a 24v 2.5A supply is about 1/6 the size of the current SMPS (again 30+ years old) and arrived within 24 hours or ordering - £12. I think Keith N was the main contributor to that thread.

John