I just got my copy of the September issue of the NMRA’s Scale Rails and saw an ad from a company called Cypress Engineering with a new switch machine. Apparently, they sell a small switch machine with a built in DCC decoder that comes pre-attached to a Walthers code 83 turnout. This machine is so small it fits in a cut-out in the cork road bed. There is no under the table mounting. Has anyone heard anything more about this? The listed web site www.cypress-engineering.com doesn’t work and a web search comes up empty. There is no phone number or address listed in the ad.
This looks like a new web domain name without proper content.
The site exists but has no index (default) page yet. Personally I would be wary of a startup company.
Here is the technical information about the registrant (includes address and personal email)
Registrant:
Cypress Engineering
20470 Carrey Road
Walnut, California 91789
United States
Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: CYPRESS-ENGINEERING.COM
Created on: 19-Jan-07
Expires on: 19-Jan-17
Last Updated on: 27-Aug-07
Administrative Contact:
Hemphill, Lewis lhemphill@earthlink.net
Cypress Engineering
20470 Carrey Road
Walnut, California 91789
United States
9515297108
Technical Contact:
Hemphill, Lewis lhemphill@earthlink.net
Cypress Engineering
20470 Carrey Road
Walnut, California 91789
United States
9515297108
Good luck,
Karl
I called them. The web site should be up after Labor Day some time.
Because they are a new manufacturer, I wouldn’t order an entire layout worth of their product right away without trying a few and putting their product through some form of cycle to failure testing.
That said, this product is potentially exactly what I’m looking for. I am nearly ready to start building a large multi-deck layout with deck thicknesses nominally at 2.5 inches. With the exception of the Aspen Model’s switch machines, the existing higher quality switch machines on the market are all so big, requiring a thicker deck to accomodate the switch machine.
This product is thin and does not require under deck mounting, which is a huge plus for my layut plans. One thing that has always bothered me about multi-deck layouts is the un-sitely underside that can be difficult to eliminate from photographs. Thus I plan on using a foam / plywood sandwich benchwork with brackets hidden in the foam to produce a flat unobstructed deck underside. I’ll paint it white to help reflect light too. With this switch machine, I’ll be able to bury the wires to the machine in the foam and access the switch machine if necessary with minimal disturbance. It won’t be as easy to access as an under-the-table mounted machine, but is worth the smooth deck underside. (I hope they sell a version not mounted to a Walther’s turnout so I can use them with handlaid turnouts.)
It is potentially a really great idea. No wiring as it is probably just connected to the rails in some way and no concerns about mounting below the layout. If this is a legitimate company, I am interested. - Nevin
If this product turns out to be as small as the maker claims it to be, I hope he’s prepared to sell thousands of them every month, unless the Walthers turnouts are the only ones it will work with. I hope not. I’ve heard that name, Lewis Hemphill, in the past but can’t recall exactly where.
There are several pictures in the ad in Scale Rails. It is indeed very small. The circuit board is about the width of the ties and the motor is very small and appears to drive a threaded rod to throw the switch. It really does appear that the motor and mechanism will fit in the thickness of cork and be completely under the switch ties.
I don’t know if it includes a relay to allow a powered frog or not.
It appears be soldered directly to the underside of the turnout such that it picks up power from the rails so no wiring is required. You’d just need to give it an address and control it with your DCC system. If not, it’s just a matter of connecting the machine to the rail with small jumper wires.
I certainly don’t see any reason why this couldn’t be sold seperately and attached to other brands of turnouts (assuming the point throw is not too excessive as with sectional track style turnouts) or handlaid track.
I was on their site yesterday afternoon and looked at the installation and programming instructions. They had very detailed programming instructions for Digitrax, NCE and one or two other DCC systems. Of course I didn’t save the PDF but instead just looked them over…they had a link for emailing their sales department and another for potential dealers to email for info…
The motor is attached to the Walthers turnout so it gets power from the rails. The clearance needed below the ties was .262 inches, if my memory is working correctly. They had a couple of photos showing the motor imbedded into the cork, then covered with a thin layer of ballast. There is capability for using a SPST switch to control the turnout, as well as connections for an LED to indicate the position of the turnout.
Don Z.
Sounds like a winner!
David B
Can you post a link? It appears the main web address still doesn’t work. How did you find the details? Maybe you just got lucky as they temporarily had a work in progress up live.
The link doesn’t work now…sorry, but’s that’s all I can remember from being on the site yesterday afternoon…
Don Z.
One very big problem may be having it ‘buried’ in the roadbed. If it burns out, you have to tear up the turnout to get to it! At .262" thick, it will be greater than 1/4". Cork roadbed is 3/16" thick, so it will still need to be buried into the sub-roadbed. This should be interesting to watch. If these are rock solid, have contacts, and can be purchased seperate for other manufacturers turnouts - they could break into the ‘Tortoise’ market. And of course - Price will be a major item…
Jim
The extra thickness will not be an issue with my homasote roadbed with foam sub-roadbed.[:)]
sounds like an interesting product . i’m a little scared about what the price is going to be , after all it does include a walthers turnout , a dcc decoder , and assembly . my guess … $40 to $50.00 per turnout . i could be off either direction though
One possible negative is if the switch machine draws power directly from the rails, it will make your typical current sensing occupancy detectors think the block is occupied. Of course if they are sold seperate from the turnout, it should be pretty easy to power seperate from the track and any occupancy detector.
I agree Eric. The market for the machine “wedded” to that one product is infinitessimal compared to the potential market for a stand alone device that we can install to any commercial, or even hand laid switches. I, for one, am planning on using the Fast Track method for the layout I am planning and will rquire over a hundred No. 8 switches, plus wyes and slip switches also.
I would like to see a stand alone unit that can be powered from either a transformer or power pack, independent of the rails. If it could be powered by DCC current and actuated from the control cab, then it could be used on the many thousands of layouts that will never be converted to DCC, including mine. It has occured to me that using DCC to operate switch machines and lighting would be a far better method of control for them.
The extra depth over cork road bed can easily be cured with a single pass of a 1/2 inch or smaller router bit.
I have been considering experimenting with one of the twin coil machines on hand by making a new oval flat armature from a flat piece of steel and using the existing transformer wire to rewind onto it. It might be possible to reduce the coil height to about 1/4 inch this way. It would be easy to rewind the exisiting wire by chucking it into a battery operated screw driver. I have often wondered why the makers of those units haven’t already done this.
Let’s face it, the tortoise is a fine machine, but it is really to big and bulky for many layout applications.
Well, the web page is up. Unfortunately, they will not sell the switch machine seperate from the switches. I’m quite disappointed. [:(] Oh well. I guess Aspen Models it is. Besides, who can afford nearly $60 a turnout! [:O]
The good news is, they will have this switch motor available for other than the Walthers/Shinohara code 83 turnouts some time in the future.
The bad news is, you will have to purchase it already attached to a turnout.
The worst news is, the flea will not be sold separately as a user-installable switch machine.
Methinks they’re shooting themselves in the foot with that policy. I’m not going to purchase a specific brand or type of turnout just because it has a Flea attached to it.
This was all sounding very interesting - until cacole posted[:O].
I guess all the folks who hand-lay their specialwork, with or without jigs, are just out of luck[sigh].
Guess I’ll just keep doing what I have been doing - at about 1/4 the price, including switch machine[:-^].
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
a “turnout area” is signal protected if your going to do signals. Switch in use changing point direction will mean RED on all protecting signals. Why not. It may use a meager amount of power anyways, if the detection has a sensititivy, adjust it. I would think if you find where it picks power from that we modelers will find the “hack” to redirect its power connect.
the site is back up. Thats just the kind of thing I need for elevated track. Pricing, well, 58 bucks for one turnout, the price of the turnout itself dont mean much after that. I have done plenty of handlaid turnouts and the one reason to going to branded turnouts is the detail put onto them.
Central Valley has resurfaced with new turnout stuff. I like the Cypress switch machine idea,
if they can figger out a unit for the custom track people, that would be cool. I would even hanker a non DCC version the same way.