Has anybody used one of these throttle units? Did they work as advertised? I’m seriously considering purchasing one to test it out, and if it works as well as or better than the SCR throttle I built many years ago, I may get 3 more of them. They’re by Ken Stapleton, and look very interesting. Anybody dealt with Mr. Stapleton?
I have a Model 821A PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) VariPulse dc walk-around model railroad throttle system that I used a couple of years ago and switched to DCC. I still have it and it worked fine on DC only. I don’t know what the 851B is but would assume a later version.
-Bob
According to the website, the 852B is an improved 1.5a version of the 821A. Supposedly has more efficient design, more compact… there’s a link in my original post… He also has it in a kit, now.
Sorry - my original post had the wrong model number - it should be 852B. My bad.[:$]
Hello,
here is a review of all of my throttles for my layout. One of the throttles is that made by Ken Stapleton. Here is the link: http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/168228/1847812.aspx#1847812
Hope it helps
Frank
I have a couple of his turnout control units. I bought them because they’re a reasonable way to add LED control panel displays to twin-coil switch machine toggles. They work fine. No problems with ordering or shipping.
Thanks, Frank! I found your review interesting and informative. The 852B is a successor to your 851, but I suspect the lurching problem was due to the fact that the throttle is only rated for 1.5 amps, and with 4 6-axle diesel units, you’re talking probably at that level or above it. Since I rarely double-head (I run mostly steam), I doubt it would be an issue for me.
Could we see a track plan? I’d love to see how you got all that track (14 blocks and a helix, to boot!) in a 9x11 room, since that’s about the area of my layout room…