Has anyone used the Micro-Mark Switch Tender, the under table turnout machine. By looking at the wiring diagram for it, it seems there is always a current draw during and after switching operations. I would think this would eventually burn out the motor. All comments about this product will be greatly appreciated.
When bought in quantity, Tortoise machines can be had for the same price, and they have more features.
Both turnout machines are stall motors and are designed to shut down when there is suficient resistance.
I don’t know about the other brand, but the tortoise never shuts down. It continues to draw around 10 milliamps (depending on supply voltage) whenever power is applied. This is what keeps the points tight against the rails. It also allows the use of series LEDs to indicate position.
10 or 20 mA will not hurt or even appreciably heat these motors. They will last a very long time under power - that’s how they are designed to operate.
There is one concern: If you have a LOT of these motors, make sure that your supply can handle the total current continuously. Add at least 10 percent for a good supply and 40-50% for those cheap off shore wallwarts (they are generally overrated and will get hot / fail near listed load). IE 30 tortoises is only 30 x 20 mA at most. This is 600 Milliamps total. A 1 amp supply will be fine for such an application.
Karl