Which ones to use for ho Micro Eng or Peco that also have frog powering?
If I was starting over today I would go with servos. I have been experimenting with servos for about 6 months and they have great possibilities. Maybe Randy will chime in with some detail.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Don’t overlook the Circuitron Tortoise.
Rich
I originally investigated servos because Tortoises have gotten rather expensive, and the servo, mount, and controller circuit which included pushbuttons and LEDs AND was also a DCC stationary decoder was costing less per turnout than just the bare Tortoise. This gave me both local and dispatcher control AND saved money.
Depending on the requirements, the servo costs have gone up a bit, but if you buy in quantity, as little as 5, there is a significant discount, at least from the supplier I used. And if you don;t need or want DCC control, you can get a much less expensive controller - which happens to have an add-on DCC module if you cnage your mind later.
The way to really save money is to buy the servos themselves on ebay, they are well under $2 each, and buy the controller and the mount (if you want to power the frog, the easiest thing is to use the mount that includes a microswitch).
There are others, but my preferred servo controller supplier is Tam Valley Depot. The Octopus is the most economical controller.
–Randy
If you go with eBay servos at less than $2 and the 8 servo driver from Tam Valley it costs roughly $8 per turnout vs. $17 for one Tortoise.
I have been using the PECO PL-10 switch machines to replace my old Atlas #65 under table switch machines. The Atlas #65s are marginable at best new out of the package.
The only problem is the PL-10 requires a 2¼” hole under the turnout against ½” for the Atlas #65.
https://melvineperry.blogspot.com/2015/01/january-10-2015-turnout-modification.html
The SG-90 servos ($1.50) only require 1½” hole under the turnout. The higher cost S-3.7 servos ($4) only require a 1” hole.
