I’m getting to the point where I need to make a decision on this subject. I’m very interested in the controls available from www.humpyard.com. They look and work great from everything I’m told. I’ve searched this topic but I’m not having any luck finding modelers who’ve posted complete tutorials online on how to build them from scratch… switches, levers, linkage, etc. I’d like to build them myself if possible, without having to reinvent the wheel. If anyone has a good link, please post it here. I will also be willing to post a tutorial on how I built my controls if I end up building a reliable and inexpensive alternative.
I’m surprised. Seems like I’ve seen articles in quite a few places on this - thin dowels in brass tubes, choke cables, bicycle brake cables, piano wire, RC airplane cables and associated levers, links and handles. You might want to check back issues of “MR”.
I’m interested in only a mechanical cable system. So far I’ve found bulk cable and housing from bicycle warehouse type suppliers, but no luck yet on an inexpensive lever that’s suitable. I am thinking of welding a screw to a toggle switch (or using tap and die) to mount a wooden handle for extension and linkage mounting purposes. The toggle would only be needed for the locking mechanism to hold the points to the rail, no electrical application needed.
I built a panel of twelve, years ago, with Turn signal levers I got at a junk yard. Each lever was different and it looked ??? (no pics). It was a task to make and adjust though. I went with the humpyard this time. Easier and I like the look of the levers.