Nah, I think you're probably right about most of it.
I thought of the having to dig the turn-out out of the ballast to replace it if it goes to poop.
You compare the price of these to the tortoise... I've long since thought they were too pricey as well.
Turn-outs in general seem to be the biggest expense in laying tracks, especially when you sit down and realize that yard you just designed will require 30 turnouts as $80 a piece for a total of $2400.... try sneaking THAT past the wife.
spidge wrote: My guess is that the Flea is manufactured in a grage somewhere by a group a buddies who collectively thought up and developed the device, hence the fifty dollar price tag. If these things were being made in a sweat shop in a Shanghai suburb they'd be less than $10.
Not sure I agree totally with the price comment. Looking at list prices, a code 83 7-1/2 curved is $33.98, an NCE Switch-It is $19.95, and a Tortoise is $18.95, which totals around $73. The flea-flickers are asking list about $79. So, looking at somewhat equivalent items, the pricing does not seem to be that out-of-line. (I'm not saying that the cost doesn't make me cringe. I'm just saying that it appears to be in line with what it would cost me to do something similar.)
And if their web-site is to be believed, they've been in business 30 years designing electro-mechanical products so they probably have a good-sized garage. If I were to guess anything, I would guess that they thought that making devices for big customers with big budgets would translate well to making devices for small customes with limited budgets. Either that or, as you said, one of the owners was a model railroader and said, "gee, this looks like a good idea and I think we can make it.
Sort of reminds me of when I first started working and my employer figured that they were going to make control systems for model railroads. Why a gazillion dollar company thought that making a small audience control system (ASTRAK) was a good idea always escaped me. But then, they were also in the electric tractor business at about the same time. I think it was a case of the CEO having an interest and all the yes-people falling in line behind.
Now, aside from the price busines, what I really object to is the installation of the item. I know that you said that it would eliminate a bunch of stuff hanging below the track. This is true. But then how do we satisfy Mr. Murphy when there is a problem and we have to dig the entire turnout out of its surroundings to correct whatever is wrong? My personal choice is to have things maintainable.
Anyway, just my thoughts on the subject, and they are probably all incorrect.
spidge wrote:Well, I guess there will be another company going under soon. To bad, its a great idea that doesn't seem to have been executed by model railroaders. If it were then wouldn't most of these questions be answered in the included liturature. I'll check back on the flea in about 5 years after they are rehashed and improved, probably by an owner who wants to succeed.
My guess is that the Flea is manufactured in a grage somewhere by a group a buddies who collectively thought up and developed the device, hence the fifty dollar price tag. If these things were being made in a sweat shop in a Shanghai suburb they'd be less than $10.
I really like the idea of these things... preinstalled in the turnout, no need to have four to six inches of poop haning underneath... the whole "it's gauranteed until you install it" thing is BS.
John
You know, there's probably some sort of non-conductive gel you could use.
markpierce wrote: How does one permanently secure ballast over the electronics without damaging them?Mark
How does one permanently secure ballast over the electronics without damaging them?
Mark
You would probably have to avoid applying any ballast in or around the Flea, and be very cereful that you didn't get it wet while applying ballast or scenery anywhere near it. Water and microchips don't get along well at all together.
loathar wrote: WaxonWaxov wrote: I may buy one of these and see if I can reverse-engineer it.I like the idea and if I can home-make them with RadioShak parts, I will. I doubt you'd find parts at Radio Shaft, but a linear motor supplier might help.http://www.newscaletech.com/squiggle_overview.htmlThese look interesting.Edit-WOW! Just found these!http://www.physikinstrumente.com/en/news/fullnews.php?newsid=106Watch the mini motor video. These look like they woukld work perfect! I'm going to E mail them for price.
WaxonWaxov wrote: I may buy one of these and see if I can reverse-engineer it.I like the idea and if I can home-make them with RadioShak parts, I will.
I may buy one of these and see if I can reverse-engineer it.
I like the idea and if I can home-make them with RadioShak parts, I will.
I doubt you'd find parts at Radio Shaft, but a linear motor supplier might help.http://www.newscaletech.com/squiggle_overview.html
These look interesting.
Edit-WOW! Just found these!http://www.physikinstrumente.com/en/news/fullnews.php?newsid=106Watch the mini motor video. These look like they woukld work perfect! I'm going to E mail them for price.
Very interesting! Let us know what you find out please.
I wondered about that myself.
also how do you glue down ballast without fowling the worm gear that moves the points?
I didn't find Cypress Engineering to be rude or condescending, just not very helpful. And their method of tech support slow and inconvenient.
Basically, rather than ask for details about my specific problem, the reply I got after three days' wait was repetition of what was printed in the sheets provided with the turnout. After another evening's experimentation with the two samples I'd purchased to experiment with, I was able to correct the problem, but Cypress' support was no help at all.
Poor, disinterested support, coupled with the "Guaranteed until you install it" warranty convinced me that despite my client's keen initial interest in the Flea, it was not a product that I would be able to support on his layout. I'm not going to try to stand behind a product that the manufacturer won't stand behind sufficiently, especially when a large number of turnouts are involved. Once I explained to him that the warranty ended the moment you installed the Flea on the layout, my client agreed that we should move along to some other product (we ultimately chose the tried-and-true Tortoise).
The Flea isn't a bad idea, it's just not supported well enough that I'd recommend them.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
Isn't there some documentation with it that tells you the decoder default address ? With my NCE ProCab I just press SELECT ACCESSORY, type in the decoder's address, and it then gives me the option to press 1 or 2 to change the turnout position.
The Flea documentation that I downloaded from their web site says the default address is either 128 or 129, depending on which color sticker is on the machine.
http://cypress-engineering.com/UserManual2.2.pdf
I bought a 7.5 right hand Shinohara curved switch with a Cypress Engineering Flea motor.
On the face of it it looks like a step forward. However, I tried to get Cypress to help in programming my NCE ProDCC to close and open the switch. They were rude and condesending. Has anybody tried to program this or know someone who can?
Thank you in advance,
Doug Edwards