Sent Berrett Hill an email but never heard back.
Can someone confirm that their Touch Toggles (for bipolar switch machines) work for Rapido RailCrew Switch Machines?
Also, can I mix Berrett Hill's Touch Toggles for bipolar switch machines and their ones for Tortoises?
Thank you in advance!
Visit my layout!
LaSalle Street Station
I think they are a neat product so I will give your post a bump.
I don't have a guru opinion but a bipolar switch maching sounds like a tortoise switch machine, as opposed to a 3 wire machine. I'm surprised they didn't answer your email as they were regulars at Timonium.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Rock Island JimSent Berrett Hill an email but never heard back.
Try calling them.
The Rail Crew switch machines come with a toggle switch. I power mine with a wall wart, and they work just fine.
Wayne
That's what I've got now, but those switches from Rapido with the circuit board on the back take up a lot of room. Too much, in fact, when there is a yard ladder with other nearby switches. If I wanted a panel with a track diagram, I'd end up with a HUGE panel with a fair amount of wires behind it to also show switch positions on LEDs. This is where the toggles may be superior as they've got everything (including the indicator LEDs) built in to a smaller footprint.
Maybe I got a bad batch from Rapido, but I've also had to reattach too many of the wires from those circuit boards to think they're going to be without issue over time.
Ive also tried buying the micro switches (same as Rapido's) without the circuit board but they're very sensitive to soldering. Even working quickly and with heat sinks, I've somehow destroyed the innards or more than I've been successful on. I'm admittedly not great at soldering, but I've never had issues like this before! I assume this fragility of those switches is why Rapido moved most of the soldering to the circuit boards and made them big enough to ensure the heat remained far away from the switch itself.
I've also tried mechanical fasteners on the switches but worry about the durability of those. Not to mention troubleshooting would not be fun with all the wires in such a small area. Maximizing durability seems essential for this application. I'd rather progress on the layout than spend too much time looking for why a single turnout won't operate.
If the toggles from Berrett Hill are as good as I've been told, they'd eliminate most of the wiring woes, external LEDs, spacing issues, potential for trouble, and offer a "cool" touchscreen element to my panels. That last point isn't necessary, but one has to admit the cleanliness and simplicity of the user interface is appealing!
To be clear, I've been very happy with the Rapido RailCrew machines. I enjoy being able to work above the table rather than below (which is a discovery I have made and why I've got Tortoises too). RailCrew will be my go to in everything, perhaps, except double crossovers. Tortoises seem to work be better there. However, I installed and tested all that on a board at the workbench and then dropped them in.
I must be missing something, as there are no circuit boards for mine.
Drilling the holes for the motors was the worst part for me, as they were all in locations near the back of the layout and behind structures. The fact that there's a partial upper level over this area of the layout made for pretty tight working conditions.
The two motors, which were installed to control the crossover, shown below, are activated by a single switch on the layout's fascia...
This one was the hardest to install, as it's behind a shop building from one aisle, with no overhead clearance, and over 2' away from an adjoining aisle, with the crane runway, at left, sustaining damage from snagged clothing and my errant elbow....
...but I did get it installed...