walthers turntable... reviews?

[mikebonellisr]

I am planning on installing a turntable soon,but i can't decide if i should try to install a diamond scale TT with n y railways indexing or buy a walthers TT.The walthers is a little large for my needs,but i can live with it if it works as advertised.I have not seen any reviews on it in the magazines and wonder if it's worth the money.I also want to find out about ease of installation,dcc compatibility,percision and quality of the product.Doe's anyone have any experience with this TT?

[Anonymous]

Can I throw in here and ask about the Bowser TT (http://www.bowser-trains.com/ho_turntables.php) as well as the AAA TT's (http://www.aaaturntables.com/aaa_001.htm)?? I'm kind of interested in doing a engine terminal module, and have been torn between what is available and what actually works well.

[selector]

I have not seen any adverse remarks about the Walthers, other than if you can get it cheaply on ebay, do so. As you must know, several firms offer turntables, some with indexing, and they are not cheap. But I believe that they all work quite well.

[Budliner]

I have the heljan turntable and its very cheeply made
stay away from it if you want smoth opperation
ah but there round house they make is out of this world
I have seen one bashed with 2 kits inside had some nice detail
lights replacement diesels motors nice brick

Kenneth C

[tstage]

Mike,

Here's another sight that may be worth looking at: http://www.cmrtrain.com/turntable.html

Looks like a nice product - and comes in 4 different sizes.

Tom

[NZRMac]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Budliner

I have the heljan turntable and its very cheeply made
stay away from it if you want smoth opperation
ah but there round house they make is out of this world
I have seen one bashed with 2 kits inside had some nice detail
lights replacement diesels motors nice brick

Kenneth C

I've got mine to (manually) turn nicely with a capstan bearing from an old video player, I haven't worked out the motor drive yet ( I might just leave it manual!!)

Ken.

[richhotrain]

I own the Walthers 130' turntable, and it is fantastic. It performs flawlessly, and the indexing is extremely accurate. I have had no problems with it.

My one complaint is minor, and it has to do with the control box. It is a plastic, dark grey, and somewhat difficult to work with. The controls consist of two pads, one of which must be depressed with your finger to turn the table either clockwise or counterclockwise. The pads are part of the surface of the control box and, being dark gray, the pads are hard to see when the control box is mounted on the front or side of the layout framework.

But, overall, the turntable is superb, easy to install and wire, and accomodates even the largest steam engine. I would look no further.

[rrinker]

Funny when ideas hit you - but here goes. This could help with the control box as well as other issues like seeing car card boxes. I picked up some 'laptop lights' at the local Dollar Store (now I wonder if they still have any more - if this idea works I'll want a dozen!). They are basically a bright white LED on a gooseneck that plugs into a USB port. The USB plug can be cut off, leaving you with a white LED on a gooseneck. It probably has a resistor to run on 5 volts, no big deal to add more and run it off of 12 volts. Strategically located on the fascia, they can be twisted around to provide light where needed - on the control panel, on the car cards, whatever.
Of course, my Digitrax DT400 throttle has a flashlight built-in, but a few fixedlights might not be a bad idea.

--Randy

[pbuck]

just a note walthers is coming ouy with the same tt in a 90 foot nersion soon dont remember where i saw this but remember...
also i like my bowser tt i have dcc and hooked the drive moter up tru a decoder and get very good speed control no momentum instant stop
good luck phil

[loathar]

Richhotrain-Can't you paint the buttons a bright color?
Someone posted a while back that their indexing unit kept losing it's settings.Don't know if Walthers got it fixed or not.Walthers has downloadable PDF's on their site that address a lot of questions and specs on this product.

[ereimer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by pbuck

just a note walthers is coming ouy with the same tt in a 90 foot nersion soon dont remember where i saw this but remember...
also i like my bowser tt i have dcc and hooked the drive moter up tru a decoder and get very good speed control no momentum instant stop
good luck phil

walther's site says it's due march 28 2006 , same price (299.99) as the 130'

[tstage]

$300 for the smaller 90' turntable?!? Well, that makes perfect sense...[%-)]

Tom

[Javern]

the Mrs sez you need nail poli***o mark the buttons, she suggests daisy yellow #3

QUOTE: Originally posted by richhotrain

I own the Walthers 130' turntable, and it is fantastic. It performs flawlessly, and the indexing is extremely accurate. I have had no problems with it.

My one complaint is minor, and it has to do with the control box. It is a plastic, dark grey, and somewhat difficult to work with. The controls consist of two pads, one of which must be depressed with your finger to turn the table either clockwise or counterclockwise. The pads are part of the surface of the control box and, being dark gray, the pads are hard to see when the control box is mounted on the front or side of the layout framework.

But, overall, the turntable is superb, easy to install and wire, and accomodates even the largest steam engine. I would look no further.

[rrinker]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tstage

$300 for the smaller 90' turntable?!? Well, that makes perfect sense...[%-)

Tom

Well, the electronics and mechanism are exactly the same, and that's where 90% of the cost is anyway. I guess I better get one before they are retired for good, otherwise my only other choice will be paying more than $300 just for the indexing system, PLUS buying some other table.
I don't count the Bowser system in the same league as this Walthers table and those other guys who make a nice indexing system. Yeah it's cheap, but there's a lot of metal work and placing of those metal pieces in just teh right location to align the tracks. Not my idea of fun.

--Randy

[davekelly]

I have a feeling the 90 footer will be more popular than the 130 footer as there will be more folks that can fit it in their scheme.