After nearly a year of work, we've finally released
our Blue Point manual turnout controllers!
We will have a number of articles on installation coming
up on this web site. We've been installing Blue Points on
a friend's layout--we'll be taking pictures and writing up
our experience soon. In the mean time, here is a little information.
The R/C pushrod shown in the photograph is a 2-56 threaded
rod with a nylon clevis screwed onto the end. Both of these
are made by Dubro and are available at most
hobby shops that sell R/C airplane parts. The clevis is Dubro part number 228, and the threaded rod is part number 378 for 12" rod. For a knob we drilled a hole through
a plastic knob and held it to the rod with locking 2-56 nuts.
Using a stiff threaded rod works well for short runs.
For longer runs, we recommend using a flexible push-pull
tube, such as the Gold-N-Rod made by Sullivan Products.
These come in 3' and 4' lengths, but can be cut shorter very
easily. If you use a flexible push-pull tube, you will need
to anchor the outer tube to the bench work at both ends so
it can't move.
We've also had a number of questions about using the Blue
Points under 2" thick foam. The simple answer is yes, they
work great. The tension and throw adjustment slider provides
more than enough range to handle long runs of spring wire.
We include .032" diameter spring steel wire with the product,
which is quite rigid. You can also slip a brass tube over
wire that extends through the foam to provide more power
at the throw bar, if needed.
Specs
We've designed the Blue Point Turnout Control to operate
turnouts in scales from N through O. The electrical
contacts are double pole, double throw (DPDT) rated at 5
amps, so they have plenty of capacity to power a frog or
just about anything else you'll want to drive.
The picture on the right has two diagrams.
The left diagram shows the numbering of the contacts, while
the right diagram shows how these contacts are arranged electrically.
When the switch is in one position, contact 5 is connected
to contact 4, and contact 2 is connected to contact 1. Move
the switch to the other position and now 5 is connected to
6 and 2 is connected to 3.
Made in the USA
All of the manufacturing of this product is being done here
in the state of Washington. We had the molds made about an
hour's drive from here and the actual injection molding was
done about 45 minutes from here.
P/N: NRM-40018 Blue Point™ Manual Turnout Control |