Model Railway Forum

Hi would like some feedback please was looking at Tortoise Slow action Motors with Digitrax DCC point decoders, but have seen Cobalt IP Digital slow action motor these are a lot cheaper as you don't have to buy the decoder as dcc is built in are they as reliable and easy to use. Going to be on OO layout with Digitrax Evo Express (When they come in)

Gary

I've used the Cobalt Digital IP motors and have to say I do like them. Easy to install and setup.

DCC Concepts Digital Cobalt ip slow motion point motors when purchased in bulk buy packs 6 or 12 are great value, if you can afford to buy in bulk. They are easy to install and connect up and need no additional decoders, just two wires to the DCC bus pair or DCC feed rails. They can also be operated by push buttons or a switch. They also offer LED indications of point position on a mimic panel etc and they have one set of independent change over contacts for switching external items plus a dedicated Frog output for Electrofrog points.

I have eighteen Cobalt iP's and they have been working well for four years. As Brian says "cheaper if you buy in bulk". BB

Many thanks for the reply's I will be buying in bulk going to need at least 12 probably 18

Gary

A short addendum - I bought a pack of twelve from Hattons and two did not work - a quick call, and the two duds were returned and new ones sent - no problems at all.

Having decided to purchase six Cobalt IP Digital point motors and looked at a few videos on Youtube installation looked pretty simple: not so! I am retro-fitting these on previously manually operated points in behind-the-scenes locations and found that just about everything that could go wrong did. Partly it's the locations: the layout was my first and I didn't allow for things like point motors that were in awkward corners and up against walls. Add to that one's age (I'm 78) and eyesight, plus working upside down so far it has been a nightmare.

Then I found that the Digitrax DCS50 appeared to assume that point motors (switches in American parlance) already had got assigned addresses, whereas the Cobalt installation instructions assume the opposite. However, I now have info from Digitrax that with the point motor in the SET position it should accept the number from the controller. We shall see!

Cobalt Digital ip motors are perhaps the most simplest to address on DCC. Just slide their switch to Set and programme, enter and send the address needed and then slide the switch back to Run. Then whenever that point address has been set and entered the motor will respond accordingly when that accessory address is entered!

Just to give you something else to think about Tim, my Cobalts are programmed for DCC operation, but I also wired them to operate via an On-Off-On switch (sprung to Off). The switch operation is by far the easiest.

One thing to watch with the Cobolts, they arrive with the mechanism set in the middle, to ease installation, and that is turned off once it's been screwed into place.

If you want to move the motor to another location there are instructions to recenter the motor, of the 12 I had 6 failed to work again after being recentered.

I no longer use DCC Concepts products

I went down the servo motor route and saved a small fortune.