MP Series Switch Motors For Model Railroad Turnouts Tortoise Product Spotlight

[@railscanner]

Great video! I knew nothing of these but now I do.

[@rockadoodoo]

Good easy to understand video. These look like good versatile products and inexpensive.

[@tsgmultimedia]

I’m glad you found it helpful!

[@HumancityJunction]

I am a fan of the turnouts.

[@dundasjunctionmodelr.r-jam8267]

MP motors are great, I plan to use them for my yard , great video John

[@chugwaterjack4458]

I replaced over 25 Tortii motors with MP-10's, and couldn't be happier. Some of the MP-10's are remoted from the points (switches) as much as 18", with a piano wire rod through a 1/8" brass tube concealed by scenery. Control is with a Megapoints system, but if I were starting over, I'd use simple switches with my own LED's. The MP's are also much quieter than the stall motors. Well done article, gentlemen.

[@jcjackson726]

Great video, thanks guys! I'm excited about installing these on my layout. The multiple methods of adjustment when installing AND the small overall size sold me on this switch motor. Oh, and the connector! The fact that I can pre-wire the connector and easily remove it for troubleshooting is a bonus! They're less expensive than the Tortoise too!

[@scotabot7826]

Now I don't have to order these from the UK any longer!!

[@Howie2025]

I had never heard of these. Great solution to layout thickness over conventional switch motors. Thx

[@mprailroad]

Wow, these look great! First time I have seen these. thank you for sharing this video!

[@ralphscott7978]

Thats a great video. However on the MP4 there is a yellow cam with an adjustable pin to change the throw distance. When I tried to do this the cam fell out .Is there a way of getting it back in the correct position I now have the situation where the cam travels further in one direction than the other. Ralph

[@randydobson1863]

hello John & it's is Randy and i like yours video is cool & Thanks John Friends Randy

[@mdl1082]

Are resistors needed for use with bi-color LED's for track indication?

[@stressballer]

I hope you can do a follow up on this video talking about the different MTB/MP motors and their practical differences. I am bad at reading diagrams. ^^

[@UPNilesCyn]

I'll be happy to come back and talk about the rest of the product line if John will have me!

[@ketchy9]

I was thinking of using seep motors from the UK on my ttrak modules I'm building but I might go with these instead now after watching this video

[@uscstaylor]

where can I buy these please send a link

[@tsgmultimedia]

I thought there was one in the description. Try this: www.modelrailroadcontrolsystems.com/switch-motors-drivers-mounts-etc/

[@houseofrandomness]

I'm prepping to build the layout. I've been pondering on what to do in the switch machine department, manual control, blue point, tortoise, and now these. Is it possible to use a momentary, or is it confined to a regular style switch for operating?

[@lgrfbs]

They explained in the video how to install it. But if you are only going to have a push button, then you need one for each track position and that you hold the button until the switch engine has stopped making noise, if you release the button before the switch engine is ready, it stops in the wrong position. You have to get a little creative in the way it is connected so that there is power throughout the time the switch engine needs to move, this can be solved in many ways.

[@UPNilesCyn]

rando: the MP only moves for about 2.5 seconds at 12V, so you can use push buttons if you remember to hold the momentary button for 2.5 seconds. This makes for very simple multi-point control: just put a pair of buttons at every location you'd need throw the motor from (saw both sides of a peninsula).

[@timothyjohnston4083]

Could you insert the pin through a hole in the end of the throw-bar rather than in the middle ?

[@sethneumann5167]

sure, or use an RC servo style linkage if you like

[@RGSTroutLake]

Excellent video. I used MP1s on a small OO Scale British outline layout and they were brilliant. What I’d like to know is if anyone has used these on HOn3 which is what I mainly model, have they worked well and what notched did you use to get around the smaller throw?

[@sethneumann5167]

just use 0.032 music wire and it will bend and take up the slack

[@DairyStateDad]

If you are running the actuator pin thru 2 inches of foam above your baseboard, does that cause any problems?

[@sethneumann5167]

Use 0.047 music wire instead of the supplied "actuator needle" and it should be stiff enough

[@johnholt9809]

How about a simplified wiring diagram for us who are "electrical schematic" challenged? How to wire this machine for two LEDs as you have in this video AND how to wire for polarity change at a powered frog. Thank you.

[@JSVideoUTube]

MP Motors are a good solution. They do however not work if one needs to position them right next to the switch. The rod between the Motor and the switch need to be able to flex allowing the MP Motor its full length of travel.

[@UPNilesCyn]

JS: that is why I recommend music wire. I think I've got the guys at MTB convinced, too but I think they've got a warehouse full of rigid pins

[@JSVideoUTube]

Piano (Music) wire is certainly much better and would help if you install the Motor on the side of the switch like with a Märklin Motor. Since the actuating rod in such an installation would only be about 1.5-3 cm long it would only work if a V shaped Bent is in the rod giving it flexibility. @@UPNilesCyn

[@UPNilesCyn]

@@JSVideoUTube: good point and that is what I was demonstrating in the video, there's no magic to centering the motor other than it's the standard method with a Tortoise. For example it is hard to center most twin coil solenoid machines. I haven't found a V or Z bend necessary in most under-table cases (but handy on top side mounting).

[@dundasjunctionmodelr.r-jam8267]

John there other switch machines, I use Walthers switch machines on my main line

[@UPNilesCyn]

Walthers' are basically servos. We also make servo controllers, stall motor controllers and twin coil controllers and there are pros and cons to all of them.

[@dundasjunctionmodelr.r-jam8267]

@@UPNilesCyn yes they are , they work great I only stated there are other switch machines , Walthers makes everything for their switch machines

[@jimorlando5700]

Will these work with Atlas switch controllers?

[@avlisk]

Do the springs in a Peco or Walthers turnout need to be removed?

[@lgrfbs]

Usually, yes. On the Peco I've seen, moving the plastic part that holds the spring can be enough to soften the spring. Don't know what it looks like today on Peco's switches.

[@UPNilesCyn]

The MPs are pretty torquey so they can push thru the over-center springs. You may have to play a little with size if using music wire. I'd recommend removing the over-center springs on the turnouts as the movement is smoother and looks better to me. YMMV.

[@jefferykeeper9034]

Any thing Available table top?

[@UPNilesCyn]

I didn't mention on the show, but MP motors are easy to install on top of the layout. They are very small so they lend themselves to being hidden in lineside structures.

[@shamiester]

Can someone figure out the wiring shown in the video and send me a diagram please. I don’t want to experiment and blow out LED’s or the motor.

[@PeterClarke-i7f]

Maybe next time you could plan where your camera is verses where your hands will be so that viewers can see more than the back of your hand when handling your object, tools and screws. Waiving the object around as you are talking doesn't help.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Which part of the presentation is still unclear to you?

[@frankneher9192]

The problem I have is the website doesn't really make it clear why there's so many different versions and what they do

[@UPNilesCyn]

Really quick: the MP1 has a single contact, usually used for frog power, so it's handy when you've got a switch you can't reach but don't care about lighting LEDs or indicating position to a layout control system. MP4, 5 and 10 are functionally similar (with 2 contacts that is it's DPDT) but have different form factors. MP5 is an older design which is being phased out as soon as some production issues with MP4 are resolved. MP4 is the direct replacement for MP5, the main difference being a more useful connector (4,5 and 10 come with removable connectors). MP10 is the same as MP4 electrically but has the footprint of a tortoise, making it handy as a drop in replacement or if you have jigs or mounts for tortii and want to continue to use them. We cover that about 5 minutes before the end of the video.

[@CarlZetie]

@@UPNilesCyn This is probably a dumb question but as I'm a complete novice I will ask anyway. When you talk about 'indicating position', do you mean running wires from the aux back to your control panel so that when the motor travel completes it lights up an LED? So you are indicating position of the motor, which in theory should match the position of the switch (but in practice might not for whatever reason, e.g. a stuck switch or dead motor)?

[@sethneumann5167]

@@CarlZetie yes, this is showing the nominal position of the motor. Note that motor failures are rare: usually if the motor position is not the same as the indicator the problem is a failure in the switch linkage (however you are connecting the motor to the throw bar) or the throw bar has become jammed, usually because a grain of ballast has gotten stuck under or next to the throw bar. My guess is that this is less of a problem with MP/DP motors than with stall motors as MP motors have a lot more torque and will overcome some mechanical binding issues. However if you want a really bulletproof solution to detecting switch position you could bury an optical detector under the end of the throwbar (assuming you use a pc board tie) and the state of the opto would tell you which way the throw bar was positioned. That's a lot of trouble and I've never seen anyone actually do it. I've had Tortii die, but only after about 20 years of service, twin coil motors do tend to shake themselves to death, though.