Your Favourite Model Locomotive Controller.

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DCC, DC or radio control. What is your favourite controller?

One that I built myself.  Basically a variable, reversible power supply with current overload protection and no filtering on the input.  The output was a variable-amplitude full-wave rectified signal that allowed the engines to "creep" along at a barely perceptible speed.

Although I do like Cab-Control systems, as well.

Interesting. I started making a very simple resistance controller specifically to run from a little sealed 12v battery. Not finished it yet though.

Here in the UK, cab control refers to the dividing up of ones layout into track sections and refers to the switching of the cab sections, usually from two or more controllers. If one has suitable controllers that don't share the same transformers windings, One can further simplify the wiring of cab control by wiring the common return method. I know that some younger modellers confuse the terms though they are simple enough. Confusion comes because often one is wiring both cab control and common return together.
The controllers I want for the future (Will buy them secondhand) can't be wired for common return as far as I know as they are low powered slave controllers sharing a high powered transformer, so I can wire for cab control but not for common return.

I am however interested in different methods of DC control. I think you are describing what we call a PWM form of controller often here known as a feedback controller. They send pulses of 12v rather than directly vary the voltage to give improved slow speed running. Though my electrical understanding is limited, I do recall that there are more than one way to achieve this, and several modellers were giving different designs of electrical circuit as each experimented to get the ultimate slow speed control.

Today many have moved into DCC, and I did from the year 2000 on, but I missed DC so much I have pretty much abandoned my Lenz DCC system, and am enjoying buying some old vintage DC controllers. One I have, where I have not tried it yet with a locomotive (House move etc), but I have rewired the mains lead for safety, and ensured the metal case is not live and is properly earthed (Our plugs have an earth pin), and this controller has a variable transformer. Not had one of those before I will try it when I get things set up.
Also bought a controller from.my youth. A H&M 3000. Overkill for a single track controller! Haha! But fun to messabout with until the novelty wears off and too many locos plough through the buffers! (Been there and done that when I had one in my youth! Now own another).

Last edited by Mountain Goat on 24 Oct 2023, 7:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Cab control is great for club layouts where handoffs can be simulated between yards and zones.

There was something called a CDC-16 presented in Model Railroader back in the late 1970s.  Great system, except when accidental "cornfield meets" occurred on a high-speed mainline.

 Link to Article 

Not heard of CDC-16.

I remember reading in a magazine a simple way to wire cab control with common return between two or more separated panels, so I tried it. Common return freed up the other pole on the switches so I could use panel indicator lights to indicate which panel was switched into which section of track. (Also had simple panel stud and probe control of point solenoids. A few hundred wires and a month and a half later I had it up and running on my layout with two independent panels. Wiring was simple but effective. My then two and a half year old brother (Nearly three) took to it easily! We had 46 points on that compact layout and we both sent trains back and fore avoiding colisions due to the panel indicator lights for the track sections. Was no need for point panel lights as whoever controlled the track section area only switched the points to that area. It all worked rather well and most importantly, was straightforward and simple to use.
I often found that when visiting other peoples layouts that they often wired things up awkwardly in ways that one had to learn that wasn't straight forward to use. I would advise on how to improve their layout with a simple mimic control panel. So much easier when one can place switches and point studs on the actual panel mimic tracks so all is plain to see, though admittedly not all small portable layouts have the space to include a mimic panel. But as long as it works for them! (Though helpful if designe so that anyone can quickly master it)