Below are the key elements of our design that provide enhanced functionality and reliable operation on your layout for years to come:

• Servo motors – we use servo motors instead of stall motors. Servos are smaller and operate with less overall power.
  • Rugged metal geared servos – our servos are chosen to provide years of quiet and trouble-free operation
  • Efficient use of power – Stall motors, such as Tortoise, continuously draw power after the motor is positioned. Servo motors do not need to be powered when a turnout has been moved to its desired position.
  • Smaller footprint – with space sometimes at a premium, servo motors can be used where stall motors may not fit.

 

• Simplified Installation – our unique mounting template and brackets make the installation of our servo motors a breeze.
  • Alignment template – allows alignment of our servo motors from the top of the layout where it is easiest to see proper positioning.
  • Mounting brackets –can be installed for various thicknesses of tabletops, making it adaptable to your layout.
  • Optional unified bracket – when using relays for metal frogs, we provide specific custom designed brackets that hold both our servo and our relay in one unified bracket. Once you have located either of our brackets (servo-only or servo and relay) with our template, you do not need to re-align the servo location.  Either bracket uses the identical screw location.

 

• Complete and Expandable solution – our kits come with either a Pushbutton Display or breakout boards so you can make your own display panels.  You can select the type of servo kits you need depending upon whether you are installing metal frogs where you wish power to the frogs or traditional frogs that are either plastic or not to be powered.  Each controller can support up to 8 turnouts, but If your needs grow beyond 8 turnouts, you can add additional controllers and still use the same power supply.
  • Expanding # of turnouts – we provide enough power for up to 40 turnouts (5 controller systems each supporting 8 servos with relays)
  • Easy connectivity – our boards provide easy wiring access for all servo motors and relay modules when used for metal frog turnouts
  • Complete power solution – turnout motors and accessories sometimes operate at different voltages. It is not uncommon that stall motors such as Tortoise or Switchmaster motors use 12V, while other devices or relays might use 5V.  We use the power coming from your single power source (12VAC or DC) and provide proper voltage for all 8 of our servo motors.  We also provide connections for all 8 relays (to accommodate the use of metal frog turnouts) with no additional power needed.

 

• Pushbutton control & Indication – stall motor solutions do not provide an integrated solution for actuating the motor or visually indicating the action.  EZTronic provides more functionality by providing a Pushbutton-Indicator board as an integrated part of our kits.  Now you have a user interface to control and monitor the status of all 8 turnouts with a simple plug-n-play wiring connection.  You may also decide to create your own display panels with LEDs.  If so, we provide breakout boards to allow you to use your own LEDs and pushbuttons.

 

• Installation at the turnout location – With many solutions, it can be left up to you to figure out what you need to mount and where.  This includes figuring out power needs, wiring and connections, etc.
  • Simple and integrated mounting - all physical devices are housed neatly at the turnout location.  This makes it easy to troubleshoot down the road.
  • 3D printed enclosures - our controller and pushbutton board enclosures allows for easy mounting while providing a safe haven for the circuit board(s).

 

• Overcurrent protection – we believe electronic products should use prudent design to reduce or eliminate damage that may occur when either excessive current or a short might appear on the layout.
  • Optical isolation - our relays are all optically coupled and isolated.  This keeps excessive current on the layout from damaging our relays or even worse, damaging the controller.
  • Safety margin - it is not uncommon to see 3 to 4 Amps of current at a switch location.  Almost all slow-motion machine support a maximum of 2A and are not isolated.  Our relays support up to 10 Amps and provide full isolation.

 

•   Status for 3^rd party software – some model railroads are designed for centralized display panels where LEDs show turnout status.  Some layouts may need to aggregate all signals and display them on computer monitors in various locations on the layout.  Our controllers support the following features:
  • Signal for each turnout - we provide a header pin for each turnout for signaling purposes
  • Industry standard - we automatically support the proper signal to your software - 5V when turnout is in normal and ground when the turnout is set for diverged route.