An Inexpensive G Scale Shuttle Unit - From Germany!

A shuttle unit, enabling one train to move automatically between two fixed points or stations on a standalone length of track is a favourite G scale accessory.  Rack railways seem almost to come with them as standard!   However, G scale shuttles (meaning those with more than 1 amp capability) aren’t cheap, so I was very pleased to stumble across the subject of this review, a 2 amp capable shuttle from Ellendt Electronics of Flensburg, Germany.
 
As a brief summary, I found this to be a first-rate, compact and inexpensive shuttle unit, with some useful extra features too.  I recommend it heartily.
 
Note – like all shuttles, this unit is for DC track power only
 

 
What Does It Do?
All shuttle units have the same basic circuit.  A switch (technically a DPDT) that can reverse the polarity to both rails, coupled to an adjustable timer.  A loco runs in one direction until the timer causes polarity to be reversed, at which point the loco runs the other way.  In addition to being a visually appealing toy, a shuttle can be used as an alternative to test rollers to “run in” a locomotive.
 
Normally, the loco is prevented from running off the track at either end by means of two diodes, fixed across an insulated track joint.  All suppliers of shuttles I’ve found so far supply the necessary diodes.  Additionally, LGB supply 150mm lengths of track with a connector block and one rail gapped (catalogue no. 10153). 
 
My solution for both insulated joint and connecting the diodes was to buy two Split Jaw insulated rail clamps (about £3) and connect the diodes between the securing screws as shown below:
 

 
Technically, a sudden polarity reversal can be detrimental to a locomotive’s motor and gearbox.  For that reason, LGB’s unit can be used in a “realistic” mode that, via additional wiring, gradually reduces the voltage to zero, before switching polarity and then mapping up the volts again.  However, this sophistication comes at high cost (see “What’s the cost”) and for most users is probably unnecessary for two reasons:
1)       Most shuttle trains appear to be operated at slow speed and usually come to a halt via the diode controlled sections, rather than suffering a “plain line” polarity reversal
2)       DCC fitted locos’ decoders incorporate circuitry that automatically provides protection against sudden polarity switches, even on DC.  At low speed, the effects are indistinguishable visually, electrically and mechanically from the LGB unit’s actions
 
In addition to the basic loco control, the Ellendt unit comes with terminals that can optionally be used for controlling LEDs (for example signals) or relays.  Sample wiring diagrams for these are in the instructions.
 
 
What’s the cost?
As of July 2010, the Ellendt unit cost Euro 24.90 with free post to German addresses.  Postage to the rest of the EU is Euro 4.90.  Total to the UK Euro 29.80 (about £25).
 
Comparative retail prices for similar items are:
Gaugemaster 1.25amp (SS1):  £27.95 + P&P
Gaugemaster 2amp (SS1-LGB):  £39.95 + P&P
LGB 10340 unit: £165.00 + P&P   (*)
 
Discounts are available from some retailers, of course.
(*) – includes buffer stop, two 150mm sections of track and all necessary leads
 
With the exception of the LGB unit, in each case you will need to add the cost of insulated rail joiners, track connectors and wire to connect the power supplies, shuttle unit and track.
 
 
What Do You Get?

This is what comes in the post from Germany.  The unit itself, two diodes to stop a loco at each end of its run and an instruction manual in the German language. 

A close up of the circuit board itself shows (left to right):
·         Timer unit with adjustment screw (a variable resistor!)
·         The controlling chip and ancillary components
·         Three solder connections for attaching optional LEDs or relays
·         Red LED to show “reversed” polarity when lit, “normal” when unlit
·         Switching relay, good for 2 amps at up to 30 volts
·         Connection block with sensibly sized screw terminals
 
The unit has pre-drilled holes to attach it to a solid surface.  As with all such units, it is NOT weather-resistant and is only intended for use indoors.
 
 
How Do I Connect It?
Remember that the instructions are in German, but don’t speak that language?  No problem! All you really need is the diagram from the instructions (below) and the following connection information:
 
1)       Connect terminals A+ and A- (A = Ausgang = output) on the circuit board to the track
2)       Connect terminals E+ and E- (E = Eingang = input) to a controlled DC supply
3)       Turn on the controller and check that a loco runs toward “station B”
4)       Reverse controller direction if required
5)       Repeat step 3 and check that the loco stops as it passes over the insulated joint
6)       If the loco doesn’t stop, reverse the diode’s connections and – if necessary – the second diode too (they must both be aligned the same way round) and repeat step 5
7)       Connect terminals marked M to an AC source.  A DCC 18 volt supply is fine for this.
 
Go through these steps and your loco will now travel back and forth, its speed determined by your DC controller and the length of any stops at each end of the track varied by the timer on the circuit board.   If the loco doesn’t get to the ends of the line and stop before the shuttle unit switches polarity, increase one or both of the loco’s speed and the timer interval.
 

 
How Do I Get One?
As far as I can tell, the unit is only available on German EBay, but don’t worry, your UK EBay ID will work just fine to access www.ebay.de and you can pay via Paypal.  Mine came through the postal system within 3 working days!

Attached Image(s)

Chef Des Trains: Ruritanische Staatsbahn/ Uritán állami Vasutak/ Ruritanian Railways
Off the beaten track in Middle England (but worryingly close to Bromyard)

a most detailed and useful post thank you 
barry

Speaking  of  inexpensive  shuttles!!
 
In  another  scale  I  have a  digital  DMU  its decoder which  cost  £18  has  several  features   built in to  it   such  as the  ability  to  programme in  an amount  of  (water  & coal  or)   diesel  fuel!  when  this  is  exhausted  the  unit stops!
 
Whilst  this  is  a  bit  gimmicky  another  feature  is  it has  a  SHUTTLE  feature,  by entering  a  few   parameters into  some  CVs  the  unit  will  start... run for  a  predetermined  distance ( entered  as TIME on  the  cv)  stop  then  wait  for    a selcted  time then  return to  its  starting  point   and  continue  to  do  this  for  as  long  as  required!
 
There  are no  track contacts  or  anything else  involved.
 
the  striking  thing  about  this  is  that  on each sequence  the  unit  stops at    the same  place  within =/- 2 cm.
 
The  delay time  at  its  stopping  point can be  HOURS if  required!!  The  shuttle  location  is  not  limited  to  s  specific  section  of  track  it  can  occur  anywhere  on  the  digital  layout! 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have  noticed that  some  G  scale decoder's  instructions have  a  reference  to  SHUTTLE  but  its  not  enabled on  them  yet,  such  a  great  pity  I  think!!

Steve

Interesting post Steve! 
 
It occurred to me when I was connecting up the review shuttle that the only reason it needs AC is to provide a means of measuring elapsed cycles of time: in our case, the cycles of the current supply (i.e. 50 cycles per second in Europe).   So hanging this function of a DCC chip - by definition AC supplied -  should indeed by child's play.   Or does the peculiar waveform of DCC signals interfere with the basic AC cycling somehow?
 
Whose DCC decoder have you found to have this interesting function?   I note that the Massoth G scale CV tables include CV128 which is referred to as Shuttle-Contact 1, but I don't have any more data on that.

Chef Des Trains: Ruritanische Staatsbahn/ Uritán állami Vasutak/ Ruritanian Railways
Off the beaten track in Middle England (but worryingly close to Bromyard)

whatlep


Interesting post Steve! 
 
It occurred to me when I was connecting up the review shuttle that the only reason it needs AC is to provide a means of measuring elapsed cycles of time: in our case, the cycles of the current supply (i.e. 50 cycles per second in Europe).   So hanging this function of a DCC chip - by definition AC supplied -  should indeed by child's play.   Or does the peculiar waveform of DCC signals interfere with the basic AC cycling somehow?
 
Whose DCC decoder have you found to have this interesting function?   I note that the Massoth G scale CV tables include CV128 which is referred to as Shuttle-Contact 1, but I don't have any more data on that.

 
SURPRISINGLY   HORNBY  SAPHIRE  R8245  max 1  amp (1.5amp stall   though
 
I beleive  that  they  are  mnufactured by ESU  but  not 100% sure

Steve

From Lenz Gold Maxi manual (3 Amps)

Push-pull (shuttle) train control

To activate the push-pull control via the external reed contact, set bits 7
and 8 in CV51. In addition, set the desired stopping time in CV54. You
need a track magnet to activate the reed contact at each end of the pushpull
section.
Function sequence: If the locomotive drives over the magnet installed in
the track (reed contact is closed), the locomotive will brake with the delay
set in CV4 or the braking distance set in CV52 until it comes to a halt.
When the stopping time set in CV54 has elapsed, the locomotive will
accelerate into the opposite direction. Passage over the first magnet
(which triggered the braking procedure) is ignored. The locomotive will
continue until it reaches the magnet at the end of the push-pull section.
There, the locomotive will brake again, wait for the set stopping time to
elapse, change ist direction of travel, and continue in this direction – and
the game starts all over again.

 

Wake me up by noon please.

A good bargain but you can make your own cheaper - even at Maplin prices! It is fundamentally a 555 timer circuit with a couple of variable resistors to adjust the wait time.  Of course if you are like me and destroy a few 555 chips in the process of making the circuit buying this one will work our cheaper!

Best Regards
Chris M

http://uqr.freehostia.com/index.html

pjti


From Lenz Gold Maxi manual (3 Amps)

Push-pull (shuttle) train control

To activate the push-pull control via the external reed contact, set bits 7
and 8 in CV51. In addition, set the desired stopping time in CV54. You
need a track magnet to activate the reed contact at each end of the pushpull
section.
Function sequence: If the locomotive drives over the magnet installed in
the track (reed contact is closed), the locomotive will brake with the delay
set in CV4 or the braking distance set in CV52 until it comes to a halt.
When the stopping time set in CV54 has elapsed, the locomotive will
accelerate into the opposite direction. Passage over the first magnet
(which triggered the braking procedure) is ignored. The locomotive will
continue until it reaches the magnet at the end of the push-pull section.
There, the locomotive will brake again, wait for the set stopping time to
elapse, change ist direction of travel, and continue in this direction – and
the game starts all over again.

 

 
PJTI
The  point  with  the  Sapphire  decoder is  that,  there  are NO   external triggers  required, its  all done within the  decoder,  thus  making  it  a  very  flexible  system as  a  shuttle  sequence  can be  arranged anywhere  that  is  required and  then  revised if  required,
 
I wonder  if  any  readers  have  actualy  used  the Lenz Gold  maxi  system, would  be  interested  to  know

Steve

Appreciate the subtle differences Steve, but we are only talking about a couple of magnets here. These can also be very flexible in convenience of placement. Your Hornby decoder would presumably need reprogramming every time you decide to change the stops, not quite so flexible as moving a magnet or two. In addition you can also program an intermediate stop  between the end points by adding a cheap module (£10 ???) from Lenz or building your own from 5 diodes. The Gold Maxi has more functions than one could ever need in addition to fancy lighting. Pity it's only 3 Amps though, and Lenz have a very good lifetime warranty deal. Having sung it's priases I must add that I have never really tried to get it all working.

BUT I do like the sound of the Hornby decoder, 1 amp is good for a Stainz and given the problems with finding space to put pukka red box stuff it might be a good alternative. I will look out for one or two.

Wake me up by noon please.

Just been reading Hornby instructions, this is indeed a feature packed decoder and at a reasonable cost. Well worth try I reckon for a small loco

Hornby R8245 sheet

Wake me up by noon please.

whatlep


Interesting post Steve! 
 
It occurred to me when I was connecting up the review shuttle that the only reason it needs AC is to provide a means of measuring elapsed cycles of time: in our case, the cycles of the current supply (i.e. 50 cycles per second in Europe).   So hanging this function of a DCC chip - by definition AC supplied -  should indeed by child's play.   Or does the peculiar waveform of DCC signals interfere with the basic AC cycling somehow?
 
Whose DCC decoder have you found to have this interesting function?   I note that the Massoth G scale CV tables include CV128 which is referred to as Shuttle-Contact 1, but I don't have any more data on that.

also posted on Massoth forum:
Hi Peter,
I believe that CV128 is used in conjuction with CV56 to configure a shuttle operation.  The following is not 100% but my take after reading the manuals.
CV56 is used to set the wait delay.
You will need to connect K1 on the decoder to a reed switch and place magnets on the track to trigger it.  When shuttle operation is enabled, and the loco passes the magnet and triggers the K1 contact, the loco will slow and stop, wait for the period defined by CV56 and then reverse.  The value in CV128 should be set so that it exceeds the time needed for the loco to pass the magnet, stop, wait, accelerate and pass the magnet again (it defines the period to ignore the contact after the first trigger).
Hope that helps.

Mark

I'm with Mike on this rule 8 thing....
If you dont like how I run my railway, put the controller down and......go away.

I have used LGB and Aristocraft reversing units but was always up against the 1 amp limit. I wanted more powerful locos with lights etc to operate on the shuttle lines (up to about 4 amps as one shuttle operates up a pretty steep incline. There are two 'beefy' units available the bazooka (on ebay) and the 8 amp ABC electronics 'LGB 8 Amp Shuttle Service ( auto reverser)'  which is a lot cheaper at £36.50 and also available on Flea-bay. Both work very well and come with the two diodes to bridge the track gaps at either end of the shuttle line. The ABC one is a small box with a rotary knob that controls the time between reverses. It is powered itself from a 15 volt AC source and obviously also passes through the voltage from your DC transformer. I have two of them running for two different shuttles and they both use the one 15 V AC supply for self power but each one uses a separate line power supply (in my instance two TE receivers).
They work all day with no probs in the toiling heat that we have had recently and have had to pass through up to 6 amps on occasion! Two big USAT diesels with lights etc etc

I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early.

Mike on the BEAVER CREEK RAILROAD somewhere in Colorado...well... North Essex

Very interesting review, I have built shuttles using magnets /reed swiches and post office latching relays, might have been big in their day, but could handle some stick. Still have a couple working on the tramway layout.   Alyn

Best wishes Alyn, North Worcestershire. Land of the mole and mole hills.

I'm glad this thread was started because it got me thinkinbg and I have turned my little branch into a shuttle line.
Being careful with money (or a tight old whatsit) I found out my old 55 timer circuit. I hadn't got any spare diodes but I found an expired Aristo point moter which had a couple mounted on it. I also wanted to have two sections at one end so that both railcars and shorter or loco hauled trains would stop in the same place. Luckily I found on old H&M point motor with built in switch which I could use. Including this addition section and switch did mean that I had to take wires from the shed to each end section but that is a minor problem. This solution has cost me nothing as I recycled old stuff - ok it doesn't look pretty but it works.
 

 
The circuit diagram can be  found on the internet and it is pretty easy to build as there are not many components. As you buy the relay which controls which way the current goes you can choose one to suit your power needs.
 
Here is the double section at one end.
 


 
Next job is to build a platform and shelter at the new interchange.

Attached Image(s)

Best Regards
Chris M

http://uqr.freehostia.com/index.html

looks like you need a degree in science to wire it lol

cost cuting way of doing it tho

Chris M

ok it doesn't look pretty but it works.

I seem to recall Mrs Whatlep using very similar words about me..... 

Chef Des Trains: Ruritanische Staatsbahn/ Uritán állami Vasutak/ Ruritanian Railways
Off the beaten track in Middle England (but worryingly close to Bromyard)