Did I say I got lucky?
Well, no. Just as I was setting up a new, more potent laptop with DCC control software, working out some of the kinks and nearly concluding the planning for the layout I want to build, one of my PL-11s started to become unreliable. Which one? Of course the first one, which had worked from day one without any modifications whatsoever. It did the same thing I observed on the other three motors initially, it would throw the point halfway and then snap back.
At the same time, the other PL-11, which is sitting on the modified turnout, also started to get the hiccups. Whether it’s due to the change in temperature (we are heading into the Antipodean winter), the point or motor picking up dust, or something else entirely, I am not sure. Being the impatient person that I am, and wanting to have all these details sorted out before I commit to a layout – it’s harder to replace track or point motors once everything is pinned or glued in place and the landscaping is done – I have decided to try out a set of slow-action motors. They will require a bit more work while setting up, including a removal of the over-centre spring in my turnouts, but hopefully once set up they will be more reliable.
Two motors are being ordered as I type. Watch this space.