The 72760 Signal control box has recently started shipping.
Märklin Service have promptly replied to my request for a copy of the manual.

I have to say I am still in shock, and I must be on quite a different planet.
Where do these guys get their ideas.

While I still have some questions outstanding about the implementation, the big surprise is that each of these boxes in a cut down (MM) digital controller which simply issues commands to addresses 1-4. (But you need a CS2 to set the address on signals that don't have physical address switches)

My immediate reaction is that a cut down controller is great, but why to I need (to pay for) one for each group of 4, surely an auxiliary (72561?) can provide addresses 5-8 (etc) THROUGH the base control unit and be at a far more justifiable price.

Price aside the ergonomics of a tactile control box has its attractions.
But to be serious about this Marklin should also have telegraphed a unit for turnouts (maybe a 72762 similar to the 72752)

Unfortunately the unit expects you to use fixed length cables (as with the 72751/2) with their own costs.

The power supply needed, but not included, is the now standard 66361/5

I have previously expressed my incredulity that the 72751 has a single, green, LED against each button.
When showing the Hp0 aspect there is no indication.
This shortcoming has, unfortunately, been propagated to the 72760

If you take the price out of the equation, would any of you use one of these boxes?

Yes the MS2 has long been in need of a complementary , ergonomic, device for accessory control.
This is one solution. (The only current one from Marklin)


These devices work along side whatever other controller you have , there is no interconnect electrically for the control aspect - (the signals have a relay that can control the track power, but that is quite separate from the control)

You could even use the 72760 and signals with an analogue controller.

The manual , attached, needs to be taken with quite a bit of salt. Especially in the cabling diagrams which are flawed. (e.g the 71054 cable, which already exists as an extension cable for the Hobby 72751/2 has a male and a female end, The socket needs an adapter to be able to plug unto the left/right side of the 72760.
refer
http://www.maerklin.de/f...art_up_2015_Internet.pdf
- schematic on pg60 (note small un-numbered cable to the left of the 72751 and 72752 - this ships with these units and is just a couple of inches long)
- 71054 cable image on pg62


242327_72760_Stellpult_Profisignale.pdf (9,711kb) downloaded 167 time(s).

Edited by user 15 December 2015 18:49:01(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Probably... as long as you are not referring to the power adapter cable for adapting from the 66361/5 barrel plug shown in Fig.1.

I was highlighting the point that the documentation is silent on the aspect of any other cable and actually provides misinformation by showing the 71054 plugged directly between two 72760s

Ok bear with me for a dumb request/response, which may even go slightly off topic.

My set up is currently a 6021 plus a keyboard and a white and black transformer all on k track. We have four k83 decoders that obviously "fill" the keyboard capacity. Lets say there are 16 turnouts (in fact there are a couple more near the operating chair which I flick manually) and half a dozen uncouplers which are wired back to an old fashioned (6210?) control box.

I fancy trying out a couple of signals and find that all my old 7239/40 etc have not survived storage and we have no control capacity anyway and have been eyeing up a couple of 76493's for inclusion in the March birthday list.

It seemed to me that one of these control boxes 72760 was my eureka solution but now you may now have put me off!

So first dumb question - for a 76493 is that one and a half switches on either a control box or keyboard?

Second DQ -Where would the control box get its power or is it just a brown and red from the line?

Third DQ - for all the points raised is a 72760 a workable and sensible
solution?

So my thoughts are should I ditch the 6021/keyboard set up in favour of a mobile station 2? A second hand ebay keyboard seems almost as much as a good offer on a new MS2. I am slightly worried in that I like the good solid click feeling of control 80f and keyboard and am not the worlds greatest operator of things like mobile phones, big, old pudgy fingers and a befuddled brain about a century behind on technology - I still have a fax machine!!! I also have an irrational longing to find a 6043 memory and see if I can master that. My March birthday is the big one -at 65 I officially become retired so I will have time but not pots of money so like a lot of things in my life despite my lustful longings my Marklin set up will not have great expansion in the future

I am worried about the natural expiry of the 6021 over time - we have a sticky number 2 and the reversing knob seems to need quite a bit of force to action. 2 is the most popular number in my lok codes and I know I could renumber a few, my brain has just about remembered them now ( hey there's not hundreds more like 10!) and I know its possible on a 6021 but renumbering my little kof away from 23 is too hard!

Enough of my rambling any response would be gratefully received!