Tips and recommendations for using this turntable
Step 1. Before using the turntable, wipe a finger across the grey well of the turntable floor. If you detect dirt, dust and particularly grit (usually pieces of ballast that have been dislodged into the central well), please remove the turntable and vacuum the entire well area – also see step 6. You will not need to turn the power off when removing the turntable or replacing it providing it’s central stem is reinserted carefully and vertically.
Step 2. To use the turntable, use the left or right white pads on the control panel in the black drawer in front of the turntable area. Press the pad until the first rail on the table passes the first rail of the intended siding that you wish to exit onto. Once the white pad has been released you should see the turntable stop then shuffle forward to the correct and aligned exit position. If the rails align, then you are good to go, if not please proceed to step 3.
Step 3. If the rails do not align, remove the table center portion, align the table with the black marks at the outer edge of the turntable well. Now press the zero button. The table will rotate until the light sensor at one end of the table passes the light source in the well wall near the Niles Tower. (Note I may have the light source and sensor reversed!). This zeroes the table and will re initiate the built in calibration for all the exit sidings. You should not need to recalibrate the table unless someone rebuilds the entry sidings. Now return to step 2.
Step 4. If when pressing the white pad to rotate the table, the table unexpectedly stops it will have done so for one of two reasons. These are explained in steps 5 and 6. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU FORCE THE TABLE TO ROTATE MANUALLY BY HAND PRESSURE. Why? Because the motor to rotate the table is housed within the table and it turns a cog (pinion) that runs in a rack around the outside of the turntable well. Forcing the cog around manually will likely strip the plastic edges of the cog and associated gears and ruin the device.
Step 5. The first cause for the unexpected stop is a lack of contact between the contact pins within the central well and the circular contact strips at the base of the table central insert. To resolve , remove the turntable and clean the contact pins in the central well using goo gone. You can use either a piece of tissue (paper towel is good) soaked in goo gone or a QTip soaked in goo gone. If the tissue reveals a black residue then yes the pins needed cleaning. Don’t use too much of the goo gone! And be careful not to leave fine hairs from the tissue or QTip behind. On the base of the table you will see 4 concentric metal rings. Clean these as well using tissue and goo gone. It is likely that the rings will look just slightly tarnished (dull) but this might be enough to prevent the correct contact. Now replace the table in the central well and go back to step 2. If you haven’t replaced the turntable exactly the same as it came out then you will likely have to go to step 3 to re zero.
Step 6. The second cause will be if a piece of grit has been caught in the outside rack in the well. In this case, remove the turntable and use a vacuum as in step 1 to remove any pieces of grit in the rack around the outside of the well. It could well be that the vacuum will not remove a piece of grit that has become wedged in the rack. In this case carefully make a visual inspection in the area that the turntable stopped. Use an exacto blade, penknife or sharp object and slide the tip across each rack slot in the area. Vacuum any debris thus extracted. My rule of thumb here is that if you see or feel grit in the central flat smooth well area then there is likely to be some in the rack grooves. Once clean, replace the table in the same position and go back to step 2. Again it is highly likely that you will need to do step 3.