Testing the Gaugemaster Combi Controller 

Just bought the combi from Rails of Sheffield off the back of this review. All I can say is it’s bloody fantastic. Smooth operation, speeds I never thought possible and perhaps best, British made. Thanks!

Many thanks, great help. Just got my first combi today and the running is superb with my Hornby 08.

Have used these Combis for many years now, always been impressed with the smoothness of the DC output, possibly as smooth as pure DC from a battery. Cliff.

Great review well done. That controller is great and with a price of £35 that is brilliant. Your running sessions will be even better now now that you have a better controller.

Great review! It's one of the one's I watched in detail before deciding which new controller to go with, so cheers for that! 🙏 In the end, I decided on the Model D because I want to run a twin-track layout with it. The first thing that I tried when I got it were the knobs and I too surprised to feel they were... I don't know, "flimsier" than expected? At any rate, as you mention, I too was expecting them to put up just a bit of resistance upon turning, which aways tends to indicate a good quality potentiometer. Otherwise, the controller seems absolutely robust, almost built to survive the end of days! (At least in comparison to everything else that's built today.) So I've yet to test it but I'm crossing my fingers that, even though the pots just fly around with the lightest touch, it still works as well as you've found yours to work! Thanks again for the great reviews!

Nice work Will. Thoroughly enjoyed your video. Save up now and get a pair of those gaugemasters.

thanks for this info, when you consider the little lms saddle tank has a scalextric motor that is very impressive slow running

I use one of those with a gaugemaster trackcleaner on my running in loop. Comes in handy occasionally if I de-chip a loco and run it round for 15 mins to clean the wheels.

These controller's are superb great piece of kit

Another brilliant Review InterCity82 .. Well done. I really enjoyed this Review where you started off showing the good and bad points of the old Hornby Standard Controller and the new Hornby Standard Controller, and then you said these two are not good enough and then you showed the box of the Gaugemaster Combi Controller which this Review and Test Video is about. I think I should get myself a decent Controller. I currently use two ancient grey things made by a manufacturer that I do not know. They are probably slightly better than the old Hornby Standard Controller and the new Hornby Standard Controller, but not much better. What is better about them is that they have a nicer feel to them heavier and better built compared to the old Hornby Standard Controller and the new Hornby Standard Controller. Anyway, I am now looking forward to all your future Videos.

After watching your video that is very informative I now know I have done the right thing buying the gauge master controller.

Fantastic, IC82 you have now got me hooked on buying one of those controllers

You like your Gaugemaster, great video!!

Thank you. After watching this video I bought the Gaugemastet controller Very impressive!

Nice vid Will. I'm looking forward to the Battle of the Shunters vid coming up soon. I'm from Australia and it's 9:30pm over here so I'm guessing it's about 12:30pm in England which is cool. Also the controller looked very high quality so looking forward for more on that. Goodnight/G'day.

I've Had one of these controllers before but accidentally stood on it . i now have an old triang one which i will probably Replace with The panel mounted version of this one. Great reveiw

Don't worry you're not the only one who didn't know Gaugemaster was British... Always thought they were German.

I bought a Gaugemaster twin track with "simulation" controller back in the mid 80s from their Bognor shop when I was about 12. They haven't changed much, solidly built, they look like they've taken a sheet of metal and just drilled a few holes through it for the dials and switches, non of your cheap moulded plastic here! Still going strong today :-)

finally a good controller ive been using a really old hornby controller from the 60s/70s and thats been really good but its nothing compared to the gauge master combi

let the shunting Begin! :D

How do you connect new Hornby DC controller with the Turntable?

Impressive bit of kit!

Personally, I have used the old Model USD (i think) twin track controller with simulation. I have used this beastie for the best part of 8 years. Its brilliant. Yeah sure its showing its age now but it works!! Peeling paint and rust etc but it works perfectly. With all models, from my Tri-ang 8F to my Bachmann 64xx from 2016. Not as old as my other controller, which is so old it dosnt have a part number.....(in fact I am CONVINVCED that its a garage knock up job) but again they both work. British made and they work. Which says alot about Hornby.

I got mine today and I love it

What kind of cables are these cause I am planning to get that controller for my N Gauge layout?

When are you gonna update your website?.Looking good!!

I would have liked to see you try the Hornby ex-Dapol Pug on this controller.

when will you do a video on your main layout, i am dying to see it!

Would it be a good idea to run dc and dcc on the same layout

Another good controller is the Hornby HM2000 controller. I have been using it for a while now and has a very small dead zone, also it is very good at low speeds! :)

You can easily modify the Hornby controller so that you can change direction whilst in motion - if you open if up, its very easy to see what you have to do! :)

Back in the day I owned the Hornby controller that you show at the beginning of the video. I just took it for granted that model trains didn't run smooth, and it was only after discovering the Gaugemaster controllers online that I realised how much better the hobby could be. Why Hornby hasn't improved theirs is beyond me. My only guess is that, because the controllers are typically bundled with 'sets' that are targeted at young people/beginners, Hornby knows that anyone who takes the hobby even remotely seriously will buy a better quality controller.

As usual a very entertaining and informative video , thanks for that.... Looking forward now to the "Battle of the Shunters" :)

I'm trying to connect my combi controller to the little black things you connect to tracks but my locomotive doesn't move.

Where did you get the power cable? Did it come with the controller?

is this combi controller ac? because i can't see any button for numbers

Nice video!!

My Hornby DC white controller is really bad for slow speed performance on my class 66 shed. Is it because the 66 has 6 wheels on each side? The only thing is. It shouldn’t have a problem on straights but I guess it does.

Awesome vid :)

i MUST get one of these! where did you get it from?

I live in Worthing Westsussex and i by most of my stuff from them they have a big shop that sells all types of railway bits

Interesting fact: in America, on O Gauge trains (the standard go-to model train size in the US) the controller is called the transformer, because, well, in O Gauge, the controller box thing is so large, they have the speed lever, the direction, whistle, and bell buttons, and, inside, the transformer...

Back in the early 90's I was really into my trains and at first I had Hornsby controllers which were rubbish! Slow speed performance was poor, there were dead spots and they were just terrible! A model shop advised me to get a guagemaster and it was the best thing I ever did! It was like all my engines were brand new again. Better than brand new even. I also found peco track to be a great upgrade too :)

Great review Will , I find with those hornby controlers they don't seem to work well with heljan locos or the hornby super detailed HST the hornby controlers seem to cut out and reset after about 10 seconds that gaugemaster seems far more reliable.

What’s his old controller called?

When are you going to do battle of the shunters

You'd be further impressed with Gaugemaster! They still have the shop down the South, its the biggest private model shop in the country I believe and I visit quite a bit :P Gaugemaster is the online store though. I think they have the best controllers around too! Great review on them! I need to get one if I can.

Did the cable come with the unit?

I know this is an old video but I bought a Hornby flying scotsman train set which came with one of those newer Hornby controllers and it is the biggest load of crap they ever produced. Gone was the quality which they had when I was a kid they were crap. After 1 hour of constant running the loco stopped I had to unplug the controller for 20 minutes before it would go again. And the same thing you had the engine let out this buzz not only with the Hornby engine but my other Bachmann engines as well. So the shop gave me another controller and the same thing. After that I bought one of these I am yet to use it as all my model railway gear is in storage. I hope to have this powering my DC layout very soon. Thank you I really like your video's Keep up the good work.

i have just put one on lay-by with a pug as well.

The gaugemaster controllers definitely beat the hornby controllers by far, but the best one available is the H&M Duette controllers, they have switches that allow you to change the frequency and power allowing for supper slow speed, I would recommend them to anyone who is with DC, they work superb with both older and newer locomotives and are very reliable.

I have heard gaugemaster is great,but when I got one it did come with the power pack,but not part that connects to the track They could have at least given me the damn wires

Can't beat Gaugemaster controllers. So well built, well worth it

My next major purchase. Just need to convince the wife just how much I need one 😀

I got a gaugemaster single controller and it's absolutely brilliant. The hornby ones are terrible. Great video.

Please can we have another video

Were did you get the cable to connect it to the track?

Why have you stopped production? :(

8:07 for the beginning of the new controller review. And 13:17 for the unboxing.

i just bought a hornby elite and wanted to be sure

I have a 2001 gaugmaster controller twin track series D

can't i just use link wires to link the controller to the track

i only use the old dc controller because of "turbo zone"

They seem to bee a lot like mrc.

Iv got one of them there great

I've had this controller for a long time and I see no point in having DCC, it's a pain in the ass and expensive! This controller gives out the same performance without having to buy chips e.c.t

14:32 it's because a phone needs a lot less current then a model train layout

The gauge master controller isn't the best controller for older types of trains like Lima and older hornby trains.

Why on earth did I think this was made by Bachmann. Also is the normal hornby DC white controller worse than this controller?

Oh the glory of a better controller do we get a controller ratting?

Hi Thanks for video. Very interesting, I look throw many forums and found that nobody would like to compare controllers from different countries. For example Germans do not compare British and vise versa. Why not to compare H&M with German Titan or Swiss Wolf?

Both my cheep Chinese hornby anolog controllers are broken so I'm getting a gaugemaster controller

Ic82 can you make a vid of train simlator

why are the english controllers so weird with a swich for whit way its going

Hi will have you got a model of the Japanese bullet train if so could you show it off? if not could you get one? Thanks p.s. love you're videos

Yes, Gaugemaster are British, I live pretty close to their store, its absolutely incredible

I live in Worthing!!!!

what are the things you use for putting the wire on?

I have the model ts controller best thing ever

They are based in Essex and it's a factor

Speaking of that battle, I really do think there's grounds to include Thomas, based both on the show and on what his basis did. The revamped controller has a high-ohm wire-wound rheostat on the inside (and likely so does the Gaugemaster), I'm sure of it. It might be a good idea to use both it and the Combi in the battle for thoroughness' sake, if only due to the variety in the motors of the locos being tested. Btw, it's so light because its transformer is in the plug (As with the Gaugemaster). Bulky transformers like that are bulky because they've got heavy-duty circuit breakers and surge protectors. I also disagree with the people bitching about your controller choices and think you should stick with standard controllers for loco reviews. Using the fancy topline ones kinda skews things, don't you think? The average person will not be using a Gaugemaster; they'll be using a common one like boxed in train sets. If you use the Gaugemaster for your reviews then you'll be showing them performance they would not be able to get with, say, the old-style Hornby controller. It doesn't have to be an /expensive/ controller to get really fine smooth slow-speed performance in DC. Wilbert Awdry made a controller using a 100-ohm wire-wound radio rheostat, an on-off switch, and a reversing switch. It was cheap, but it got beautiful performance at slow speed with a variety of motors (and the deviations in performance caused by motor variety with standard controllers... if you think it's bad today imagine what it was like with 40s and 50s motors XD). This controller is why I'm so sure there's a similar rheostat in the Gaugemaster and in the revamped Hornby controller.

How much was the controller

Max it

I shop with Gaugemaster a UK firm and it takes from three to seven days to get items to New Zealand, No one else can match that.

If you use DCC and touch the track can it shock you?

Where did you get your wire from?

Dead zones in hornby controllers is normal, they claim its a feature!

Gauge master made in England good

I always wondered why you kept using those crappy hornby controllers. Gaugemaster is fantastic, but, their products look like something from the 70s. They could use a revamp.

I'm gonna guess that you going to use it a lot

My old Hornsby controller is very good but I have like five other ones and they are exactly like yours

Why not just go all DDC?

The word "Gaugemaster" might sound German because the German language likes to mash two words together at make one big honking word.

I've just read JRA's comment from EIGHT YEARS AGO (8) & even back then, charging £35.00+ To my mind, Gaugemaster are taking the effing pi$$ - Big Time !!!!!! What exactly ARE you paying ALL that money for ???? A plastic (yes, "plastic") box with a few wires & a tiny circuit board inside..... Also, some "cheap as $hit" wall-plug - the like of which ARE ten-a-penny in most Far East goods thesedays Probably costs THEM -("Gaugemaster")- a mere £4.00-£.5.00 (or less?), per unit THEN, they charge YOU, the mug punter, an additional £30.00 to keep THEM in business (profit & wages) So, JRA, HOW do you arrive at "brilliant" ????? Sounds like a quality excersice in "pi$$-taking" in my view !!!!! Still NOT as bad tho', as NIKE trainers - £0.89p to make them, yet, charge mugs £115.00 plus to buy 'em

You don't half talk a lot!

Hi intercity can u shout us out in your next video please?...

I bought one second hand for six pounds 😀😀

You youngsters have to realize that Hornby controllers are junk. Gaugemaster are quality and guaranteed for life - yes for the life of the controller regardless of who owns it or if it is pre-owned.

jebus this came out blody late in america

This is what happens when a Hornby guy finally try's a decent controller not pound land Hornby stuff which is crap!