Using Doorbells

[pdxtrains]

Friends:

I'm new at wiring, but I've seen layouts where accessories (simple, two wire ones like crossing gates, sawmill, etc) are activated with doorbells.  I want to completely bypass track power and use a series of doorbells and an accessory transformer.

So, doorbells have a black/red, and the new CW 80s have black red accessories. Am I right that in theory, it's a straight shot from transformer, to doorbell switch to the accessory?

Also, since the accessories would only be triggered one at a time, I'm thinking there must be a way to use a common interface that wires all of the doorbells into a block, and go from the block to the transformer with one connection?

I'm a bit confused--any help is appreciated.

 

 

[lionelsoni]

You're not really using doorbells, right?  I assume that you're talking about the pushbuttons used to ring doorbells.  Actually, you can use almost any normally-open momentary switch to control those accessories.

Wire one transformer terminal to one terminal of each accessory.  Wire the other transformer terminal to one terminal of every pushbutton switch.  Finally, wire the other terminal of the accessory to the other terminal of the switch that you want to control it.  You can use individual wires from the transformer to the various accessories and pushbuttons ("home-run" wiring); or you can run one wire from the transformer to one accessory, then continue to the next accessory, and so on.  Likewise with the pushbuttons.  Or you can use any mixture of these methods that saves you time and wire.

Use AWG 20 or heavier wire with a CW-80.  This wire can safely carry the maximum 5 amperes that the CW-80 can put out.

You can also use the same CW-80 for both train and accessories.  And you can wire accessories so that they are activated both by the train and by the pushbutton.  Holler if you want details.

[pdxtrains]

Thank you so much!  That is very clear to me.

 

Thom

[Andrew Falconer]

I was wondering if you were going to use electromechanical Doorbells to replace the crossing gate bells for the MTH or Lionel crossing gates with weak electronic bells.

 

Andrew