constant voltage on lionel uncoupling track and switches

[Anonymous]

Is there a way to use contant voltage to power Lionel#1122 O27 switches or uncoupling track sections with constant voltage?

It is very annoying to use them with locomotives without a working E-unit. or at slow speeds.

Thanks

[ChiefEagles]

Never done O27 switches as they run off of track power. Uncoupling sections, I have all of mine running off of a brick with constant power. 11volts I think. The brick has to be in phase with the main transformer. The ground from the brick is to the ground [outside rail] of the layout or track section. Then the wire going to the center of the uncoupling section to the the control button and from it to the fixed voltage post on the brick. [brick is a small transformer use for powering accessories]

[lionelsoni]

This question comes up often. See http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11825&

[daan]

Hi Dan,
You can change the voltage used, but you probably have to take apart and alter a few things. In the switches and in the uncoupling track are coils. If you want to use them completely separate from your trainpower, you have to disconnect earth and powerline from the trackwork and solder a few wires to it.
With that the switches and the uncoupling track can be used apart form the powersource used for the trains.
You can use the earth (outside rails) also for the return on the coils, but as mentionned before, you should get the transformers in phase.
In Theory I know how to work that out, but practically I don't get the phase right on both transformers. If they are not phased correctly you'll fry the coils instantly, because the power you put into the coils will be the 11 volts of the brick, plus the volts on the mainline and that's far too much for the coils to handle.
I rather stay on the safe side and disconnect earth form the track as well.
This way you'll have complete seperate working power on the switches and accesoires, without having to bother about the transformers..

[lionelsoni]

Dan, you simply disconnect the wires of the coils that are normally connected to the center rail (easier said than done) and reconnect them to a suitable voltage, DC or AC with any frequency or phase relationship to the track voltage. The outside rails should be considered the ground for the track voltage and the voltage used to throw the switch. Those supplies should be connected together, either inside your transformer or externally if you use two separate supplies.

The only danger I know of is that, if a train sits on one of the control rails of the switch, the switch coil is operated continuously and will be damaged. This is not a problem with the O31 switches, which disconnect the coil after the switch throws, nor so much with unmodified O27 switches, where stopping the train on the control section usually means removing the voltage from the center rail and therefore shutting off the switch coil. However, it is possible to stop on the switch and then put the locomotive into neutral, with the voltage turned up, and fry the coil.

The solution to all of this that I use, as described in the topic I mentioned, is to separate out the switch wires, as I described above, and then to use a capacitor as a DC power supply for the switch. I charge the capacitor through a resistor so that, if the train stops on the switch, the resistor cannot supply enough current continuously to harm the coil. However, it is able to recharge the capacitor in a few seconds when the switch is left alone, with enough energy to throw it the next time it is needed.

[Anonymous]

Thanks,

I've figured how to modify the switches now.

I read somewhere that on the uncoupling section, 1 of the 4 wires carries track voltage to the controller, any one know which one it is?

Thanks again!

[Dr.Fu-Manchu]

dan325, The [}:)] Doctor is in !!! The Answer to your question is: the third wire is the one that can be wired to the transformer(constant voltage) to run your usc section. I forgot which tap to use, Depends on your tranformer. Good Luck !
Till My Next Missive, I Remain The Humble, Yet Strangly [}:)] Doctor !!!