Toggle switches for turnouts?

[Birds]

I am building my train control board using 1/4" thick pegboard with 1/4" holes (the thinner stuff here has smaller holes).

Do people have a recommendation for toggle switches to use to control the Lionel 0-22 switches? Do you use regular SPDT or DPDT toggles? Spring loaded toggles (having difficulty finding spring loaded ones)?

Where do you all go as a source for these? I have been using RadioShack's sub-mini SPST switches for block control.

Thanks,
Birds

[Anonymous]

Try Mouser.com

[Roger Bielen]

Its been about 5 yrs. now but I had bought the mini double throw, momentary contact, center off at Radio Shack.

[Birds]

Thanks for the responses.

Mouser has a lot of stuff. Threatens to gives one the "Costco" effect of wandering around in a daze with your eyes glazed over... but they do have SPDT and DPDT that are momentary-Off-momentary with 1/4" threaded bushings.

These days RadioShack only carries one Mom-Off-Mom and it's a pretty large one requiring a 1/2" hole.

Birds

[jimhaleyscomet]

Birds,

Would you happen to have a part number?

Jim H

[Anonymous]

1/4" masonite is too thick for most run-of-the-mill center off mini-toggles. Check Mouser specs carefully for a "barrel" size that will extend through your 1/4' board.

[Birds]

Wading through the specs, this is one that might work:

SPDT

Mouser #: 611-7105-001

Manufacturer: ITT/Cannon
Manufacturer #: 7105SYZQE

If I am reading everything correctly, these appear to have a 1/4" diameter barrel with a threading of 40. The height of the barrel appears to be .350", so it might give enough perch for 1/4" thick pegboard - though thinner pegboard would be nicer.

Another one might be:

SPDT
Mouser #: 690-A127S1YZQ
Manufacturer: Electroswitch
Manufacturer #: A127S1YZQ

These also appear to have 1/4" diam barrels with a thread count of 40. The barrel height appears to be .352".


DPDT versions are also available.

There are a lot of toggle switch manufacturers to choose from and each has a PDF file with specs for the line. Never realized there were so many options! What I shared above is just one of many options.

It appears that in the Mouser catalog the reference (On)-Off-(On) means Momentary On - Off - Momentary On. On-Off-On would mean that the switch can be left in any of the three positions.

[Anonymous]

I use stall motors on my turnouts so a simple on/off toggle works. On my panel I use the "throw" position of the toggle handle to indicate my turnout position---either toward "thru" or "out." The toggle is mounted in the forks of the turnout on my trackplan schematic.

[Birds]

How does the coil in the switch react to using a simple ON/OFF toggle?

I was under the impression that using an ON/OFF (SPST) toggle would burn out the coil because of always applying current, and that this was the reason for using double throws with momentary on.

Thanks,
Birds

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Birds

How does the coil in the switch react to using a simple ON/OFF toggle?

I was under the impression that using an ON/OFF (SPST) toggle would burn out the coil because of always applying current, and that this was the reason for using double throws with momentary on.

Thanks,
Birds

The stall motors Dewey are using (e.g. Tortoise) can be left powered on all the time (the motors draw only about 20 mA). You must reverse the polarity to the DC motor using the toggle switch. This requires a DC power supply and a DPDT toggle switch or a AC power supply, a SPDT toggle switch and 2 diodes.

Daniel Lang

[lionelsoni]

It is also possible to use a non-momentary SPDT switch for an 022 (and some others), since the 022 disconnects the coil as it throws. You can even use indicator lights like those in the (momentary) 022C controller, since the lamp that should be lit will be the one not grounded by the SPDT switch. No lamp lit then means that the turnout did not throw.

[Anonymous]

As Daniel notes , I have DC Tortoise motors and have diodes upstream of AC powered ASC modules(acessory switch controllers) to operate turnouts from the Cab 1. Initially I powered the motors with a DC powerpak but later installed the ASCs.
However, as noted in my post above I plan to return to control panel toggle operation of the turnouts.

[Anonymous]

I have gotten years of perfectly reliable service from a bank of eight switches from the web site below. As I could see all the lanterns on my turnouts from my control panel, and had non-derailing 022 turnouts, powered separately from the track, I chose the non-illuminated kind. The bank of eight is very compact, relatively inexpensive and lightens the load on the transformer by having no lamps.

I used the "flush mount type.Mounting was simplicity itself. Just cut out a rectangle slightly smaller than the outside dimentsions of the switch panel, drop it in, and secure with small round-head screws.

Not being able to find any at my dealer, I ordered direct from Acme.

http://www.acmemodel.com/railroad.htm

wolverine49

[Birds]

The responses have been very educational for me. I had no idea what stall motors were (laughing is allowed).

I would appreciate some clarification/re-affirmation:

So on the O22 switches, an on/off/on SPDT switch won't cause a problem with the motor if the switch is thrown, and left in the thrown position for an extended period? The motor will activate and throw the track, then the motor goes back to the neutral position right away regardless of the position the switch is left in?

I don't want to make an assumption and blow out a switch because I didn't understand something.

If I am understanding this correctly, this prompts another question about the switch and the non-derailing funciton.

Here's the scenario:
- regular SPDT switch is thrown and left in position on the control panel to mark the direction of the active track
- a second train comes from the opposite direction on the second (non-thrown) leg of the switch.

Q: When the train hits the switch and tries to activate the non-derailing feature, will this cause the switch to "jitter" back and forth since the SPDT was left thrown in the opposite direction?


Thanks for all your responses and patience.

Birds

[lionelsoni]

Yes, it will buzz back and forth.

Electrical switches built into the turnout enable only one coil at a time, the one to throw it to the other position.

Something I have frequently suggested for a map-type control panel is a pair of studs on the map, connected to the turnout in place of the controller. You would touch one or the other with a grounded probe to throw the switch. You can also mount a lamp or LED (in a circuit suitable for the AC voltage) next to the stud to show the switch position. Each lamp is connected between ground and the stud for the other leg.

[underworld]

A great source for switches or just about anything electric or electronic is a Hamfest. For those of you unfamiliar, a hamfest is an amateur radio swap meet.
Often there are some odd thing there too. I've bought a few cameras, a few trains, and even a still sealed Firesign Theatre Album [i][Don't Cru***hat Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers[i/]. A great and fun place to go to buy parts.

underworld

aka The Violet