rc/battery power what about turnouts?

[Anonymous]

im now getting started and doing the labor of ground work and track laying.going to use air wire900 and phoenix 2k2 sound on my bachman 10annv.mogul for starters.my question comes around with radio control of turn outs,how is it done and how do you power them?I dont want a bunch of head aches with unreliable turn outs.i have no power to the rails and dont intend to since i will have 2 reverse loops and 2 wyes joined to mainlines on both ends.i am using low voltage landscape wire and transformer for structure lighting.I would also like to devise automatic station stops and sound activation how can this be done automatically with no track power?

[kstrong]

The easiest way to power your turnout motors will be to run separate wires to each motor. The same low-voltage wire will work beautifully. The voltage will depend on the turnout motors you choose, and whether they run on AC or DC current. You don't need to worry about anything running through the rails, but you will have to run additional wires. Not a big deal if you're running them for lighting already too. (You can't use the same wires--as the voltage going to the switch motors is momentary only.)

There are also pneumatic systems for controlling switches. Look in GR for the various advertisements. With these, you run small plastic pneumatic tubes to each switch, and have a central control station where the air is routed to each motor. I believe these can be routed via electronic relays, but check with the manufacturer to make sure.

In either case, you'll want to be able to control the switches via the Airwire handheld controller. Each switch will be a unique "function," so you'll need a DCC decoder to interpret the signals from the controller to go to each switch. I'm not well-versed in the intricacies of DCC, so I'd suggest asking on the DCC forum over on MyLargeScale.com http://www.mylargescale.com/forum/ (and scroll down to DCC).

One personal warning about remotely controlled switches outdoors: Ballast moves, and the passing of a train is enough to convince one little pebble of ballast to pop in between the points, keeping them from closing properly when the switch is thrown. Make sure you visually inspect each point to make sure it's closed before you run your train over it. Many folks use manual throws for that single reason--they have to walk to the switch to inspect it anyway, they may as well forego the trouble of automatic control and just physically throw the switch while they're there.

Now, onto automatic sound control. The Phoenix and Sierra systems both allow for magnetic sound triggers. You simply place a magnet at the location you want a particular sound to go off, and every time the train runs over that spot, the sound will go off. There are some drawbacks to this. You mention you have reverse loops. That means your train will be traveling both directions over the same stretch of track. If you've got your whistle trigger on the left side of your loco and the bell trigger on the right, then the whistle will sound when the train passes one way, the bell will sound when it returns the opposite direction. You can, however, use the same kind of DCC decoders you use for turnout controls to control the sounds on your locomotive, so you can blow the whistle or ring the bell right from the controller--whenever you like. That's the inherent beauty of hand-held radio control.

That being the case, however, it eliminates the potential for automatic station stops. Since everything is controlled from your hand, you have to physically stop the train at the station. Automatic station stop controls rely on power through the rails to control where the train stops. Since you aren't running power through the rails, you can't automatically control the train. There's no way of telling the controller where the train is, and to slow it down. You've got to visually see the train and physically turn the knob to slow the train.

Later,

K

[FJ and G]

One could run power thru the rails to power turnouts. You would not need to keep the track clean and the only concern would be that there are good jumper connections between rails.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the info,I should have been more clear on my sound intentions,I want the train to activate a stationary sound along side the track,such as a farm with sounds from dq or station announcements at arival and departture.Also i seen a turnout system from E-ZA motion control which uses air but how would i use this system remotely from the air wire radio? I cant use any sort of track power since i did not make insulated gaps at my reversing loops or wyes> THANKS,for the help.

[kstrong]

Check with the manufacturer about solenoid controls for the air motors. (Solenoids are the electronic gizmos that are in pin-ball machines that activate the flippers and other things.) Essentially what you'd have is a solenoid which would throw the mechanical switch that routes the air to the switch motors. I recall seeing that done somewhere, but I can't recall the specifics. You'd merely need a DCC function to trigger each of the solenoids.

As for the train activating sounds along the route, magnets may still be the answer, but this time, mount the magnet on the locomotive, and the magnetic reed switch on the track. Assuming the sound circuit and speaker would be housed in a nearby building, you'd need only run a wire from the building to the track where the switch is located. I'd shy away from using optical sensors for something like that, but you could give that a try, too. Optical kits for garage doors might work well for that.

Later,

K