Fascia Switches

[knewsom]

In the December 2004 MR article on "Simple Control Panels" the installation of a SPDT toggle switch (similar to ones at Radio Shack) into the fascia. I want to use these types of switches to control turnouts on my layout. Is it possible to use the switches with Atlas Switch Machines or Peco under the table switch machines. I thought that these required momentary action switches. Alternatively is there anywhere that you can buy momentary action SPDT toggles?

Thanks,
knewsom

[rrinker]

You CAN get momentary toggles from sources like Mouser and DigiKey, but I don't recall EVER seeing one that the handle remained in the position you last threw it, the normally snap back to center. Thus the whole concept of the switch handle indication the selected direction the turnout was thrown is lost. You could combine the toggle with a pushbutton. There are also ways to build an electronic circuit that will allow you to use a normal toggle and still provide just a pulse to the switch machine.
I correct myself - way back when, Walthers sold a toggle switch that had both fixed and momentary contacts all on one switch, and the handle stayed where you put it. The downside was these things required a square slot to mount, not a simple hole.


--Randy

[willy6]

As rrinker said the switch will remain in the (neutral/center) postion after the the turnout has been switched.I installed LEDS on my control panel map to indicate which track the turnout is lined up to.And on some certain turnouts i also wired in a (red/green) signal on the LED circuit so that it will light green to connected track and red to indicate turnout not lined up to track.I used these on my sidings.

[knewsom]

Do you have any other suggestions for setting up the switches on the Fascia which will tell the direction of the turnout. I have been experimenting with the toggle/push button combination, but the since the turnout can be pointing in a different direction than the switch (until the push button is pushed) I am not sure I want to stay with this. Are there any other switch machines that I can use with the Peco and Atlas swithes that do not require momentary action switches?

Alternatively how do I set up the LED's on the panel to reflect the direction of the turnout while using DCC, or how can I set up the electric circuit to send only a pulse from the SPDT switch (it has been 12 years since my last electical science class).

Thanks,
knewsom :)

[willy6]

I use cab control and not famialiar with DCC.I would assume the power for turnout/LED operation would be the same.Would more than happy to e-mail wiring diagram for the operation I have described in my above post.

[rrinker]

Here's a link to a page with some circuits that would do what you want

http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/ToggleTwin.html

[cwclark]

you can use the Atlas Relay in conjunction with the Atlas turnout machine to control LED lighting on your control panel in a configuration that will allow you to illuminate the position of your turnouts... there is a way to control the turnout so that you know the turnout position, but you will need 2 push button momentary switches...there is an old kalmbach publication called "how to wire your model railroad " by lynn westcott that shows how to wire the two momentary turnout switches for coil type machines and configure them onto your control panel so that when you pu***he button it will correspond to the direction of the turnout points that you select for the route the train will take...another thing you can do is sell all of the Atlas stuff on e-bay and go to motor driven turnout machines like circuitron tortoises slow motion machines...that way you can use SP/DT or DP/DT switches like the ones in the MR issue to operate your turnouts ...Chuck

[BR60103]

Peco make switch controllers with passing contacts in them; the moving part makes the circuit a bit before the end and then breaks it and sits past the contact.
I don't know if they are available in the U.S. They have a problem with capacitor discharge units since they remake the contact for the way the switch is thrown first and then make the other contact before the CDU recharges.

[Seamonster]

Try using stall-motor switch machines, like Circuitron, instead of solenoid-operated ones. These have the power applied to them at all times, thus requiring only a standard two-position toggle switch.

[knewsom]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to convert over to stall switches I think, so this appears to eliminate the problem that I was having.

Thanks again!

[bcammack]

The simplest thing you can do is use a DPDT toggle switch in conjunction with a normally open (N.O.) SPST pushbutton switch. The toggle switch sets the turnout direction and the pushbutton switch (feeding the center leg of the DPDT switch that feeds the turnout) "fires" the Atlas switch machine to throw the turnout.

You can use the other half of the DPDT switch to light a LED to indicate the selected route.

This is sort of how a CTC machine panel works anyway. You set the route and signals and then "pull the trigger" to make it all happen.