Tortoise Machine Wiring

[Anonymous]

This may be a dumb question but I am trying to use Tortoise Mac. for the first time and would like to be able to "switch" the mach frome a control panel AND from the side of the layout. Know how the wire this for solenoid types but can't find anything on Tortoise type. Can it be done? Help! Jim

[gmpullman]

Hey, Jim
I accompli***his with a second DTDP electrical switch wired just like a reverse switch. All you want to do is reverse the polarity at the Tortoise. Of course, the drawback is, like a three-way light switch in home wiring, the toggle no longer indicates the point position. You can still use bi-color LEDs to indicate switch point orientation but the LEDs have to be wired in series just before going into the tortoise...
To wire a DPDT as a reverse switch solder the two inside pair of contacts to the switch machine. bring the other pair from the switch on your panel to the outside pair on the DPDT then criss-cross those to the other outside pair on the DPDT.
This has worked for me... You could actually add as many "reverse" toggles as you want!
ED