Im new to the hobby and am learning as I go. I have purchased a dozen of the Bullfrog switch machines and was wondering if I could attach the machines to a control panel so I can see how the switches are oriented. I have read about bi-polar green/red leds, and would like to use those. The Bullfrogs come supplied with 3 prong micro switches. All the searches I do usually come up with tortoise machines and leds on DCC layouts. I am building the layout in DC since it is an 8'-7' L shaped switching layout.
Any help is appreciated!
The common use of the switch is to power the frogs - position on a control like a Bullfrog is pretty obviouse based on if the knob is pushed in or pulled out. If you aren't powering frogs, any circuit which shows the use of LED witht he contacts on a Tortoise (as opposed to the ones where the LEDs are just in series with the Tortoise motor itself) is exactly what you need. Same thing - the middle of the microswitch is common, it connects to one of the other two terminals depending on which way the machine is set. It functions exactly like one set of contacts on a Tortoise.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
It sounds like the microswitch on the Bullfrog is a single-pole, double-throw switch. If that's the case, you don't want the bi-polar LEDs with two leads, you want the red-green LEDs with 3 leads. The bi-polar ones depend on the direction of current flow, and are typically wired in series with the drive motor of the Tortoise.
Either type of LED requires a current-limiting resistor.
But, I would hold off on using the contacts for LEDs until you see if you need to power the frogs. I highly recommend powering them, particularly if you are using short locomotives with limited power pickup from their wheels.
You could get both by using the contacts for LEDs and a Frog Juicer from Tam Valley to power the frogs.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
RIBIT RIBIT
Power the Frogs!
Power to the Frogs!
Whale, if you need to power FROGS AND light a light, then you use the SPDT switch on the BULLFROG to power a DPDT relay. one half of the relay works the frogs from the track power, the other half of the relay can tickle your LEDs.
If you use a 2 pin bi color LED, then you put +12v DC on one side of the relay, -12 vc on the other side of the relay and you put the LED in the middle. Otherwise you would use three pin LEDs with the power coming from the center tap and either leg form the sides of the relay.
LIONS know not about Bullfrogs, the pond of him is filled with Tortoises, but if you are using pull knobs for the turnouts, then you want to have the push position as NORMAL, and the pull position as REVERSE. But LION likes not things protrucing from the fascia. Him would have all of those knobs bent and broken off before the afternoon was over.
LIONS LIKE the GRS machine of him.
I'd relay like to help ewe, but the LION is tired and is going to take a nap.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS