I have this (see photos) ATlas Turntable and I was wondering how it's supposed to be operated. Once power is connected via a switch, do they index themselves? Or do you have to hold the switch down and release it manually. The timing would be difficult.
Also, the Turntable leads into a six track building. Should those tracks be wired seperately or in parallel? I don't currently have a DCC controller, do I need one to operate the turntable correctly?
Thanks...
I can't see your photos (it's my computer's issue most likely, not a problem with your pics) but if you have the regular Atlas TT that's been around for a while, you would connect two wires to track power to power the bridge, and connect two wires to a power source (like a DC power pack) to control the bridge. It will rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise depending on the DC polarity. I've used a power pack so I can regulate the power - it runs very quietly and smoothly if you only give it 3-5 volts.
It uses a "Geneva" mechanism, meaning it stops at each stall track for a second before moving to the next...like a clock that stops at each second (tick - tick - tick) instead of running continously. When it gets to the track you want, you turn the power down to zero. The bridge is also set to reverse polarity when it's spun 180 degrees, one track it lines up with has no power because of that so you have to adjust the turntable to account for that.
You can wire up each track leading to/from the TT independently, or for a roundhouse you can make them all connected with one on-off switch. Up to you. But the tracks leading from to and from the TT have to be wired up to your regular track power somehow, the wires to the TT only power the bridge track.
Yes, there is a pair of wires to power the turntable rotation motor and a pair of wires to power the turntable rails. The rails should maintain the same polarity as the lead tracks approaching the turntable.
Each track slot coming into the turntable is marked either A or B. This determines the polarity of that stall's track. You must maintain this polarity when you wire the track for that stall.
I have each of the stub stall tracks individually wired with shutoff switches for my turntable. I run DCC so I don't need individual control for each track, but I like to be able to power off unused engines in the roundhouse when not in use.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I don't see the pictures either. I get a "404" error message.
Mike.
My You Tube
If you don't have a DCC controller, you must be running DC. You want to be able to turn off the turntable tracks. You can do that with a rotary switch or individual toggles.
This forum has specific requirements to post pictures. found here
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Another option would be purchasing a copy of Atlas' wiring book. It shows the wiring of all the components they sell (Switch Control box, Selector, Connector, Twin, etc.) and it also shows how to wire for many different DC track needs. The book might be a little outmoded with everyone going DCC but there are those of us who are still DC holdouts for one reason or another.
I found this with a simple search for "Connecting the Atlas Turntable".
http://download.atlasrr.com/pdf/HOTurntable.pdf
There also videos, found on the same search.
Thanks for all the info everyone. I learned a lot just tinkering the past few days. I have it all hooked up except the switch. I have a series of switches wired for the track switches but they are run on AC voltage. So I can't just wire the turntable off of that because it needs DC voltage, correct? So I have to wire the turntable with a separate switch so it will be powered off of DC voltage.
Wjstix, it's not your computer. I tried to copy and paste because I really didn't want to get into creating an account on one of those external sites just to post a picture. But anyw, I have 3 atlas 215 switches setup for my solenoid rail switches and I connected a 220 switch onto those to power the turntable but then I realized that the turntable uses DC and the Rail Switches use AC so I'll have to figure something else out for that.
Think of the turntable's rotation motor as a locomotive motor. In the old days, I had an earlier Atlas model and that's exactly what it was. It needs DC and a reverser DPDT toggle to go the other direction.