Good. Does it matter what type of capacitor is used?
Gary
Ok, I understand, forgot about the capacitor thing. I do have a question about it. When the switch is set to 12v+ could it be left there without burning up the coil machine? And I did see where you could have led indicator lights added too.
dad1218 wrote: I don't understand how using a spdt would work in both directions...
1. One motion is required to throw the switch - switch the toggle and the switch throws, instead of switching the toggle and then pushing the button.
2. Less likely to have a false indication of switch position - with the toggle and pushbutton, if someone switches the toggle and then for some reason never pushes the button to actually throw the switch, the toggle will show the wrong indication.
3. You get the advantage of a capacitor discharge circuit - you do not have to worry about burning up the switch machine by holding the button down too long. The voltage will only be applied to the switch machine long enough to charge or discharge the capacitor.
I don't understand how using a spdt would work in both directions. I took it that the ground is the 12v- lead. A stdp would probably do okay if you used an external momentary push button. I went ahead and wrote the schematic down. But it don't look any simpler to me than just using a dpdt switch and crossing one side of it.
I don't like the way the Kato controllers look and I only have one working. I already had the Atlas twins, that is why I used them.
Why not use Kato controllers? I do and find them much nicer to use than the Atlas ones.
Previous posts are correct in that they are DC motors.
CN Charlie
Thanks MisterBeasley,
That is what I was wanting to know. I will probably use the non-momentary DPDT and use my momentary push button so I will know the position of the turnout.
They are 2 lead total.
Two leads total, or two leads for each coil? Two leads for each coil is the way Peco machines are built, but the normal way of wiring them is to make one side common, so they look like Atlas wiring with only 3 leads.
If it's two leads total, it sounds like they are using a DC coil which is polarity dependent. If so, then you probably just want to get a DPDT momentary contact toggle for each turnout, wired up like the Atlas Twins. My guess is that you would take your input power and run it to the two center posts of the DPDT(M), and then run the turnout to the two posts on one end. Finally, run wires in a crossing X pattern between the 4 corner posts of the DPDT(M). Schematically, that's what each of the sliders in an Atlas Twin looks like.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Kato does use twin coil machines, but like LGB with 2 leads instead of 3 like Atlas. I was using a dedicated .5 amp transformer, a single pole momentary pushbutton and Atlas Twins.
I believe that Kato uses twin-coil machines, just like Atlas and Life-Like...
For panel control of twin-coil machines, the main consideration is that they take a momentary surge of comparatively high power, and then MUST be protected from continuous power flow (lest the magic smoke waft out of the casing.) If you want to use toggles, there are two choices:
A third, much less expensive, option is the stud and probe method. Switch machine coil wires are attached to the back sides of studs in the track lines on the panel (I personally use 6/32 brass screws, but that is hardly the only option.) Power is delivered through a probe (a stereo plug with power at the tip only) that is touched to the stud to complete the circuit.
My panel indicators are powered through contacts on my Rix and KTM twin coil machines. I don't know if Kato offers this option. I stow the probe in a dead stereo jack on the side of the panel enclosure, handy and easy to find in a hurry.
I also use a fourth option involving rotary panel switches with pointer knobs - expensive, complex, not for the faint of heart and not recommended unless you are using analog DC and the MZL control system.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
What kind of switch machines do these turnouts have?
If they are twin-coil machines (like Atlas or Peco) then you would control them with a single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) momentary contact toggle. If they are slow-motion "stall" motors (like Tortoise) then you would use a DPDT (not momentary) toggle.
If the turnout flips quickly from one side to the other, they are probably twin-coil. Also, if you are using the Atlas pushbuttons (I think you're wrong about them being called the Atlas "selector" model) then you've probably got twin-coils.
This is a "selector:"
This is what Atlas calls a "switch control box:"
The pictures are not the same scale. The "selector" is much larger.
How do you wire a DPDT switch to operate Kato turnouts? I was previousely using Atlas selector switches to control them. I was wanting to make a layout scematic and use toggles on the scematic.
If it matters the turnouts are #4 & #6 in N scale.