Thanks very much for your replies.
The 2 position DPDT sounds the logical move to me.
cheers
Both are wired the same. The 2 position isn't really off/on it is throw-the- turnout-one-way and throw-the-turnout-the-other-way.
I have both types on my layout only because I used what I could find at the local Radio Shack. Nobody has trouble using the two position because they see the turnout move. People do get confused by the three-way - they throw the switch and stop at the center off. Nothing happens so they think something is broken.
Eventually they learn but if I had to buy DPDT's anyways, I would only buy the two position type and save the confusion.
I don;t know that there's two schools of thought with respect to this particular question. A center-off toggle is pretty much wasted with a Tortoise, they are designed to be under power at all times (although unless your turnouts are particularly stiff, they DO hold when the power shuts off). The current draw of each Tortoise when stalled is very low, on the order of 20ma, so a 2 amp power supply can drive 100 of them. Or a 1 amp wall-wart for 50. I hope to someday have space for a layout with over 100 turnouts on it.
Depending on the source, center-off switches sometimes cost a bit more than plain DPDT. Save the pennies for the new loco fund and use the plain DPDT, in addition to saving a bit of money, you also have the handle of the toggle pointing to which track the train will take - cheap indication without adding anything extra like LEDs.
As cacole said, the wiring of the toggle is exactly the same, from the terminal side, both plain and center off DPDT switches look exactly the same, and operate in the same way with the addition on the center-off version that in the center position no connections are made between terminals inside the switch.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
You could actually use either one of those types. The only difference between them is the "center off" position, which you could simply skip over as you move the handle. On the back, they'll be wired exactly the same.
Hi there
What type of DPDT switch is best for controlling the Tortoise ?
I have 2 types of DPDT's....3-position (centre off) and 2-way (i.e. simply "on" and "off" ).
The instructions that come with the Tortoise are not clear in the respect and from reading posts on this forum there seems to be 2 schools of thought on which one works best.
Would appreciate your experiences on which DPDT works best.