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atlas snap relay

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  • Member since
    February 2010
  • From: Brantford, Ontario, Canada
  • 480 posts
Posted by bigpianoguy on Sunday, October 28, 2012 8:38 PM

I'm just going to buy an Atlas Deluxe Illuminated Switch #57 & do some reverse engineering...

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • From: The place where I come from is a small town. They think so small, they use small words.
  • 1,141 posts
Posted by twcenterprises on Saturday, October 27, 2012 10:41 PM

jrbernier

twcenterprises
Not sure what you have in mind?  You can NOT use them for controlling the relays, it will burn them out.  You can use them for lighting LED's.  Just make sure to use the correct resistors for the LED's, otherwise 12-16 (or more) volts will burn them out.

Brad,

  I once asked Atlas what the current capacity of the Snap Relay's contacts were good for.  They indicated that up to 3 amps is no problem.  I used on for a DC throttle reverser for a number of years - No problems.  IIRC, they were just a pair of 'Form C' contacts(DPDT) with separate inputs/outputs from the Snap Relay's coil input.  Of course you will need the correct input voltage for the relays...

I was thinking along the lines of the coils in the relay, they need a brief application of power, not a "continuous-on" that DPDT's would provide (unless, of course, using the sprung DPDT's, but I doubt this is the case here.)

Brad

EMD - Every Model Different

ALCO - Always Leaking Coolant and Oil

CSX - Coal Spilling eXperts

  • Member since
    January 2001
  • From: SE Minnesota
  • 6,847 posts
Posted by jrbernier on Saturday, October 27, 2012 10:47 AM

twcenterprises
Not sure what you have in mind?  You can NOT use them for controlling the relays, it will burn them out.  You can use them for lighting LED's.  Just make sure to use the correct resistors for the LED's, otherwise 12-16 (or more) volts will burn them out.

Brad,

  I once asked Atlas what the current capacity of the Snap Relay's contacts were good for.  They indicated that up to 3 amps is no problem.  I used on for a DC throttle reverser for a number of years - No problems.  IIRC, they were just a pair of 'Form C' contacts(DPDT) with separate inputs/outputs from the Snap Relay's coil input.  Of course you will need the correct input voltage for the relays...

Jim

Modeling BNSF  and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin

  • Member since
    January 2010
  • From: Chi-Town
  • 7,712 posts
Posted by zstripe on Saturday, October 27, 2012 9:24 AM

CXSROCH07,

If you already have the snap-relays #2OO'S I don't see any reason why you can not use them.  I have 35 of them on my layout with red and green position lites on the control panel and never had any problem with them.. If they where new they would have come with detailed plans and drawings of all the things that you want to do on the control panel,,, simple to understand........

Cheers,

Frank

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: North Dakota
  • 9,592 posts
Posted by BroadwayLion on Saturday, October 27, 2012 7:04 AM

The Atlas relays were not suitable to my application. I use SPST switches with +12 on one side and -12 on the other, the center wire is the stinger going to the switch machine or LED.

The reason for using the Atlas relay would be to convert a momentary impulse to a continuous output to the signals. The problem with this is that the Atlas Relay is a "Make-Before-Break" design that causes a dead short halfway through the throw, and so was unusable for my applications.

On my new layout there are no momentary switches and so no need to convert a momentary signal to a constant output.

I suppose that if you wanted to use standard toggles on your panel and have a momentary output to a snap switch while keeping your signals lit, you could use the Atlas relay to disconnect your constant signal by moving to the opposite position, but this is tricky. I suppose it could be done.

LION uses Tortoise machines and everything runs on constant power. No problems.

ROAR

The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • From: The place where I come from is a small town. They think so small, they use small words.
  • 1,141 posts
Posted by twcenterprises on Friday, October 26, 2012 8:45 PM

cxsroch07
hello all i have some atlas snap relay and wanted to know if i can use them to light LED's on my control panel

Yes.

cxsroch07
i also want to use toggle switch on-off-on

Not sure what you have in mind?  You can NOT use them for controlling the relays, it will burn them out.  You can use them for lighting LED's.  Just make sure to use the correct resistors for the LED's, otherwise 12-16 (or more) volts will burn them out.

Brad

EMD - Every Model Different

ALCO - Always Leaking Coolant and Oil

CSX - Coal Spilling eXperts

  • Member since
    December 2007
  • From: Rochester, New York
  • 94 posts
atlas snap relay
Posted by cxsroch07 on Friday, October 26, 2012 7:44 PM

hello all i have some atlas snap relay an wanted to know if i can use them to light leds on my control panel i also want to use toggle switch on-off-on 

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