I know this has been a discussion on here before, but I wanted to show how I do mine. I went to Radio Shack and bought some of the micro switches, and then to the LHS to purchase some K&S 1/16 brass tubing and the largest piano wire that would fit in it. I also use Caboose Industries ground throws.
Here is a picture of the switch. Notice the difference in spacing of the terminals. The terminal that is the farthest out, circled in red, is the terminal that attaches to the frog. The other two, circled in yellow attach to the track power.
This picture shows how I cut the brass tubing and ran it between the ties. I then took a piece of the piano wire and made the proper bends to attach to the ground throw (a small hole needs to be drilled), and then bend at a 90 degree angle to contact the lever on the switch. VERY IMPORTANT - place a shim between the tubing and the rails! I use .005 styrene.
Here, you can get an idea about how I plan to cover them. I am also using a few small buildings. Or, maybe a few strategically placed bushes or trees will hide them.
I hope this gives someone a few ideas. This is really easy to do and it works like a champ!
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
Chuck, this is a neat idea and one that would work great for those of us with turnouts that are positioned quite a few inches high on a foam (or other type) base.
How much did the switch cost and do you have a product number?
Jarrell
trwroute,
I can attest to the reliabilty of Your idea. I did almost the exact same thing, with some #4 Atlas turnouts, but I used Brass rod in a styrene tube, underneath the layout, which is 1/2 ply. 1/2 Homasote.
Take Care!
Frank
Jacon12,
You can get them cheaper, elsewhere. As much as 10 for six dollars. Allied Elect.:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2049718
Thanks, Jarrell and Frank! Frank hit the nail on the head with the Radio Shack part number and that they can be had for less. I just stated Radio Shack because that is where I got mine. I only needed 5...my layout ain't that big!
and it's activated by....... what on the facia? Push button switch?
Thanks for the thread.
jacon12 and it's activated by....... what on the facia? Push button switch? Thanks for the thread. Jarrell
Jarrell, it is activated by the ground throw. This pushes, or pull, the rod to activate the micro switch. The 2 wires that attach to the yellow terminals, from the rails, in the above photo are what supplies electrical power to the micro switch. Then, on the red-circled terminal, that is where the power comes out of the switch to supply the correct current to the frog.
Just make sure that the switch is mounted correctly to allow the wire to activate the switch. You will hear a click when the micro switch is thrown. At rest, the rail current works one way, when the micro switch clicks, it will apply the other rail current to the frog.
I hope that helps clear it up. Please ask any questions that you may have.
Hello Chuck,
I really like your set up, and as I use Caboose ground throws exclusively, it looks like it would really come in handy. And you've done a great job of illustrating the project, as well.
I've got one simple question however. I've never used a micro switch and don't know their wiring orientation. In your photos you show the three terminals circled-very useful. The right lead feeds the frog, the other two draw from the power bus. Your other photo shows the leftmost terminal using a blue wire. To which rail's power feed would would you solder the blue wire, assuming the rail furthest from the camera is the "north" rail (as an example)?
I think your idea is great, and very economical, but I don't want to cross any wires, literally.
Thanks for the great idea,
Benny
Hi, Benny! Thanks for the kind words! I'm almost embarrassed to admit, but I did it by trial and error. I am using NCE DCC, and if I initially wired it wrong, the system would shut down when a loco hit the frog. I would then swap the two input wires on the micro switch. After that, the loco had zero problems and would glide through the turnout liked I hoped it would.
B60bp,
Let me see if I can explain this to you about the micro switch. When your turnout connected to the ground throw is set for the straight route, the lever will be sticking out, say + that will be the term. on the end of the two that are together, so your frog will be +. When throw the ground throw to the diverging route the lever will be even with the top of the switch thereby pushing the little push button on the switch making the frog -negative and that is the center term. of the switch. Use the same colors that your buss are so you don't get confused. The common term, the one going to frog, can be any color you choose, but keep them all the same on all your turnouts.
Hope That Helped.
Take care!
Frank, that's not always true. I looked at mine, and I have two that match your explanation and three that are opposite. It makes a difference what side of the turnout the switch is mounted. Believe me, the trial and error thing does work.
Trwroute,
You won't get an argument from me. That's one detail, I forgot to mention.