I am looking for a 154c contactor. E-bay is outrageously high on prices and shipping costs. Does anyone know of a source that has this 154c contactor? Maybe someone knows of a way to do your own wireing to make the signal work? Any feedback will be apprieciated!
Saquili
Try using a fiber pin in the middle of each end of the section of track that you want the signal to work on.
Jim
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
I found an old 1 you can have and try. Or try what Jim said about the insulated rail track. You can buy one or make one. They work better than the contactor IMO. Wiring depends on what accsessory you have, how many wires, etc. If you still want the contactor, e-mail me.
Brain of Train
They are plentiful, & inexpensive, at shows & meets.
Rob
Check out the current issue of Classic Toy Trains. The is an article about how to build a controller based on a piece of insulated track. It calls for a relay, diode, and capacitor and gives Radio Shack part numbers.
The two outputs, along with a common, will give a block signal red or green depending on the presence of a train.
Some of the technology is much newer than your 154 but it's still pretty cool. It's much less finicky that the 154C contactor and it's simple too.
You could also do it the Marx way:
Or you could segment the ground rail of any straight or curved section of track by cutting with a dremel wheel and reassembling wthe rail with fiber pins... the basics can be found here(Marx discussion, but works with the 154 too...):
Triggering Marx Signals
Here is a good close-up of the contactor for reference(from Jeff Kane - The Train Tender):
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month