I have an older cornerstone 130' Walters turntable with the gray colored control box. Is it possible to control the turntable from the Pro-Cab instead of the gray colored control box? And how would I do it?
I would think that a standard decoder of suffcient amp capacity could drive things. The problem would be detecting the stops. How is that handled? Because that's where a stepper motor (w/controller) is your friend.
But if the drive motor is geared low enough, you should be able to align it if you can see it. The question is the fine control at the low end. Shou;ld be doable with some experimentation.
BTW, have you searched here? Maybe some info already checked out?
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I have the same DCC system and turntable as you. I have the turntable powered by a DC power pack (MRC 1370 Railpower).
The turntable is designed to be powered and operated in DC. I could be wrong, but I cannot imagine it being alternatively powered by your DCC system.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrainThe turntable is designed to be powered and operated in DC. I could be wrong, but I cannot imagine it being alternatively powered by your DCC system.
If the turntable has a DC motor, I see no reason why a DCC motor decoder could not be hooked up to it, assuming that the decoder has adequate current output. Give it an address and run it like a loco. Matter of fact, a friend has a (not Walthers) turntable and does exactly that.
maxman richhotrain The turntable is designed to be powered and operated in DC. I could be wrong, but I cannot imagine it being alternatively powered by your DCC system.
richhotrain The turntable is designed to be powered and operated in DC. I could be wrong, but I cannot imagine it being alternatively powered by your DCC system.
The Walthers non-DCC turntable is designed to rotate with indexed stops. How do you accomplish that with a decoder?
Thanks everyone for your info. I guess it can't be done in its current factory configeration. I'll just go back to the control desk to operate it
richhotrainGive it an address and run it like a loco? How would you do that? The Walthers non-DCC turntable is designed to rotate with indexed stops. How do you accomplish that with a decoder?
There was not any mention of indexed stops in the original posting. The question is whether or not the turntable is driven by a DC motor. If it is a 12 volt DC motor, seems to me that they get connected to the decoder. Forward the turntable motor turns one way, reverse it turns the other way. Table gets lined up by eye, just like the big guys do it.
I don't know about the indexing, but I would presune that it should be possible to disconnect the motor from the existing controller. If it is not possible to disconnect the motor, or there is some other special circumstance, well then maybe it can't be done.
Why not call Walthers and ask? Or Heljan, I think they built it.
MC
WP Lives
When Walthers changed the production to the DCC model, they offered a 'conversion' kit to change it to DCC control. I do not see it listed currently, but why not contact Walthers and see if they have any of the conversion units in the warehouse?
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Does anyone know if there is a way to not use the DCC controller on the walthers 130' or 90' TT, I would prefer to line them up by eye. I guess Im asking if i can back convert them to DC?
I have the non DCC version and if I understand the operation of the indexing, it uses a stepper motor with a rotary encoder. The stepper motor uses pulses or steps of a specific number of degrees (typically 0.9 or 1.8 degrees) of rotation per pulse and it must have a stepping motor controller to give the pulses. A rotary encoder is connected (physically) to the motor/turntable shaft and it counts the number of degrees of rotation from the '0' or home position, which is how it keeps track of where each 'indexed' position is. I don't believe you can control this with a decoder unless as was mentioned the motor is 12 vdc and can be wired directly, bypassing the controller and encoder.
I use the programmed index positions for about 17 tracks and love it. I haven't had any problems with indexing being off. When the bridge is removed and then replaced in any position, the system searches for the '0' or home position and then it knows where everything is located (by counting the degrees to each stop position, and in both directions). Very nice system.
I may not have all of the technical terms in my description correct, but the basics of how this turntable operates is there.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!