Well, It's not really a delima I just like a good sequel, anyway, I installed my insulfrog turnout, and I'm happy to announce it was a success,!!! I first used regular rail joiners on the frog rails, and the power was lowered greatly, I then installed the insulated rail joiners and Im happy to say that all is well....... I added feeders beyond the turnout, switched the frog ( It's a dbl mainline) from track 1 to track 2, power to both!!!!! Now...... (Here we go) I have two more questions, 1) I want to add a switch motor and signals, I would like to have a DPDT switch that would not only switch the frog, but also change my signals, what would be the best system to use??? Does anybody have a diagram of a system that I could follow that you might have? I want to use either BeNscale or BLMA sigs, I'm working in Nscale, 2) Does anybody out there now when BLMA is going to release there Nscale US&S searchlight signals,??? on the website it says "pre- order" I just want to get in on it before there out of stock!!!! Anyway, thanks for the help with this matter,
Take Care and..... Happy Modelrailroading.
Are you sure you have an Insulfrog switch there? Sounds like you have an Electrofrog switch.
There,s plastic around the switch points, and the stock rails,
Duh. There is plastic around everything on a model switch. What is the number of the switch on the box that it came in? Peco Insulfrog switches have SL before the number, Electrofrog switches have SLE before the number.
Anyway............. it's working fine, on to the Signal question, like I mentioned in the above post, I want to add a switch motor and signals, I want to have a DPDT switch that not only switches the frog, but also operates the signal, does anybody have a diagram of what you've made?? Thanks Again,
Trainsrme1,
It would have made a heck of a lot more sense,to have stayed on the thread,that you first started,,,,I've been back and forth between the two and there seem's to be two different story's...What do you mean,switch the frog??Do you mean power the frog? How do you throw the switch points??You mentioned switch machines,what do you use to control them??You'll need a relay to keep the signal lites on after you throw the switch,,just a momentary DPDT,won't work...
Cheers,
Frank
TrainsRMe1Yes, I meant power the frog,
To power the frog.
For signalling I gather you just want the signal to show the direction the turnout is thrown?. There are more ways to do that than you can shake a stick at. If you use tortoise you can simply put the signal in series with the Tortoise (or other stall motor for that matter). You can use the tortoise contacts. You can have a parallel set of contacts in the switch that is used to throw the tortoise. You can add a microswitch to the point bar. Finally if it is electrofrog you can use the DCC power directly off the points to drive the signals. If you want signals and control panel lights there are only slightly different considerations, but some of the methods are more amiable to dual lights.
TrainsRMe1 I want to add a switch motor and signals, I want to have a DPDT switch that not only switches the frog, but also operates the signal, does anybody have a diagram of what you've made?
I want to add a switch motor and signals, I want to have a DPDT switch that not only switches the frog, but also operates the signal, does anybody have a diagram of what you've made?
Here is a diagram of my setup.
I use a DC power pack to power the DPDT switch, the Tortoise, and the track side signal.
You need to cross wire the four outside contacts on the DPDT switch.
Don't forget to add resistors to the signal wires.
Rich
Alton Junction
As you've probably noticed, Peco turnouts have a spring built in that holds the points solidly against the stock rails. This spring has a couple of effects. First, the connection between the point rails and the stock rails is generally very solid, and, has been mentioned, the electrical connection remains good. Second, it takes a lot of force to throw the points from one side to the other. The only switch motor that does this well is the one made by Peco.
If you want to use a Tortoise to get the slow-motion throw, you should remove the spring. I've never done this, but I believe it must be done from underneath, so you would need to remove the turnout from the layout.
A Peco switch machine is a twin-coil machine, so it must be driven with a single-pole, double-throw MOMENTARY CONTACT toggle switch. It's also best to use a capacitive discharge (CD) circuit to drive the Peco machine. You can use a single CD unit to drive all the twin-coil machines on your layout. Even if your twin-coils are working fine without one, it's still advisable because it gives stuck-toggle burnout protection to all of them. You can buy an add-on gadget for the Peco switch machine to give you a SPDT constant-contact for driving signals. I've got a few of these, and they work fine.
The Peco machine mounts beneath the turnout, so you would also need to remove the turnout to install it.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Not sure when or if the BLMA signals in N-scale will be available. There is another source for high quality signals in N-scale, Century Foundry, http://www.showcaseminiatures.net/century-foundry.html
Chris Palomarez