You can;t have just one wire from the ACM to the relay board, there must also be a common ground between the two. Think of it like this. If you connect a wire from an Arduino pin to the control pin of some other circuit, where does that control signal go? It needs a complete circuit just like any oother electrical circuit in order for it to actually do anything. That may be on the order of microamps, or even nanoamps, but some non-zero current must flow or nothing can happen. With independent power supplies, it MIGHT find a path back through the two power supplies and via the house wiring, but the usual method is to hook the 'grounds' together so there is now a common link between the circuits. That does not mean the ACM power supply powers the relays, nor does it mean the relay power supply powers the ACM. They each draw operating power from their respective power supplies. The common between the circuits is just for a reference for that control signal.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks Eric. I think I might have the wrong relay module, or at least one that is not as easy to use as it should. I'm heading to Fry's Electronics to try and piece stuff together. I looked at some of the videos you mentioned and it is starting to make some sense; but I'm a long way off from really getting it. I'll stay in touch,
Mel
Hi Mudshark!
I bought a 5 volt, 16 channel relay so that I can have an individual relay controlling each of my storage tracks around the roundhouse / turntable. I thought John had told me he had a 5 volt, but in looking back at his message, he only said that he had a 4 channel relay. Anyway, I bought a 5 volt wall wart to supply power to the relay module. From what I can see (and read on other sites re: relays), I need to take off the jumper on the JD-VOC / VOC header on the relay module so I don't get feedback onto the ACM. Looks like I connect the (+) from my wall wart to the JD-VOC pin and the neutral from my wall wart to a GND pin on the relay input header. (In the Walthers video showing what John did with his turntable, it looks like he has a a wire going only to the JD-VOC pin and the GND pin on the left of his relay input header has a connecting wire, so I'm figuring that's what it is. I'm by-passing my ACM with the external power source so it doesn't cause any problems as the ACM is already connected to the turntable control box and that has power. I'm still reading to make sure that's how to do it. I went to a You Tube video and then Googled connecting to relay modules and found plenty to read. Everbody wants to know how to connect the relay module to an Arduino board. I'm assuming that our ACM is like an Arduino, so the same procedures should work. I got a response back from Walthers, but it really didn't give me any information that I hadn't already figured out. I don't have my panel set up yet - I sent my NCE SB-5 Booster back for repair after I had a short on my layout. I now have NCE circuit breakers ready to install so that doesn't happen again. As soon as I get my power back, I plan on finishing all the connections and see how it works. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I decided to go with the 5 volt power source for my relay module becasue it only needs power to work one relay at a time and I think I'm okay with the 5 volts. Stay in touch. I think we can talk our way through this and share what we learn.
Plus if you have sound decoders that start up automatically when the power is applied, they won't be starting up. With one relay controlling multiple stalls, if 1 and 2 held a loco and you were putting the incomign one in 3, then the ones in 1 and 2 woudl turn on. One realy per stall means none of this will happen. And while there will be more wires, it's easier to figure out - the wire from Relay 5 needs to go to track 5, no where else.
Randy and Eric, I'm joining in again. Also having the same problems with the ACM and using a relay. Randy, are you stating that the relay Negative (-) power must be hooked up to the Negative power on the ACM? What about the Positive (+)? If only the negative, how would I get power to the relay?
Also, I am using a 12v relay, as per John Tews instructions when I emailed him. 'I used a "Relay Module" which I found on eBay. They come in 1, 2, 4, 8,and 16 relay assemblies. I used a 12 volt version."
Do I need to use a 5v relay? Eric, did you ever get it working? I'm still struggling to get this working. Thanks,
I really like what he has done and it really has given me some ideas, but I think I'm going to make it easier on myself and just do one relay per storage track. It'll be a bit easier if something goes wrong - less wires to work through. Thanks for your help!
11:49, I see what he did. He connected relay pins 1-4 from the ACM all together to 1 yellow wire (the shrink wrap is over the joint), thent he next 4 pins from the ACM go to the 1 wire and to the second relay, etc. so he can control 16 tracks with 4 relays. The same relay is wired to turn the power on and off to 4 tracks. So if he picks track 1, 2, 3, or 4, one of the yellow wires is energized and triggers that relay. all 4 of those tracks get their power via the contacts of that one single relay. Since the instructions say the ACM only turns one relay on at a time, then only one of those outputs will be active at a time, so it doesn't matter that 4 of them are connected together. You can do the same thing to a decoder - have a loco like an F unit and you want the headlight to be on no matter what? Hook it to BOTH the white and yellow wires. Any time either, or both, are on, the light will be on.
He doesn't tell how he wired his electronics, but if you look at the wiring when they show his ACM and the relay module, you see how he runs yellow wires from the track output header (left side of the ACM) and they are combined with a shrink tube before one wire goes to the first input pin on the relay - follow the yellow - there are other colors coming from the ACM as well, going to the other relay pins, but they are also combined - as there are only single wires going to the four pins on the relay. I have tried to contact him to see how he does it, but I haven't heard back from him yet.
I didn;t see where in the video he explained any of the wiring, just said he did this or that, what am I missing?
Thanks, Randy! My understanding of electricity and relays is that only one can power only one thing, so my thinking is clear on this and I can get the other relays that I need. In Walthers John Tews video, seeing the yellow wires from the top pins on the track output header on the ACM being merged into one wire and then that wire connecting to IN1 on the relay module just blew my mind. I just couldn't figure out how to make connections from that point. Pretty much all clear now - thanks for your help!
Eric
That module just condenses the power connections - so instead of a pair of power connections plus the control input for each relay, there is one set of power supply connections and then the 4 input pins. The wiring is the same, it just means hooking up teh power is easier since you only have to do it once for all 4 relays. The other three terminals per relay are the actual relay contacts. One is the arm that moves, one of the others is the contact that the arm touches when the relay is not powered, and the other is the contact that gets touched when teh relay is powered. It goes by the lttle picture on the relay. Your stall track, one rail gets powered directly off the bus, the other sideof the bus goes to the center contact, and the normally open contact goes to the other rail of the stall track. It's like putting a SPDT toggle in the line to cut power to the track.
You can;t do more than 4 tracks with only 4 relays. Period, end of sentence. I didn;t watch the Walthers video yet, but if Tes has more than 4 stall tracks to control power to, he had to use mor than 4 relays. Or else they all weren;t under indepdendent power control - one relay certainly can hook up to 3 or 4 tracks, it's just that all of them will get power when one of them is selected, assuming the ACM can be programmed so that say relay 1 operates for tracks 1, 2, and 3. But if not, or if you want them all to be off and ONLY the one selected to be powered, then you will need 2 more of those same relay modules to get 12 total.
At this point, I have 12 storage tracks around the turntable, so not that far-fetched to use the keypad, especially if I add more.
I understand where the pins on the ACM are connected - I guess my problem is with the Relay Module. I do have a 4 Channel that is listed to use with an Arduino 8051, but it doesn't have the configuration that you describe. I bought mine on ebay and this link should show what I have. http://www.ebay.com/itm/222046220722?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT . There are 6 pins on the control side - from left, GND, IN1, IN2, IN3, IN4 and VOC. The power connection is on the right side labelled JD-VOC on top and VOC on the bottom. Each relay has 3 connections. This is the same relay that John Tews used on his Timber Valley Railway, which Walthers used as a demonstration for their turntable and ACM. If you check out the Walthers video https://www.walthers.com/products/turntable-video?utm_source=exact_target&utm_campaign=eupdate_020817&utm_medium=email&utm_content=turntable-video you will see that John used just one 4-channel relay and that's causing me my problem - just not logical in my mind, but I'm thinking that maybe that's how the ACM works??? If you watch the Walthers video, you will see what I'm trying to do. I appreciate your help - please keep it coming!
Well it IS called the ADVANCED control module. Not really needed witht he new turntable which already does do DCC operation.
I found the instructions, looks fairly straighforward, btu there is a lot of info because it does a lot of things. You need to weed out what you are not using and ignore those parts.
For the LED displays, just wire them tot he pins shown in the instructions. It shows exactly how to do it.
FOr the relays - if you only have 4 relays you must only have 4 roundhouse tracks. Ignore all the stuff about transistors, optocouplers, or the ULN2003, you aren't using that. Assuming you have the proper relay modules, the ones meant for Arduino and Raspberry Pi, there should be 3 pins on the control side of each relay, a +, a -, and a control pin. The control pin goes to the ACM. The + and - go to a power supply you need to provide, based on the voltage of the relay modules. Standard Arduino ones run on 5V. THe - of the relay power supply should also go to the - of the ACM power. Must, actually, for it to all work properly together.
They keypad, if you got the type shown, hooks to the pins as shown in the instructions. With only 4 tracks though the dual digit LED display and a full keypad seem way overkill when 4 buttons and 4 LEDs can indicate what track you're on.
I bought the Walthers Cornerstone 130' DCC turntable - it has the control box. It works very well. However, I also bought the Walthers Advanced Control Module and that's my problem. The instructions that came with it are not understandable - there's too much left to the imagination. I am trying to use a keypad with a LED 2-digit display and a 4 Channel Relay Module to turn on power to the roundhouse tracks - as John Tews has on his Timber River Railway. Walthers has a video showing how John set up his turntable with the ACM and the other items I have. If Walthers had only written their instructions for model railroaders instead of electrical engineers, we'd be having more fun with this turntable! I have asked Walthers for help, but after a few days, I have had no response. Doesn't make me feel very good.
I am having the same problem. I just bought a 90' Walthers DCC turntable with the Advanced Control Module. All the paperwork made it seem easy to hook up. I have the TT working fine but when I hook up the ACM I'm lost. I can get the DCC working but I too bought a 12 volt 8 channel relay based on the cryptic directions from Walthers. I can't get it to work nor am I sure this is the correct relay or if I am hooking it up correctly. I have tried a few sources for help and so far, nothing. The Walther's video about the turntable shows how it all works but not how to do it. So I too would like some help, or a source to get me started.
Which Walkthers 130' turntable did you buy? The Corneerstone one already has a controller, you don;t need anything extra. If you got the plain one, then you also need a motor. And a good bit of mechanical work to hook it all up, the Walthers turntable kit is not known for having the best operation even just trying to manually turn it around. Then you are going to have to place all the sensors and wireit all together. One step at a time, don;t overthink it. It's more mechanical than electronic.
But if you have the Cornerstone version of the turntable, it's already all thre for you, nothing to do but hook up power and track power to it.
I just bought a Walthers 130' turntable and an ACM, but am thinking that maybe I bit off more than I can chew. Has anyone set up the turntable with the ACM and if so, can you give some advice? I have a 5 volt 4 channel relay module, a two-digit LED display and a number pad to input stall track numbers. I have read the directions a number of times and just when I think it makes sense, something goes blank and I lose my logic on it. I'm just not comfortable with wire placements.