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Need Kato Standard SX power pack to power Peco PL-10e point motors using push buttons

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  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, September 6, 2023 8:44 AM

BigDaddy
I believe what you need is something like the Circutron Snapper.

Yes. A good quality capacitor discharge unit attached to any power supply will do it.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
  • 21,481 posts
Posted by MisterBeasley on Tuesday, September 5, 2023 9:56 PM

Yes, a CD circuit is the thing for driving twin-coil switch mmachines.  One CD circuit will suffice for a lot of switch machines.  I probably drive a couple of dozen with mine.

I had a similar problem with my Peco machines.  They tested fine on the workbench, but wouldn't work on my layout.  The extra wires from the control panel to the track were enough to reduce the power, but adding a CD circuit solved all my twin-coil problems.

If you're a bit of a tinkerer, a CD circuit is actually just a capacitor and a couple of resistors.  I made mine from Radio $hack parts for under a dollar.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
    September 2014
  • From: 10,430’ (3,179 m)
  • 2,310 posts
Posted by jjdamnit on Tuesday, September 5, 2023 8:55 PM

Hello All,

The spring in PECO turnouts is quite stiff and the PL-10s sometimes don't have enough power to overcome them.

Adding a Capacitor Discharge Unit (PL-35) helps the PL-10 move the points.

Because it releases a single pulse, rather than continuous power, it protects the twin-coil solenoid in the PL-10s.

A separate "wall wart" or power supply can be used to power the CDU.

I use a Miniatronics brand; WT16, Input: 120VAC 60HZ 18W, Output: 16VAC @ 800mA.

Hope this helps.

"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"

  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Shenandoah Valley
  • 9,094 posts
Posted by BigDaddy on Tuesday, September 5, 2023 7:15 PM

I am neither a Kato nor a Peco point motor guy, so don't place any orders yet, but I believe what you need is something like the Circutron Snapper, a capacitor discharge unit to power your motors.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

  • Member since
    March 2022
  • 4 posts
Need Kato Standard SX power pack to power Peco PL-10e point motors using push buttons
Posted by CalTex222 on Saturday, September 2, 2023 1:14 PM

I've used various auxiliary methods to get power to my Peco PL-10e point motors.  They all do the job until the pin is inserted into the turnout tie bar.  I am using two momentary push buttons to activate the point motors, and can hear and see the pin try to move, but without success no matter how many times I modify the angle of the point motor relative to tie bar.  The Kato power pack has (+) and (-) output ports for Kato turnout controls, but I don't know how to access that power for the push buttons without taking the power pack apart and making hacked modifications -- my last resort.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as my project is stalled until I can find a fix for this issue. 

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