I am currently in the planning stages of my new layout and was thinking about the electronics. I am going to be using Atlas code 100 (N scale) track and switches and was wondering if the switch controller (the remote button to change directions) was a SPST switch, a SPDT, or a DPST. Also, if I change them do I have to have a switch with a center off postion? Thanks.
If you mean the black panel-face-mount controller with the blue slider, that’s a Single-Pole, Double-Throw, Momentary contact unit.
I’ve found these Atlas things to have a poor reliability record. The worst case scenario, which happens all too frequently, is that the switch sticks in the ON position and fries your switch machine. Atlas will be happy to sell you another one, though. So, I heartily approve of your decision to use something else.
Yes, you need center-off. You’ll see these in catalogs as either SPDT(Mom) or maybe (ON)-OFF-(ON), where the parentheses around “ON” indicate momentary contact.
[:)]
I don’t use momentary toggle switches. Instead, I put a pushbutton in the “common” line from the switch (turnout) machine. So, I throw the double throw toggle to connect the “normal” or “reverse” coil of the switch machine and then press the pushbutton to provide a short zap of power.
I find these advantages to this system:
It is very simple, reliable, and cheap. Almost any pushbutton you buy will almost never stick in the closed position. No more fried switch machines. No complicated and expensive capacitor discharge parts.
The position of the toggle indicates what direction the turnout is in.
If you use double-pole, triple-pole, or even quadruple-pole toggles, you can run panel indicator lights, turnout indicator lights, and provide power to powered frogs, all without a switch machine relay.
Disadvantages:
You have to make two motions, throw the toggle and press the button, to operate the turnout.
You have to “initialize” your turnouts by operating them first one way and then the other when you fire up your layout to make sure the turnouts are in the position that the toggles say they are to guard against manual operation of the turnouts out of sync with the toggles.
If you make a manual operation, which is quite easy with Atlas turnouts, you have to remember to go back and throw the toggle.
If you have separately powered frogs, a manual operation will leave the frog with the wrong connection and cause a short.
I use the system because I find the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
[:)] [:)]
I like it!
Actually, I get the same result from a shorting rotary switch, so there’s no separate pushbutton.&nbs
The type of switch used for controling turnouts and snap relays is a Momentary Contact Single Pole Double Throw (SPDT), which means that there is only one set of contacts and two sets of positions. The way a switch controler works is that you have your 3 contacts, usually wired with Red, Yellow, and Green wires, with Yellow in the center. Now, AC power is used coming into the controler, and is routed with one side of the AC being constant in the center position, going out to the Yellow wire, and the other side of the AC going out to the Red and Green wires by selecting the side that it is on and activating the momentary contact switch.
If you don’t want to use the controller that Atlas uses, one way to wire your switch machines is to send one side of your AC current directly to the center of the switch machine, and split the other side of the AC current and use push buttons to activate the switch machine. Here is a simple diagram of what I mean. I hope this helps.
— is Red/Green Wire
== is Yellow Wire
O is Push Button
o is Switch Machine Terminal/AC Power pack Terminal
/-----------O-----------------o Left
From AC on Power Pack: o---------< (wires split at this point)
&nb
Ya know, I’ve used the Atlas switch controls for a long time, the same ones, and I have not had one stick or burn out a switch machine (knock on wood). So besides the looks, (I always thought the push buttons looked better) they seem to do the job.
Tilden
First of all, Cordon, that is a REALLY cool idea. I just finished building my control