Howdy, I have an Atlas turntable motor I would like to power Via a decoder (Digitrax prefered). Any suggestions. I need help all the way from the “Way to do it”, to “What kind of decoder”, to “How many amps that motor pulls”? Thanks[:I]
I don’t know about the Atlas TT but I’ve got a CMR TT with a 12 volt motor and I’m using a DH121 to power it and it works GREAT. You could also use a newer decoder but why waste the money, it’s not like you need a lot of functions.
The way I did it was to program the decoder to address 99 and then hook the red and black wires to the track feed and the gray and orange to the motor. Now it runs just like a loco but it doesn’t go anywhere, only rotates.
Have a good day
Bob
Thanks alot, Thats Exactly what I was looking for, I will try it with the Atlas TT motor and see what happens, I hope it dont blow up, But hey, Gotta learn somehow!! Any who, Thanks! Any more info on this topic would be great as well!
Search the forums for “stall current” to find out how to measure the current drawn by the motor. That will tell you if it’s likely to fry your decoder.
Besides using a decoder to operate the turntable motor, don’t forget the polarity of the rails reverses whenever the bridge is turned 180 degrees. You could connect the rails to the auto reverse on your booster, if it has one. Or get a MRC Automatic Reverse Module.
Since you will be using a basic mobile decoder, think what you can do with the other functions. Turn on and off a yard light to light up the turntable.
That’s a pretty strong motor. As Mister Beasley sez; check for Stall Current.
The one nice thing about that turntable , other then the price and the small size, is the fact that it Auto-reverses for you. So that is a problem i dont have to worry about. Thank you for the thought, i even went out and bought a Digitrax Autoreverser for that TT but, Alas, I got to return it cuase I dont need it, (Three Cheers). I was really wondering , And I know its happened before, If anyone has actually DONE this procedure before, I Just hope that the person who HAS done it reads this thread!! And if SO, Give me some information on it, I will certainly Try everything and then Give that info as it comes in, Cuase, I am sure people are interested in powering moter’s like this as well. There is also an article on this in the November 2003 issue of MR. But I cant get to that either. So, thanks again in advance!
“The way I did it was to program the decoder to address 99 and then hook the red and black wires to the track feed and the gray and orange to the motor. Now it runs just like a loco but it doesn’t go anywhere, only rotates.” Teffy
What does putting the address at 99 do for me , If anything, other then give it an address, and when you go to that address, Is the motor powered Via the throttle?? or just turns on?
the Nov. 2003 article in MR shows how to …
- connect the decoder motor outputs to the turntable to control the rotation
- use the direction switch on your cab to control the direction of turntable rotation
- use the cab headlight switch to power on/off the tracks leading to the roundhouse
- use an autoreverse module to control polarity on the turntable track
Well, I guess I am going to need to Purchase this back issue ~frowns~ sounds like Juicy stuff! BUT, I am starting to get Ideas about how to do this. Let me explain a few things though.
FIRST… The polarity of the track is Auto-reversed allready Via Atlas’s TT design, so that need not be done.
Second. There is a seperate lead to the motor then there is to the track (I dont think I needed to say this but just incase).
Third… I am not sure exactly how the Cab Headlights on/off can effect the Motor drive ON/Off unless you use the leads from the decoder assigned to Forward lights and Reverse lights as the leads to the TT motor (???)
FOURTH… Is there A DC/AC current issue with this TT motor, since it runs typically from the Static DC current from a Normal DC power pack.
There will certainly be more questions and answers in the upcoming days as I am about to Trial and Error this situation. So, If anyone has ANYMORE info regarding this before I blow up a few things, Let me know please ~grins~.
the cab headlight doesn’t control the motor in any way , it activates a relay which supplies power to the tracks leading from the turntable to the roundhouse . this is to reduce the possibility of someone just selecting an engine and driving it into the turntable pit without having set the turntable correctly
Ahhhhh, Neato, Makes Since!!
Bump
ereimer is 100% correct. You must use a relay if you use the headlight switch to control track power.
I was all set to bring that up last night, then my computer froze up.
Boglwe,
What Teffy was saying is by using a mobile decoder, you can control your turntable by any throttle and adjust the speed just like you would a locomotive. You can go from max speed to a snail’s crawl making alignment very easy. Only four wires to hook up: 2 for the track power, 2 for the motor power.
Program your TT address to any number you do not intend to use. I don’t use 99 since it is used in some Dispatching methods.
Any cheap 1 amp or 1.5 amp mobile decoder should be plenty. The Atlas motor is strong, but only because it is a gear motor, not because of the motor itself and shouldn’t use but milli-amps of power.
REX [:)]
Ahhh, OK, this all makes since! Thanks, I will get the 19 dollar economy from Digitrax. As far as the TT track, I still dont see any point in putting in the auto-reverse thingy, UNLESS, there is something I am missing!! I dont actually have a roundehouse, the turntable is actually used to turn cars and Loco’s around on a 2x10 switching layout. The turntable is at the end of the left side of the Layout. There is one track that is connected to the programming leads from the DIgitrax DCC booster. But otherwise, its Auto reverses. Now, I am one smart fellow, But I aint to bright sometimes, So, I could certainly be missing something about what you fine folks are saying about the Auto-reversing thingy… BUt, I just double read the last 4 articles on this subject and realize that this is STRICTLY a Roundhouse precation, OK great, On my way to the store now to get the decoder! Thank you so much folks on my learning experience on this subject. ~smiles real big~
i don’t think you’re missing anything about the auto-reverser . the MR article didn’t mention which turntable was being used , i guess that the author’s turntable didn’t have auto-reversing , so he used an auto-reverser that isn’t necessary with the Atlas turntable . also using the headlight /relay to control the track power in the roundhouse isnt’ necessary .
I guess it would have been a very short article if all it said was to hook the decoder to the turntable motor [:D]
LOL, well I am pleased to say that I am quite happy that just hooking the motor up VIA the way we all talked about is as simple as it sounds. And This will be a fun little project!! It will be great to turn the TT with the Throttle on the Digitrax Handheld!! ~cant wait to see that in action~.
Thanks again
I didn’t know that the later Atlas turntable had an automatic polarity reverse. So forget the reverse module.
LOL, well, thank you very much, none the less on the helpfull post and the beggining of great brainstorming here!!
OK, Its 1:59 pm on friday attempting the Dh132 decoder and the turntable motor now, Update coming soon!