The Rapido EZ-peasey circuit board has an IC that handles the latching from a pulse from the momentary reed switch.
Cheers, Ed
Got it. Thanks all.
Do they make latching Reed switches that power up in the closed state? I’d hate to have to walk around with a wand every time I walk into the train room and power up the layout.
Barrel connectors might be a solution. They don’t need as much of an opening to get through the layout base.
My layout stood for years before I dismantled it to move. In all that time, I seldom had to remove a structure once in place.
A latching reed switch is essentially a mechanical device and stays in the last position directed with a magnet with or without power. Like a normal switch only operated with a magnet.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Onewolf
If you don’t plan on more than one circuit per building I used the brass rod connectors for over 30 years and they never gave me any problems, simple and cheap. I have only gone to the micro connectors for my houses with multiple room lighting driven from a random lighting controller. I don’t plan on changing any of my single circuit structures.
I flare the brass tubes for easier rod insertion with a sharp awl or ice pick. I also file the rod ends to a point so they slip in easily.
You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.
Onewolf,
I have used those connectors in several past projects and they work well. However, for the lighting in my current N scale building, I wanted something a bit smaller so I went with a 2 pin JST connector like these from Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0188YKCFC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They work well also but they require you to crimp a small pin in the wire and you need a special tool like this one to do it right.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OMM4YUY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have been struggeling with the best way to place building on my layout such that I can easily remove them. Randy’s magnetic approach sounds like it would work good for me and I will experiment with it. Probably use it for placement but not as an electrical path.
The magnets work great on the houses that I overhauled for the random lighting.
I went with ⅛” D x ⅜ L neodymium magnets to hold the houses in place. I glued one in each corner.
I used a second magnet in scenery base to attach to each magnet in the structure. The picture above has the base anchor magnet attached to the glued magnet.
I made a paper template of the footprint and drilled 3/16” holes for the base magnets, filled the holes with silicone glue and dropped the houses in place.
