I want to buy some DPDT switches for controlling Tortoise switch machines.
Where do you get yours from. I went to Radio Shack and they only had one of the one I thought I should buy (does anyone have a part number?), but that one was a center off switch which, I think, is not really what you want for a Tortise machine.
Can you get these at Home Depot?
Thanks for your help.
Ken
i bought a bunch of switches at a surplus electronics store (for $1 each including mounting nuts and washers) , but i have the advantage of living in a large city that has several great surplus shops .
i’m sure i read something here or elsewhere indicating that center off was the way to go , but i don’t remember why ! that’s what i bought so i hope i’m right
Hi KKEIFE, You might want to try here: http://www.mouser.com/mountainswitch/ They have just about anything electronic you can think of. This page takes to the Toggle Switch dept. I have purchased some items here and found them to be very good.
And… You are right that you do NOT want the center off type for the Tortiose Switches.
Demar Electronics (demarelectonrics.com) has advertised in MRR for quite some time. Right now their ad has DPDT switches for 96 cents apiece. Sounds like a pretty good bargain compared to the prices at radio shack.
The reason you don’t want center off switches is that tortoises (or Torti?) are designed to have power constantly on either one way or the other so there is no need to have a center off position on the switch as it will never be used. (saves .06 per switch!).
I used 2 power sourses(Surpluse charging units for $2.5} and spdt. I have center off because they were $.50, but you don’t have to stop. They wok quite well.
Don’t you really want SPDT (Single-Pole, Double-Throw) switches for switch machines? Is there something about Tortoises that wants DPDT?
Yep! You have to be able to reverse the direction (polarity) of the DC current to change the direction of the switch. That requires a DPDT toggle. Wire it so that the input reverses as the switch is thrown. The back of the toggle will have the wiring look like an X on the outside connectors and the center pair will feed to the tortoise leads #1 and #8.
Some on-line sources of DPDT switches:
http://www.allelectronics.com
http://www.jameco.com
http://www.mouser.com
http://www.digikey.com
I get them from home depot
You can use SPDT with two power supplies. Lots less wire and they work great. Surplse chargeing units do the trick.
What about automated reverse loop wiring? Are there some good kits that can make the polarity reverse automated for regular analog trains?
I looked at our Home Depot today.
They want 5.39 Each for DPDT switches. Sheeeesssh.
Well, to be fair to Home Depot, I think those switches are probably made to carry much more electricity than the one’s we need.
I know Radio Shack wants $5.00 a piece fo a DPDT minature switch, I got mine at jameco for $1.29, new ,not used. Some online electronic warehouses sell used products, buyer beware.