Hex Frog Juicer To An Installed Turnout?

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

Can anyone describe how they wired a Hex Frog Juicer to an installed HO turnout (Atlas; Peco)? My particular questions are:

  1. Where specifically is the wire connected at the frog?

  2. Any issues, cautions, or lessons learned drilling the access hole for the wire? I wouldn’t want to turn an Insulfrog into an Electrofrog with a misplaced drill bit.

Of course, this assumes it can be done to an installed turnout…

Thanks.

Rick Krall

2

Rick,

I am assuming you are using a turnout with an insulated metal frog(such as the Atlas Customline). The Hex Frog Juicer has about 6 outputs. Each one goes to a frog. The Atlas turnout has small ring on the side of the frog casting. You can drill/tap it and run a machine screw up from underneath to attach the wire from the Hex Frog Juicer. Soldering can be ‘sorta’ done, but is much easier to use a screw. O course you will want to ‘prep’ teh turnout before you install it! It is much harder to do this after it is installed. On the Peco Insulfrog, I am not sure where you can attach the wire, but soldering may be the best choice there.

Jim

3

Rick,

I installed my Juicer to work the frogs on two Peco three way turnouts that were already installed and came with a wire from each of the 3 frogs on a turnout. I just connected a wire from the Juicer terminals to the wires from the frogs.

No problems. One Juicer works both turnouts flawlessly.

Mark

4

Thanks, Jim. My turnouts are installed but not ballasted, so I can’t do anything from underneath easily. But I took another look and can drill a pilot hole next to the frog per my standard wiring technique, solder 22 AWG to the screw, and use the screw to make contact per your suggestion.

Forspar’s thread, “Energize Frog On Atlas Turnout” has some further suggestions that will help, too.

One further question: You said “sorta solder,” and Randy Rinker, I believe, said “forget soldering” to the Atlas frog. Could you explain why that’s an iffy propostion?

Thanks.

Rick Krall

5

Mark–I have two Peco 3-ways as well, but mine are installed (currently unballasted) and didn’t come with wires pre-installed to the frogs (if I understood your post correctly). That’s going to make those very difficult to wire I’m afraid. I’ll study them further, but they don’t seem to have room in which to work like Atlas does. I can reach them easily, so I can live with the need for manual assistance if necessary.

Rick Krall

6

You might want to take a look at pgs 35-36 of the Q3 (July) issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist. Nice illustrations of wiring switches and frogs showing the frog screw technique for Atlas switches.

7

The Atlas frogs are made out of some sort of metal that’s not brass or nickle-silver. Plus (at least ont he Custom Line COde 83 ones) it’s blackened. I can solder darn near anything, but eve after cleaning off the blackening I was unable to solder to the frog. Plus it’s held in place by being ‘melted’ to the plastic underneat, and even a very slight amount of heat popped it loose. Installing a screw made of something that you can solder to (brass) was the way to go. Other brands may not have this same issue.

–Randy

8

Thanks, all; I’m all set.

Rick Krall