Hi, I’m using PECO N scale, code 55 electro-frog turnouts and want to install with PECO switch motors. Also want to connect to my Bruce Chubb C/MRI signalling system. Track is laid on cork roadbed on top of foam insulation board.
Other than the switch motor, what other PECO products do I need per switch motor? There are adapters, DCC connectors, etc. Assuming I’m attaching the switch motor direct to the switch, then what other PECO product(s) do I need to attach to the switch motor?
Not asking about how to wire the motor or the electro-frog turnout.
All you need to operate the turnout is the switch machine. The only “accessory” you might want is the gadget that provides an SPDT contact set so that you can run signals. I’m not sure what the signalling system requires.
I’ve found that Peco twin-coil machines need more power than Atlas machines. Needed or not, a capacitive discharge circuit, either purchased or home-made, is a worthwhile investment for all of your twin-coils.
When I mount a Peco machine, I include a thin piece of cardboard between the machine and the turnout, notched out for the mounting points and the throwbar. This simple addition covers the big opening necessary for mounting the machine beneath the track, and makes it possible to ballast the turnout without getting stray material into the switch machine.
If you are going to connect them to a C/MRI system, you’ll want SM1 interfaces to connect your output cards to the switch motors. The SM1 includes a capacitor discharge supply to operate the motors.
If you might do something different later, you might want to check which motors you buy, Peco has 2 versions, one is a lower current version designed to be driving by DCC stationary decoders an so forth, and while the SM1 can handle any Peco motor, the lower current ones are I believe the same price and would make more sense for electronic controls. Hmm, looked, the PL-10W is about a buck more than the PL-10
You will probably want the contact sets Peco has for their motors to power the frogs. The PL-15 is two sets of contacts, thus you’d have one for the frog power and the other to feed back into the Chubb input cards to detect turnout position.
Thanks for the reply. Don’t understand the need/reason for the capacitive discharge circuit. I know that there is a low amp version of the PECO switch machine. Any opinion on whether the low amp version is better or eliminates/diminishes the need for a capacitive discharge circuit?
And thanks for the cardboard between the machine and turnout suggestion. Been wondering how to handle the ballast issue – especial on the side that isn’t under the track. (I’m in N scale) I suppose I’ll need to cut off the metal protrusions on the side that isn’t under the track.
A typical twin-coil circuit is a power supply, a single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) momentary contact toggle, and the switch machine. These components are normally separated by some distance, and connected through relatively thin wires. When you add up the resistive loss of all that wire, a lot of the power available from the supply gets used up before it even gets to the machine.
Moreover, the Peco turnout itself has that nifty little spring to hold the points against the stock rails. The Peco machine is much stronger than an Atlas, because it needs the extra power to push the points over against the resistance of that spring. That power has to come from somewhere.
A CD circuit stores energy. When idle, it draws power from the power supply and saves it in a capacitor. When you engage the toggle, all that reserved power goes out at once, providing a much stronger kick over a very short time. That short time is important, too. After the initial pulse, the current is limited, which protects the switch machine from burnout for those rare times when the toggle sticks in the ON position.
You can buy a CD circuit like the Snapper by Circuitron, or make one yourself for a few dollars in Radio $hack parts. It’s two resistors, two capacitors and a bridge rectifier if you’re using an AC supply.
You don’t even need the capacitor discharge units.
Just get the NCE Snap-it acceesory decoders, they are around $15/ea. They are made for the twin coil machines.
Trust me on this. I have over 25 Peco switches, With the PL-10W for DCC switch machines. And the NCE Snap-it’s. I use my throttle to throw every switch on my layout. I don’t have any CDs and have never burned out a switch machine in almost 4 years.
Since Snap-Its also include built-in Capacitor Discharge circuity, it would appear that you do have CDs on your layout, as it happens, at least for the machines connected to Snap-Its.
Exactly - most of the stationary decoders meant for twin-coil switch motors have capacitor discharge units built in - the aformentioned Snap-It, the Digitrax DS-64, a few others.
For covering up the hole left from installing the switch motor I use .10 black styrene. I cut a piece of the styrene to size in the shape of a U, slide it under the rail, and then close the U with another piece of styrene.
Grey styrene might be better but the black works well.
Well, if they are controlled by a module like the Snap-It, even if it didn;t have the capacitor, it should never fry the motor, unless something went really wrong with the code in the little microcontroller on it that allowed the current to stay on. Unlike manually operated pushbuttons and momentary toggles that can have the contacts or the operating arm stick and keep the power on.
Back when I use HO stuff like powered Snap-Switches, I never ever burned any out, despite using the standard buttons they came with. Some of the ones I had were actually Tyco from the 60’s. They were built much heavier than today’s - the modern Atlas Snap-Track switch machine is much smaller than the ones on any I ever had. Then I went to N scale for a while - I burned out 5 or 6 despite being very careful with the operating buttons and not pressing them for an extended period of time or anything. They were just very touchy. I built a CDU, never burned out another.
A stationary decoder liek the Snap-It uses the CDU more for the reasons of keeping the pulse time down while still delivering a good snap (keeps the components that switch the power cooler) and also to keep from putting a heavy draw on the DCC bus where they get power. If you truied to run solenoid motors from the same train set pack you ran the trains with in DC, they usually slowed down when you threw a switch. Using a seperate power pack for the turnouts, or adding a CDU fixed that. Having the voltage suddenly die even for a few millisconds on DCC can do more than just momentarily slow the speed of the trains running.