Looking for low voltage relay for AC accessories (like on a standard HO train set).
I am interested in finding low voltage relays that can trigger standard AC track accessory voltage. Circuitron has a product called the TC-2 that does what I want:
http//www.circuitron.com/index_files/ins/800-5605ins.pdf
The TC2 is $40, which is pricey for the number I would need to buy.
This has 4 relays for $29. This is affordable, but I can’t tell that it supports AC power (like the accessories on a standard HO power transformer). I’ve emailed Pricom a number of times and can’t get a response from them.
Does anyone have a line on something that might do what I’m looking for that isn’t as costly as the TC-2?
A relay will switch either AC or DC, a DC relay coil will work on AC with a series diode.
We need a bit more info, what voltage and current will you be switching.
I use quite a few relays on and around my layout, for best price I buy a 8 relay Arduino board off eBay for $4.50 Free S&H. The relays have a 5 VDC coil and can be powered by a $5 wall wart. A single 1 amp wall wart will handel several boards.
The board above has 8 relays for $4.50 off eBay.
The relay contacts are rated at 10 Amps at 120 volts. The assembly is very compact with screw terminals for switching and a 10 pin Arduino connector for drive to the coils. The coil inputs are optical coupled.
You definitely need to provide more information on what you are trying to do, as the two references are totally different. The TC-2 is built explicity to control twin coil snap swith machines (e.g. atlas switch machines) and work with their DT-4 detection although you can toggle the turnout with a pushbutton. The TC-2 works that whenever a train approaches the turnout from the point side it will toggle which direction the turnout allows the train to go, or you can toggle it with the pushbutton as shown in their instructions.
The Dream power switcher simply turns on a DPDT (double pole double throw) relay when five volts is applied to the correct control input, which they do by holding down a pushbutton in their example video. If you want to turn on/off an AC accessory like a street or bulding light then you could use this and replace the push button with a toggle switch, but that is really a waste as you could just use a toggle switch to control the accessory directly. If you wanted some kind of automated control from a microcontroller (arduino, raspber
