I have a shin-o-hara turnout that when I put it in the closed position it shorts our the layout. I suspect this means it is non DCC. Can it be modified or do I need to replace it? I bought two turnouts at the same time, however only one seems to short out the layout.
The turnout in question is being used for a branch line off of the primary main, and doesn’t even have electrical feeders connected to the branch yet, so I know I did “cross the wires”. Thoughts?
It has NOTHING to do with DCC. This is the 4th or 5th thread in the last week concerning Shinohara electrical problems topic. Was there a natonal sale or super clearance on them somewhere?
A short circuit is a short circuit whether one is using DC, AC, DCC, Railcommand, TCS, DCS, or any other form of electricity.
I am guessing the turnout that is causing the problem is in a loop of track, true? If so the loop is causing the power to go around the track and back to the other side. The generic way to deal with Shinohara turnouts without having to analyze the situation is to ALWAYS insulate or gap both the rails coming from the frog. Then add electrical feeders as necessary.
Take out the offending turnout and put the other one in its place.
If your wiring is the problem, that second turnout will short out just like the first turnout.
Rich
Older Shinohara turnouts were not “DCC Ready” and require that both rails diverging from the frog be insulated. The only time you would not need to do so is for a dead-end siding, but the main line would still need to be insulated.
The turnout in question is the start of my branch line which does dead-end just like a long siding. How do you insulate the main? Thanks for all your help.
NILE,
Did you swap the two turnouts to see if your wiring was the problem?
Rich
Nile.
Putting insulated joiners at the two rails that v out from the frog or cut a gap in those two rails.
Pete
Older Shinohara turnouts had little bronze wipers attached to the points, which went under the stock rails to make a better electrical connection than the normal flat point to flat(tened) stock rail. Problem was, they would both contact the stock rails at the same time (make before break, in electrical parlance) and effectively short one stock rail to the other. This wasn’t even noticeable with DC power, but even a short that lasts less than a millisecond will trip a DCC system off-line.
Look into the space between the open point and the adjacent stock rail. If you see that telltale brazen gleam, take action to amputate the wipers, on both sides.
Then, to assure that the frog is properly powered, connect one set of the contacts on your switch machine to the frog (center or moving contact) and the stock rails (fixed contacts.) Make sure that the rail with the closed point is the one powering the frog.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Put an insulated rail joiner or cut a gap in the rail coming out from the frog connected to the main.
I switched it out with an Atlas switch an no more shorts. I wonder if the Shin-o-hara was pre-DCC or just a bad piece of track.
Nile.
Did you have the two frog rails insulated? I suspect that the frog was not entirely isolated. The turnout can be salvaged using the link earlier in the post. The work is easier to do at the workbench.
Pete
I might have missed it, but I looked through several times and don’t see a link.
I’m sorry.
I must have mixed up posts. Here is the link. http://www.proto87.com/making-rtr-turnouts-dcc-friendly.html
Sorry. I reply to many posts and get mixed up sometimes. Must come with age.
Pete
I am guessing neither. Until it is wired correctly one cannot tell if it is “bad”.