I have 3 Atlas electrical switches that I think I know what they do. They are black, 3" wide and 2" tall, left and right side has two screws, top has 6 screws. In the center there are 3 yellow switch, bottom says off and top says on.
What I think they are for is turning on and off power to the rails in sections so there is are dead spots. Hook a bus wire say to the left side, then feeder to the top over the on and off switch.
What I like to use them for is the new industrial area I made. I want to added a 3rd thottel that not a problem. But the B line can (hauls the long freight) can run into the new area. I want to use the B line thottle in that section, that is why I am asking about the electrical swithches. Use them when I want to run the B thottel, but kill the power when I use the industrail thottel. All the turn outs have plactic joiners on the toe’s that will not be a problem.
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It’s an Atlas “Connector.” It looks to me like it’s 3 DPST switches, on-off, both rails. From your description, it will do what you want. You can do with SPST, in general, but as long as you’ve got this thing already you might as well use it.
Make sure you buzz it out before you install it. Atlas slide switches in general don’t have a good reputation for reliability. I’d hate to see you go to the trouble of mounting it on your control panel only to discover that one of the switches is broken. On the other hand, I had a couple of similar units that worked perfectly for years, so you may have one of the good ones.
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Atlas describes the Selector as “An Atlas electrical device that enables the operation and control of two trains at the same time.” From looking at it, I can’t figure what it’s actually doing. It looks like it’s got 4 DPDT switches, but it’s got 2 inputs, 2 pass-through outputs for the inputs, and 4 additional terminals for outputs. Maybe it’s 4 SPDT’s, with the outputs as the center posts. That’s not going to support reversing, though.
I’ll stick to DCC. No blocks, no kill switches for sidings.
As Mr.B has already stated, this switch will work fine for what you have in mind! Some folk don’t like the surface wiring…But is straight forward! And Mr. B is right…trouble shoot / clean it up, as some do last “forever”, while others seem to have troubles.
I sent out a PM regarding our missed phone call…And additional info.
The Atlas Connector is 3 SPST slide switches. Used to turn power on or off at 3 sections of track or 3 accessories. Only one power source can be connected to these.
The Atlas Selector is 4 SPDT center off slide switches. These are normally used to select which of 2 power packs will power a given section of track.
Atlas assumes common rail wiring; insulated rail joiners are only required in one rail. If you insulate both rails (not a bad practice at all), one of the rails gets fed directly from the power source, while the other goes through the Atlas switch.
I’ve not seen any failures with the Connector or Selectors, just with the turnout switch machine controllers. The Atlas switch machine controllers have a slide, then push for momentary operation of the switch machine that will occasionally stick in the “on” position. When the controller switch sticks, the built-in factory smoke in the switch machine is released, and the switch machine can no longer work its magic.
Before switching to DCC earlier this year, my layout was still using Atlas Selectors that were 20 years old without any issues. They are a simple way to setup your layout for use with block control. They are still installed in fact with the DCC system hooked up to CAB B. Don’t worry, I unplug either the power pack or the DCC system and remove the inappropriate locos when ever switching between the two systems.
After talking with Ken at K-10 Trains I am going a driffrent way. He said a Double Pole Double Throw with a netural would be WAY SAFER. Has he said I would be flurtting with nasty melt down if I forget to turn the power off when the other thottle is turned on.
The switches will come in handy for other stuff, but I am going to play it safe. I love my MRC 9500 and last thing I want to do is melt it down.
A DPDT with a center off is ideal for 2-cab control. Cab A, Cab B, or off. Always good to have an Off position.Operating rule is generally when your train leaves the block, flip the toggle to off.
To just turn buildign lights on and off, a SPST is fine. The Atlas Connector is acually a DPST. The Selector is SPDT - Atlas components are set up to wire with common rail.
Randy is right…it’s actually a SPST switch …it’s sort of like 6 on / off switches…I would not use the Atlas connector for cab control …the one to use is the Atlas selector…
This device has connections for the A or B throttle…(and if you place it in the middle position it sort of acts like a center off switch.
The way to wire it is from throttle A, one wire goes directly to the track and the other wire on the power pack goes to a post on the side of the selector labeled the A side (or the top side post) and then from one at the 4 top posts, a wire goes to a track that has been insulated.
The same applies to the B side exept the wire from the throttle of the B pack goes to the bottom post on the B side of the selector . These work best if you use common rail wiring. But if you insulate both sides of the track and run commons from the power pack to each block they will work just like standard wiring.
There are enough posts on the Atlas Selector to operate 4 separate blocks with either the A or B power pack…chuck
