I realize that these machines are stall type machines & can be used with standard maintained contact DT switches, but, does the electric need to be constantly applied or will these machines maintain their position even with power removed?
power is recommended. Power draw is minimal. You can wire up a tortoise for signaling this way.
Mine stay switched, but why not always have the current there as suggested in the directions?
Mine are always powered on. They can ‘slip’ a little of powered off. A Tortoise only draws about .015-.018 amps when in ‘stall’ - A 1 amp power supply can power 60 of them at the same time! Mine are powered by an old ‘wall wart’ 12VAC/.850 amp power supply - should be good for about 50 Totoise motors…
Jim
I use DP/DT On /Off /On switches for my tortoise machines. The power is always on but if I happen to turn the power off by switching to the “Off” position, they will remain in that same position.
Short answer is no. They will relax a little when the power is cut, but usually not enough to move the points off the side rail. I ran one portable module for two GATS shows without any power to the turnouts. There were no problems (that would have been one train over the turnouts at a mimum of 1 per minute for 32 hours straight). Be warned, it still could cause problems in less than ideal installations.
At our club everyone insisted that they would only work with power applied all the time, so I rigged a very important part of the main yard with intermittent power. At the end of the session I asked if anyone had noticed any problems with the new tortoise drives. There was not a single complaint.
The nice thing about intermittent power is that the turnouts can be controlled from multiple panels without having to run wires between the panels.
There are electronic circuits that allow temporary contact switches to ‘latch’ the power so it remains constant on the turnout motors even though the electrical switches aren’t. This will probably be our club’s ultimate solution.
The tension on the throw bar does drop somewhat without power applied. You can sometimes hear it relax. Is this enough to lets the points move? I don’t know. I’ve never taken that chance. This is a good question. Maybe someone else out there has tried it over the long haul and can let us know.
Karl
EDIT: Wow! Someone answered while I was writing. This forum is the best.
thanks for all of the responses…I have not started to install any of these…but was really just curious if it could be done.
It’s best to have power applied all the time, BUT on my friend’s layout, he is using pushbuttons since he has a mix of switch motors (some Tortoise, some screw-drive type that don’t need constant power) along with his handlaid track and even though you can hear the Tortoise back off a little whent he power is cut off, the points stay closed with plenty of tension. Consider though that he is in N scale, using fine scale standards and hinged points. They don’t take much pressure to move, and the throw distance is miniscule compared to how far the Tortoise moves. In an HO scale turnout with a longer throw distance (say Atlas, which have a particularly long throw distance - thus the Caboose ground throw made specifically for them), the backing off may be enough to allow the closed point to come away from the rail and a subsequent train to pick the points.
–Randy