I have the power master, the comand base , 135 watt power house and the cab-1 remote and i am using lionel fastrack i am thinking of adding switches to my layout after i get a SC-2 Switch and Accessory Controller is there any thing else i need like a trans former to run the switches i dont have the SC-2 yet i am wondering if i can use track power with the switches along with SC-2 because i am powering my layout with the 135 watt powerhouse if so please expain thanks flemming
That should be all you need. They are pretty simple to wire with the SC-2, actually easier than the remote control furnished with the switch. Of course you can wire them to operate both ways but that is only a little more complicated.
That should just about do it.
The SC-2 can operate 6 turnouts. However, if you have a pair of turnouts creating a crossover, you can probably wire them both to the same terminal on the SC-2 so they switch together thus giving you control of more than 6.
Also, keep in mind that if you are planning on upgrading to the new Legacy system, You may want to wait until it’s realeased as there may be some compatibility issues with current components such as the SC-2 and the ASC components.
Mike
Be aware that FasTrack switches should not be wired to position 1 of the SC2. There is a note in the FasTrack switch manual detailing the warning. The problem is that the FasTrack switch will chatter when a loco is on the switch if the switch is wired to position 1 of the SC2.
Earl
I just hooked up my fasttrack switches to the SC2. Being my typical self I wired the first switch into slot 1. It did not work. After letting of a little steam I read the instructions. You can not wire fasttrack into slot 1. I have 6 switches so only 5 are hooked up now. The sixth one is on a siding and does not need to be operated by remote so it worked out. I just used the switch provided for it. Moral of the story, read the instructions, even if you think you know what you are doing. LMAO
I believe I had read a thread on the OGR forum discussing a modification that can be done to the SC-2 to allow normal use of the 1st post. I believe that it involved cutting through a connection on the PC board. Naturally, this would void the warranty.
To Lionel:
It is time to issue a fix so that current users can have full access to all of the switch positions on the SC-2. Afterall, both the SC-2 and FasTrack switches were designed by Lionel. There is no excuse for them not being fully compatible.
Earl
I forgot to mention the problem with position one in my first post. It is not only fastrack switches that can cause a problem, in general the experts (that does not include me) recomend that position one not be used at all. I have 3 of them in use and do not use position one on any of them. Also had one other postion die on me but didn’t replace it as I still had a spare. I agree that Lionel should correct this problem and thought they may have done it, but if the fastrack switches still contain this warning, I guess they have not. I use the route system and it works great, throwing as many as 3 switches to set up a route. It is programed so that they don’t all throw at the same time, there is a few seconds delay between each activation. BTW I am using Atlas switches in the portion of the layout controlled by SC2s. I also use the separate power supply rather than track power to power the SC2s.
I used the SC-2 position 1 on earlier Lionel tubular switches and didn’t have any problems. What switches or accessories, other then FasTrack switches, have problems on position 1 of the SC-2>
Earl
The issue with the first post on the SC-2 and FastTrack has to do with the internal wiring of both devices and how you provide power for both devices. The updated FastTrack switch owners manual just advices not using Post 1. I’ve been using Post 1 for quite a while without problems but that may have more to do with how I chose to power the SC-2 AND the FastTrack switches.
The SC-2 can be powered by a) external wall wart, b) aux power input (what I use), and c) track power (there are a lot of caveats re this). I always found b) the best and easiest method. I’ve never had trouble with signal reception by using the aux input as the common wire on the supply was also carying the TMCC signal. I also use the AUX power input for the switches. While FastTrack switches have an internal voltage regulator and usually work fine off of track power, I think that by using the AUX port on both devices I may have avoided the issue of chatter on position 1 on the SC-2 (or I was just lucky)[:)]
Chuck, I tried powering the switches with track power and then auxilliary power. The switches attached to position 1 on the SC-2 still chattered when a loco or car rolled over the switches, regardless of the power source. The switches would throw properly. The only problem was the chattering. The chattering is generally not visible, but is audible if you listen closely. My concern was that the switches would wear prematurely due to the chattering.
Earl
How was the SC-2 powered?
Originally, I used track power. Later, I switched to aux power using the ‘B’ circuit of the ZW set at 18v. The switches connected to position 1 of the SC-2 usually chattered (about 95% of the time) whenever a car or loco was on the switch regardless of the power source.
I am also using the SC-2 exclusively with Atlas switches. I thought I would give position 1 a try; it has worked for me. I do not perceive any problems - chattering or otherwise. I use position 1 - 4 for switches and position 5 - 6 for accessories. I have been running it that way for two years . With my switch configuration, I would have needed to buy an additional SC-2 and run a lot of additional wiring if I did not use position 1. I have seen numerous postings about the FastTrack switch incompatibility with position 1 and would not recommend using position 1 with the FastTrack switches.
I power the switches (and therefore the SC2 via position 1) on a seperate bus connected to the 16V post on a K-Line PowerChief transformer. I tried using a 1033 but it did not
I don’t know. Mine didn’t chatter. There may be varaitions in the switches themselves or the SC-2’s. I have noticed revisions to the online docs re this so it is an issue.
I use three SC-2 Controllers, including position one for switches, and never had a problem running my MTH Realtrax switches. I am using track power to run the switches. Never heard a chatter or a buzz, just a good hard slam as the switch moves.
Now I did have a problem with one controller until I oriented it a different direction to pick up the TMCC signal from the track. After re-orientation if works perfect. It runs accessories only.
Hello all,
Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I am planning a layout, and thinking about power/tmcc accessories I’ll need, when I happened upon this thread. I understand that I can’t use the FasTrack switches on terminal 1 of the SC2 unless I modify the sc-2.
I was planning to use a cw-80 to power the switches in the layout (but not the track, which will be powered by a ZW). If I leave terminal 1 vacant, and use the sc-2 for 5 switches, can I also power the sc-2 with the same cw-80 powering the switches? Or is the wall-wart a better alternative here?
The sc-2 manual makes it seem as if you shouldn’t use the wall wart or accessory power for the sc-2 if you are using it only for switches, but I’m unsure if this was only in reference to the situation where you are using a switch to power the sc-2 through terminal 1.
Thanks!
-Wix