I am getting ready to install and wire a Tortoise switch machine (my first), does anyone know of an edge connector that will slide onto the male connector?
Edge connectors are available from several suppliers such as Empire Northern Models, Ulrich Hobby Shop, Litchfield Station, Tony’s Trains, etc., as well as some electronics suppliers such as Mouser if you know what to look for in their catalog or on-line.
Here’s a link to Ulrich’s site: http://www.ulrichmodels.biz/servlet/the-274/Tortoise-Card-Edge-Connector/Detail
You can find others by searching for “Tortoise Edge Connector” using Google, Yahoo, etc.
You still have to be able to solder, though, so you’re just as well off by soldering wires to the Tortoise before installing it and then connecting them to a barrier strip using crimp connectors.
Medina,
I do exactly as Cacole suggests, I use low voltage underground lighting wire, which comes in many colors in a single cable. It is about 14awg, in one sheath. On the workbench I connect a foot or two of the wire to the Tortise, crimp on connectors then attach it to a barrier terminal strips. I attach all wires wether or not I am going to use them. I install the Tortise, then attach the terminal strip to the benchwork.
The terminal strips and the LV wire are both available at Home Depot, Lowes…Which is fine if you want to overpay, but the terminal strips, terminals and wire are all much less expensive at the electronics suppliers like Mouser, I personally prefer DigiKey. I also by my other switches, speakers for DCC and most electronic parts at DigiKey. If you want one or two quick Home Depot works.
Paul
Dayton and Mad River RR
My LHS stocks the edge connectors. He suggested trying them when I bought my first Tortoise machines, and I’ve found them very convenient. I think they’re overpriced, but they are still cheaper than barrier strips.
They aren’t perfect. There is a bit of sideways “slop” in how they can be installed, and if you don’t get them right they may not make full contact. After they are installed, though, they’re fine.
The connectors will fit both ways, so you can rotate them 180 degrees. The way they arranged the pins on the Tortoise, flipping the connector around will reverse the direction of throw, so if you make a mistake and wire the toggle backwards, you can easily correct it.
I have all my Tortoises wired up for switch operation, but a few weeks ago I went back in and wired some of them up to power the frogs on the turnouts. I also added a signal bridge, controlled by the contacts on the bottom of two Tortoises. This would have been a royal pain in the patootie if I’d had to do the wiring below the layout, but it was easy with the edge connectors.
I use these connectors and they work very well. I also found the Tortoise installation was far easier when using hex head screws, with the appropriate driver, instead of the screws that come with the switch machine.
Good Luck, this installation is not one of my favorite tasks on a model railroad…[sigh]
Wayne
I think edge connectors for Tortoise machines are a complete waste of time and money. I’ve yet to see one, even an 8-pin socket, fit a Tortoise without enough slop to short out the contacts if it’s installed incorrectly or somehow hit or moved after installation. It doesn’t save any time on installation as you still have to solder all the wires to it just as if you soldered the wires to the Tortoise directly.
The best way, IMHO, to install a Tortoise electrically is to use a barrier strip as it provides for easy testing of connections and a totally secure strain relief on the wiring/Tortoise. I recommend the “Euro-style” and not the old fashioned black plastic ones as the Euro’s are easier and faster to use, not to mention less expensive (Mouser lists Euro’s for $2.61 ea. vs. $3.20 for black plastic barriers).
I start with 8-conductor 22AWG cable and cut it around 18" long. It’s color coded, so pick a color code and stick to it for all 8 pins. On the workbench, I strip the cable and solder it to the Tortoise machine. I also strip the other end of the cable, but only strip bare the power wires to the Tortoise. When installing the Tortoise, you can use a 9v battery to test the machine’s operation. After installation, secure a Euro-style barrier strip near the Tortoise wherever it’s handy (hopefully within a foot or so). Cut and strip the cable to fit the barrier strip and install the wires in order. One can connect the power wires from the toggle, frog wires, and panel indication wires to the barrier strip. Note that all connections under the layout are made without soldering. All soldering is done on the workbench and not over my head. I’ve installed literally a couple hundred of these machines, and soldering under the layout gets old real fast.
Currently, www.digikey.com has 8-pin edge connectors for $1.41 ea. (Digikey Part No.: 3-640133-8-ND) if you really want to use
Greenway products have some good edge connectors.
I use a Red paint pen to put a line on the Tortise and edge connector indicating where pin No 1 is. Then I can remove the connector and always know which way to reinstall it. I make a short wire harness at the bench usning the connector and about 15-18inches of wire. I also use a barrier strip under each Tortise for my connections to the power and track. I made labels to use on each turnout and number them so I know exactly what goes where. So far it has been very fool proof and you can always see what controls what.
-Bob
Hi Bob Very nice description. I see many in the forums who give answers which are nice, but a picture is worth a thousand words and reduces confusion to those not famailiar with the issue being discussed. Sometimes a good link to another site can be very helpful. Rich
Bob,
I like your sticker lables. That’s a well-done idea, although I do wonder how long they’d last (with my luck, they’d all fall off after a wicked humid summer). [:)]
Still, I have to ask you… Have you ever had any need to unplug a Tortoise machine? Pretty much, you are doing the exact same thing my club does, using the Euro-style barrier strip, color coding the wires, etc. But we don’t use an edge connector. In the past 10 years or so, we’ve installed almost 300 Tortoise machines on our layout (www.ssmrc.org). Not one has ever needed to be replaced…except for the one that someone drilled down through the top of (they were drilling a feeder wire and drilled through a Tortoise instead…oops!).
Otherwise, Tortoise machines have a great reliability record. So why use an edge connector? I totally would understand if they were like solenoid switches, which occasionally fail or can even melt if someone leans on the toggle too long. But Tortoise machines just don’t fail.
Paul A. Cutler III
At our club we don’t use edge connectors, but we do use something similiar. The guy that does the installations has some sort of connector that solders to the Tortoise, and has a mating disconnectable piece that one can solder the wires to and then attach to the first piece. He likes these because they are cheaper than an edge connector. I don’t care for them because they are more of a home-built thing and I don’t like the way the wires are attached. But since he’s doing the installations, I don’t say much.
We have had several Tortoise failures. Besides the couple that some less than competent indiividuals drilled into (maybe they were members at your place before they joined here), we just had one that was dead out of the box. We have also had a couple that failed in service. When disassembled, it was found that the metal wiper piece on the moveable arm had loosened and fallen off the plastic arm. Apparently the metal piece is positioned on a couple plastic pins that are then hot-melted to mush them over. Our “master mechanic” was able to repair these by drilling and tapping for some small screws. Anyhow, because we had used the connectors it was relatively easy to swap out the machines.
At home I use the edge connectors. I just don’t do enough soldering to be proficient and would rather not have to do so overhead. I realize that I could do the soldering before the machine installation, but then I’d have 5 or more wires dangling in my face while trying to install the machine. I have enough frus