Hi everybody. I'm looking into building a huge yard in Z, so I really don't want to try to afford the 50(?) or so tortoises needed. Does anyone know where I can find bottom mount solenoid snap switches? Thanks.
I'm looking for just the solenoid switch itself, not the whole turnout. I'll be handlaying those. This is also in Z scale, so Atlas isn't any help.
Doc; I've never seen solenoid switches for manual turnouts that weren't made for a particular brand of manual turnout. What brand of turnouts are you using? I just checked MicroTrains and they don't offer any for their Z turnouts. By the way, from everything I've heard snap switches have very short life-spans compared to tortoise units. I know... that doesn't help.
I was speaking of only the switch machine. If you can't adapt it to Z I don't think I can suggest anything. Sorry. Ben
The Atlas under table switch machine is designed with c55 N-scale turnouts in mind. They cost almost as much as the Tortoise and I would be concerned about the throw distance being excessive for Z, slamming your poor l'il turnouts from side to side. The Tortoise is infinitely more gentle, and adjustable to boot (although it is a tad large , especially in yard ladder applications.
I echo Doug's concern about the solenoid machines slamming the switches, particularly hand-built. My thoughts are also something like the Tortoise with the adjustable throw. Substituting the supplied throw wire for a lighter wire would reduce the pressure even more. Footprint is an issue, though, but can be overcome with alternative arrangements. If a powered switch machine is not required maybe the Blue Point unit may be of use. Similar in operation to the Tortoise except manual, and a smaller footprint.
Unfortunately, we're talking 50-75 switches, so a tortoise-style setup is out of the question finance-wise. However, I have been talking with a machinist friend who has suggested circular throw solenoids from potentiometer controls. Small, short throw, designed for long-term use, and, best of all, cheap. Thanks for everyone's insight. I will likely put in tortoises in the mainline and runaround track, but will snap-switch the rest. Control of the whole thing will be PC controlled DCC...lots of fun figuring that out! Keep on railing!
Doc; Be sure to post your progress on adapting these to your Z scale turnouts. Pictures would be very much appreciated.
Understandable about the cost of fitting such a yard with that number of machines. At best pricing you're looking at $600-900 just for the yard! The circular throw solenoids do sound interesting and not as drastic as off-the-shelf solenoids available. As Lownen has suggested, please keep us informed of progress.
Update.... I found solenoids, for about $1.50 per, but now I don't know which kind of decoder to use. All I need is DC power on or off. Help?!? :tb-confused: I know enough about DCC to get myself into serious trouble, but not enough to get back out.....
Interesting project. What are the electrical characteristics of the solenoid..Voltage, Current draw etc...I am wondering if a Digitrax DS64 would work.
Are you using two of these together to make a push-pull solenoid? I would think if you did, you could use a NCE Snap-it decoder. Or you can just use DC to control the turnouts.
The solenoids I'm looking at (I'll try to have the specs next time I'm logged in) are spring loaded, so just an on/off with a number designation would be all I need (I think)...
Hmmm...sound like the spring holds the plunger in one direction, and the solenoid pulls it in the other direction only when voltage is applied. If this is the case and current draw is more than maybe 20 ma, they are likely NOT suitable for turnout control. Twin coil solenoid type switch machines are push-pull and are activated using momentary pulses of current. Continuous current will burn out the solenoid (Atlas snap-switches are this type). Stall motor types (e.g., Tortoise) use continuous current of one polarity or another, and typically draw no more than 20-25 ma when stalled, 5-10 ma when travelling. A stationary deoder such as the DS64 can be configured to provide pulses for twin-coil machines, or continuous voltage for stall motors. If your spring-loaded solenoids draw no more than a stalled Tortoise, you can use any of the Tortoise compatable decoders, with a series diode to allow current to flow in one direction only.
Ahhh, a sad morning...I just looked at the specs...250mA @ 24V....:tb-sad: I guess I should keep looking.....
