I am looking for a rotary switch , at least a 6 to 8 position to energize my 6 staging tracks one at at time instead of using on / off switch for each track . This I figure, will keep me from runing two trains at the same time . Anyone using this approach ? TIA Paul
Paul, I use to buy 6pdt and 11pst rotary switches at radio shack 20+ years ago. I don't know if they still sell them or not. If you are only trying to control one wire, the 11pst would work best and give you 8 tracks plus and an off position. Glenn
Radio shack has them..At least,they did last time I looked? I'm gonna use rotary switches for turnout control.All the coils will be wired to the same two pushbuttons in the panel,so each button will send power to one side of all the switches at the same time,the rotary switch will only energize the common side of the coils of the selected machine..10 switches can be controlled with one 10 position rotary switch,two buttons,and 15 wires..I may even try a plug in walkaround for smaller switching areas.. .
The Radio Shack web site lists 197 switches, but only ONE rotary switch, a 2-pole, 6-position: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=20198426 - Jeff
Here is a link to a supplier of rotary switches http://www.led-switch.com/Rotary Switch.htm. They have light duty 1/2 amp and heavy duty 5&10 amp listed. Hope this helps. Doug
Excellent ! Thanks guys, I do need an " off " tab , so I will need to go with an 8 position . I will check out the links ! Paul , I am running DC with a couple DCC E6's using the BLI DC Master until I figure out if I want to spend the money for all DCC ...
Paul, As you rotate the switch, each track will receive power momentarily. You could install a spdt toggle before the rotary to turn off power as you rotate the switch if that is going to cause problems. Also, they may have rotary switches that have something like that built in (I have not searched for that). Good rotary switches come with a pin (or 2) you can insert to set a stop (or stops) position and the last position is a good place to be 'off' to all staging tracks.
Thanks for the link Doug. Have an old Radio Shack 12 position rotary that is on its third turntable for stall track power. Was concerned about finding a spare when this one finally falls apart. Robert
As pointed out, as you rotate the switch, each track will get power as the contacts cross........I use rotaries on my layout blocks and if you rotate fast the trains won't move, but if you move slow they will. An On-Off switch ahead of the rotary would solve that, and also allow you to use cheaper 6 pole switches since your Off position would be handled by the toggle.
Hmmm, or to get fancy , I could use stacked decks , 6 or more and wire them so each track has its own deck and do with out the on off switch and eliminate the movement of the others when switching tracks ... I could add LED to each deck to show which one is hot . The Digi Key site has a lot of switches ... wow, and some 6 conductor wire phone cord to wire eveything up . Now for the LED's and the resistors to make them work with out blowing . Thanks y'all for some great ideas, I knew this was the right place to go to for ideas !!!
