Need A Wiring Diagram For my Turnout Control Panel.


rbwhale

Member
The work on my fold up N scale layout is progressing at a pace best described as "glacial" but I am ready to try my hand at the turnout control panel. It will control 5 Kato #6 remote turnouts, all within 3 feet of one another, powered by a separate 12 volt DC power supply (track power will be DCC via Digitrax Zephyr).

My problem is that, although I can visualize the way a single DPDT momentary switch is wired, after looking a couple of videos, the idea of wiring 5, and how to run the wire and how to avoid having a rat's nest of tangled wiring, is giving me heartburn.

Are there any videos that explain how to wire such a multiple turnout panel (I've looked, so far no luck) or are there articles anyone can recommend? I have visions of clouds of smoke rising above my layout the first time I hit one of the toggle switches, just nothing working.

Thanks
rbwhale
 
I’m not familiar with the Kato switches, can you use push buttons instead of toggles?
Do you want an outline of your track plan on the panel or a straight line diagram like the prototype? We should be able to help you out.
 
All you need is a SPDT momentary switch for each of your turnouts. Connect one terminal of your power supply to the com of your turnout and the other to the center terminal of the switch. Connect the 2 remaining terminals of your turnout to the 2 remaining terminals on the switch. Repeat the procedure for each turnout.
 
I’m not familiar with the Kato switches, can you use push buttons instead of toggles?
Do you want an outline of your track plan on the panel or a straight line diagram like the prototype? We should be able to help you out.
I would prefer to use the DPDT momentary toggles. I suppose I just need a way to minimize the number of wires, For example, can I uses a terminal block to send DC powers to all the switches? I think I have to run a positive and negative wire to each DPDT center terminal for each individual turnout for switching the turnouts' direction, but I'm not sure about powering all the switches from a terminal in the panel, fed by two wires from the power supply.
I are a electrical idjit, so I'm sorry to be asking questions that might be obvious to the more electrically knowledgeable, but in constructing this layout I am constanting discovering how much I don't know about things.😖
 
I would prefer to use the DPDT momentary toggles. I suppose I just need a way to minimize the number of wires, For example, can I uses a terminal block to send DC powers to all the switches? I think I have to run a positive and negative wire to each DPDT center terminal for each individual turnout for switching the turnouts' direction, but I'm not sure about powering all the switches from a terminal in the panel, fed by two wires from the power supply.
I are a electrical idjit, so I'm sorry to be asking questions that might be obvious to the more electrically knowledgeable, but in constructing this layout I am constanting discovering how much I don't know about things.😖

A terminal block would work great.
Check this one on Amazon
OONO 16 Amp 2x12 Position Terminal Block Distribution Module for AC DC
If your Kato switch has 3 terminals you can use a SPDT switch . If it has only 2 wires , then you need a DPDT switch.
Check outthis Utube video for the DPDT wiring.
 
I would suggest you Google "How to wire a KATO turnout." The gentleman does use double pole double throw (DPDT) Momentary Center Off toggle switches, with DC. You MUST use a MOMENTARY toggle or you would burn out the switch machines.
 
The Kato switch has only two wires. I've seen that video several times, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the way to do multiple switches. So, if I understand you, I can run the DC power with two wires into the panel, to that terminal block, and then use shorter wires to connect the power to each of the 5 switches on the panel from the block?

Thanks for the fast response.
rbwhale
 
I would suggest you Google "How to wire a KATO turnout." The gentleman does use double pole double throw (DPDT) Momentary Center Off toggle switches, with DC. You MUST use a MOMENTARY toggle or you would burn out the switch machines.
Thanks. I did get that much out of the video, and the switches I ordered are DPDT On-Off-On momentary switches.
 
The Kato switch has only two wires. I've seen that video several times, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the way to do multiple switches. So, if I understand you, I can run the DC power with two wires into the panel, to that terminal block, and then use shorter wires to connect the power to each of the 5 switches on the panel from the block?

Thanks for the fast response.
rbwhale

That would work. Run the power from your power supply into the A & B terminals. Then connect the 2 center terminals of switch 1 to A1 & B1 of the terminal block . Connect the center terminals of switch 2 to A2 & B2 of the terminal block. Continue on till you have all the switches connected.
 



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