Insulated Rail Relay Chatter

Use a capacitor and DC current (made with a rectifier).

Described here

http://www.jcstudiosinc.com/BlogShowThread?id=410&categoryId=

Dale H

Like the main said, DC is way better than AC for signaling, because it offers so many different trouble-free solutions. 

The next step after one relay, is to use a "start" relay to set the gates in the down position, and a "release" relay to raise them up.  A single pulse from the first axle operates each relay, so train length and intermittent (and or plastic) wheels/axle combinations are immaterial.

After that, you can graduate to "start, hold, and release" relay circuits, and then to circuits that don't care if the traffic is westbound or eastbound.

Dale...Thanks for your advice. I will switch over to DC as soon as I can round up the parts. Sure wish I had not bought all the AC relays!

Anyway, can you please provide part numbers or specs for the bridge rectifier and the cap?

Thanks again Dale and thanks to you as well Arthur. I am looking forward to taking "DC Relays 101"!

Ken

Anything 1 amp or more,35 volt or more

example

www.radioshack.com/product/ind...p?productId=12678416

For a capacitor 470 uf 35 volt is fine and usually is sufficient to eliminate chatter

If a separate transformer is used one of the DC poles (+ or -) can share a common and only one bridge is needed regardless of the number of relays used as long as the bridge rectifier and transformer can handle the amperage of all the relays. I use hundreds of relays on my layout.

You can run your AC relays on DC. Cut the input voltage down until it just works and then add a few volts. The AC coil will have less resistance on DC and need less voltage. Too much can damage the coil.

Dale H

You mention Banjo signals.  I have one - not controlled by a relay but merely by a button.  I tried a DC transformer last year and, I can't remember which, but either the light didn't come on or the banjo didn't swing.  Sorry that I don't remember but the point is that I had to run it on AC to get it to work. 

I tried DC after reading so much about how accessories perform better with it.  I've used AC for 30 years and it's always been OK, albeit noisy.

- walt

The Banjo signal uses an AC vibrator to swing the banjo, DC won't work with that unit.

I believe that the idea is that the DC is being used to control the relay coil istelf and I am still running the AC through the contacts. The Banjo signals that I am using are the Lionel Scale models and the motor is a small DC motor such as what one would find in a cell phone vibrater(size wise).

The scale ones I've never used, so I'm not sure about those.