MTH Signal And Lionel CC Switch

The 30-11009 instructions shows a 3-aspect signal with built-in 10-second yellow-to-green delay.  So you can go from green-to-red instantly...but when going red-to-green you get 10-seconds of yellow first.

Per instructions, for your 3 wires, black is common, red wire turns on red , green wire turns on green (after an intermediate 10 sec yellow).

stan2004 posted:

The 30-11009 instructions shows a 3-aspect signal with built-in 10-second yellow-to-green delay.  So you can go from green-to-red instantly...but when going red-to-green you get 10-seconds of yellow first.

Per instructions, for your 3 wires, black is common, red wire turns on red , green wire turns on green (after an intermediate 10 sec yellow).

Alright thanks for that. How do I wire it to my switch? 

I was hoping to get partial credit for an incomplete answer.   Just pointing out the function of the signal wires.

I'm sure someone familiar with your particular turnout will come forward - this has come up before for turnouts/switches in general...that is, how to "output" the straight/diverge position to an external signal.

stan2004 posted:

I was hoping to get partial credit for an incomplete answer.   Just pointing out the function of the signal wires.

I'm sure someone familiar with your particular turnout will come forward - this has come up before for turnouts/switches in general...that is, how to "output" the straight/diverge position to an external signal.

 

I'll take any help I can get @Pine Creek Railroad you know how to do this? 

Here's a representative thread of what I was thinking of:

https://ogrforum.com/...-block-signal?page=1

You have an MTH signal head rather than a 153 block signal but same idea.  Not plug-and-play but the additional components are not particularly expensive (a couple bucks at most).

Basically I need this piece then? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d...y+module+for+arduino

Trainlover9943 posted:

Basically I need this piece then? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d...y+module+for+arduino

Maybe.  Your Amazon relay is not the same module as is shown in the other thread.  The other module has an optocoupler feature which may be required depending on how you supply 5V DC to this gadget.

Your initial post suggests you have 14V AC Accessory voltage to power this.  Is that how you plan to provide the 5V DC needed by the relay module?  You would then need a 14V AC to 5V DC power supply module (a few bucks).  Or do you have or plan to buy a 5V DC wall-wart-adapter (also a few bucks) available which of course means you need a wall-outlet nearby to plug into?

stan2004 posted:

Trainlover9943 posted:

Basically I need this piece then? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d...y+module+for+arduino

Maybe.  Your Amazon relay is not the same module as is shown in the other thread.  The other module has an optocoupler feature which may be required depending on how you supply 5V DC to this gadget.

Your initial post suggests you have 14V AC Accessory voltage to power this.  Is that how you plan to provide the 5V DC needed by the relay module?  You would then need a 14V AC to 5V DC power supply module (a few bucks).  Or do you have or plan to buy a 5V DC wall-wart-adapter (also a few bucks) available which of course means you need a wall-outlet nearby to plug into?

 

Yes, I will be using a 14v accessory voltage to power the signal and switch. I would need a AC to DC converter then? That can be done. 

This is probably overkill but for the price it would be worth it. https://www.amazon.com/Festnig...o+dc++buck+converter  Looking at it some more, I found a relay with the optocoupler. Would this be any better? 

The connections in the other thread are different because, from what I can tell, all the various contributors used an isolated 5V DC supply to power the 5V relay module.  In your case, if you derive the 5V DC supply from Accessory 14V AC using a common AC-to-DC converter module, the 5V is not isolated from the relay module.  The issue has to do with mixing different commons-grounds.  You need a relay module with "genuine" isolation.  I was looking at several different eBay and Amazon 5V relay modules and even though they use the terms opto-isolation or opto-couplers, they do not provide genuine isolation.

The relay module shown in earlier thread has "genuine" isolation and would work but I couldn't find it on eBay at this time.  So by way of example, here's one approach using currently available eBay modules:

The AC-to-DC converter DC-output voltage must be set with a voltmeter to 5V.  The yellow wire is as used in the previous thread; I do not have this command-control turnout and am simply applying the info provided in the earlier thread.

As I understand it, you have 2 signal heads attached to one turnout that operate backwards - so one is green when the other is red...and flip with the turnout.  That red-green-black wiring from the 2 signal heads is shown on the far right connections to the 3 relay terminals.

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Note.  Even though the 5V relay module from earlier thread has genuine isolation, that capability is not needed if using a 5V DC-output wall-wart adapter.  This means more options for the 5V DC relay module.  For example, here's a $1 relay module that does not have genuine isolation but would work just fine with the hookup shown from the earlier thread.  This module is kind of neat because it has screw-terminals for all connections.

A 5V DC output wall-wart adapter is about $2 or so.  So the cost is similar but you need a wall-outlet handy...whereas 14V AC is already available at the turnout. 

stan2004 posted:

The connections in the other thread are different because, from what I can tell, all the various contributors used an isolated 5V DC supply to power the 5V relay module.  In your case, if you derive the 5V DC supply from Accessory 14V AC using a common AC-to-DC converter module, the 5V is not isolated from the relay module.  The issue has to do with mixing different commons-grounds.  You need a relay module with "genuine" isolation.  I was looking at several different eBay and Amazon 5V relay modules and even though they use the terms opto-isolation or opto-couplers, they do not provide genuine isolation.

The relay module shown in earlier thread has "genuine" isolation and would work but I couldn't find it on eBay at this time.  So by way of example, here's one approach using currently available eBay modules:

The AC-to-DC converter DC-output voltage must be set with a voltmeter to 5V.  The yellow wire is as used in the previous thread; I do not have this command-control turnout and am simply applying the info provided in the earlier thread.

As I understand it, you have 2 signal heads attached to one turnout that operate backwards - so one is green when the other is red...and flip with the turnout.  That red-green-black wiring from the 2 signal heads is shown on the far right connections to the 3 relay terminals.

---

Note.  Even though the 5V relay module from earlier thread has genuine isolation, that capability is not needed if using a 5V DC-output wall-wart adapter.  This means more options for the 5V DC relay module.  For example, here's a $1 relay module that does not have genuine isolation but would work just fine with the hookup shown from the earlier thread.  This module is kind of neat because it has screw-terminals for all connections.

A 5V DC output wall-wart adapter is about $2 or so.  So the cost is similar but you need a wall-outlet handy...whereas 14V AC is already available at the turnout. 

 

Thanks. I'll take a look for these.