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Switch wiring

M montyOGR Forum Member
Has anyone ever tried to wire a lionel fastrack controller to a Atlas O switch? I have four wires. Yellow and black will light up the lionel controller but I cannot seem to figure out a wire configuration that will give me control of the atlas o switch. I also have a green and red on the lionel controller. The atlas o switch has three places for wires. I do not own a volt meter. Hopefully someone has done this before. I like the Lionel controllers because they are easier for my son to use, if anyone was wondering why I'm even bothering doing the conversion. Thanks, Bob
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FF Fec fanOGR Forum Member
Monty, what you want to do is as far as I know, impossible. The Atlas O switch motor is a twin coil solenoid-- a design that's been around for over 50 years. It works by moving a rod back and forth via the magnetic field from the coils-- the rod then through a mechanical linkage moves the rails.
The Fastrack switch uses a minature motor that drives a gear train that moves the rails back and forth. That's why the Fastrack switch has 4 wires versus 3 for the Atlas switch.

Hope this helped---
cjackcjackOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
quote:
Originally posted by kgsouth:
Monty:
I believe the yellow wire from the switch is to power the light on the switch stand. Try red green an black and see if that does the trick.


That's exactly correct. The green and red wires make contact with the black when the lever is thrown...forward for green and back for red. The yellow wire is for lighting the leds in the controller. A positive voltage between the yellow and the black wire will light the green and a negative voltage will light the red. Be somewhat careful with the voltage applied...I think 3 to 5 volts DC with some current limiting in series with the yellow wire or make sure you don't go over 5 volts.

Chuck, KE9UW
M montyOGR Forum Member
If I hook up one wire to the track and put that wire in the middle of the three screws on the atlas switch and If I wire the red and green to the switch and the yellow and black to the track it works. The only thing that I cannot get to work yet is the LED lights. It will light for a split second while I throw the lever but it will not stay illuminated. But at least I got it to work.
cjackcjackOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Yes. You need a relay or some such to apply +5 vdc for green or -5 vdc for red when the corresponding track is selected. OR if the switch itself has something in it like that for that purpose. Are there leds on the switch itself which show how it is set? You would have to get inside it, find out how it does it's leds and use that circuitry, whatever will get you the +/- 5 vdc to connect the yellow wire to.
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