Kato 24-850 N Scale Power Feed Control Switch

[AllenZ]

Hi.

Anyone know anything about these Kato 24-850 N Scale Power Feed Control Switches. I'm trying to use them for isolated tram stop sections on my Unitram layout.  No matter what I try they're not working.  The tram stops in the station section but it doesn't move when the power control is switched to ON.

 

I even set up a test section of 2 186mm tracks and connected that to the switch.  Nothing.

 

I hope this is thought forum.  No choice for wiring.;-)

 

Thanks

Allen

[Kiha66]

Notice how they have the corded plug in the back?  It should go to the transformer "track power out".   Without it there's no power for the switch to send to the track.

[katoftw]

And you need to use the splitter so you can send power to both you current feeder and to the switch.

[bill937ca]

I think you are missing a 24-827 3 way extension cord which allows multiple feeds off a Kato controller power feed. To make this work you need to split the power feed and use multiple feeders which is what the 24-827 3-way splitter does.

 

From my blog:

 

On the selected track piece, I replaced the normal Unitram Unijoiners with the black 24-816 Insulated Unijoiners and added a 44-847 Tram Feeder Power Cable under the selected track piece. The feeder is plugged into a 24-850 Kato Power Feed Control Switch which clips onto the side of a Kato power controller just like a Switch Selector. When the power switch is turned OFF the car always stops at the selected location. When the power switch is turned ON the car continues on through the block or if stopped already begins running.

 

The 24-850 Kato Power Feed Control is then plugged into a Kato 24-827 3-Way Extension Cord, along with two other feeders on this particular track loop and plugged into the Kato Controller power feed.

 

https://ngaugetrams.wordpress.com/2017/12/12/simple-block-control-for-unitram/

Edited January 7, 2019 by bill937ca

[AllenZ]

Okay Guys.  Hi.

 

In Schaumburg, IL (not far from me) there was this huge once in 3 years train show over the weekend.  I went and right inside the door was Kato.  OMG Thanks so much.

 

Talked to one of the fellows there and got an earful.  Anyway turns out the sample power control switch I brought was defective and they want me to stop into the office and bring it.  katoUSA is also not from from me.

 

Anyway (I'll try to make this short 😉  Yes I had mine snapped into the side of the power pack along with the Switch control levers.  those worked fine.  The Power feed didn't. There's t plugs on this power feed plus a short power cable.  The top one is DC and the bottom one I understand is AC .  the cable get's plugged into a 3-way with other power feeds and into the power pack. Finally it worked.  I had a temp 86mm track in the layout.  In order to install the Tram Station I needed to have the 124mm.  that one has screws to undo the strip where the platform goes.  so not 2 124's replaced a 186 and a 62mm.  Hmmmm now it doesn't work.So now I got to pull it apart and put in insulating joiners on both rails.  My test track (2 186's) didn't need the insulating joiners.  Apparently for this I needed to use the short ouinput cable attached instead of the power off the snaps. Don't know for sure until I use a good switch and get rid of this defective one. I have 1 good one and the bad one.  2 more on order.  I'll keep you updated.

Allen

[Kiha66]

Glad to hear you got it worked out!  

[brill27mcb]

On 1/6/2019 at 10:15 PM, AllenZ said:

Okay Guys.  Hi.

 

In Schaumburg, IL (not far from me) there was this huge once in 3 years train show over the weekend.  I went and right inside the door was Kato.  OMG Thanks so much.

 

Talked to one of the fellows there and got an earful.  Anyway turns out the sample power control switch I brought was defective and they want me to stop into the office and bring it.  katoUSA is also not from from me.

 

Anyway (I'll try to make this short 😉  Yes I had mine snapped into the side of the power pack along with the Switch control levers.  those worked fine.  The Power feed didn't. There's t plugs on this power feed plus a short power cable.  The top one is DC and the bottom one I understand is AC .  the cable get's plugged into a 3-way with other power feeds and into the power pack. Finally it worked.  I had a temp 86mm track in the layout.  In order to install the Tram Station I needed to have the 124mm.  that one has screws to undo the strip where the platform goes.  so not 2 124's replaced a 186 and a 62mm.  Hmmmm now it doesn't work.So now I got to pull it apart and put in insulating joiners on both rails.  My test track (2 186's) didn't need the insulating joiners.  Apparently for this I needed to use the short ouinput cable attached instead of the power off the snaps. Don't know for sure until I use a good switch and get rid of this defective one. I have 1 good one and the bad one.  2 more on order.  I'll keep you updated.

Allen

 

I replied in a different thread. Everything is DC, top and bottom.

 

You should take advantage of being near to Kato USA, and being told to stop in. I would become a regular (but not a pesky) visitor...

 

Rich K.

[AllenZ]

Oh I plan to Rich.  Meeting today after my dentist appointment.

 

I'll be back to report.

 

Allen

[AllenZ]

Okay.  Great meeting.  They replaced my faulty 24-850 Power feed Control.  I also got instructed on the proper way to connect this.

 

I always assumed that this gets connected the same as the turnout control switches.  Nope!  The snaps to connect to the power pack is only a pass through to power the 24-840 Turnout Conrtol Switches.  This one is different.

 

See the photo which I labeled.  there's a wire coming out from the back bottom and 2 plug-ins.  go to the power pack and take off the track feed wire.  Put that wire into the bottom female on the 24-850.  the wire from the bottom of the 850 goes into the power pack then the wire from the block or isolated section (ie: Tram Stop) gets plugged into the top female.

 

Wala!  it works  

[cteno4]

Nice to hear katousa was good about having you drop in to get the replacement and a how to! 

 

Jeff

[AllenZ]

On 1/6/2019 at 12:52 AM, Kiha66 said:

Notice how they have the corded plug in the back?  It should go to the transformer "track power out".   Without it there's no power for the switch to send to the track.

yup!  You were right to begin with.

Allen

[MrmelO]

Running an NCE Power Cab, do I still need the KATO transformer to power these turnouts? Can power be brought to the turnouts any other way? (I have Bachmann turnouts. I bought a plug-in-the-wall power pack for a charger or something, cut off the input plug, and attached the wires to the input plug of the switches to the Bachmann turnout. It worked).

 

Why don’t these companies make such things? Why didn’t KATO make a power supply for their turnouts for people not using KATO to power the track? Smdh

[cteno4]

Kato of course wants you using all kato! In japan few do Dcc and most of the market is either Kato or Tomix and they are direct competitors who’s tracks and power connectors are not compatible with each other. Folks generally they use one or the other.
 

but Kato does make an adapter that will pop onto their point controller and you can hook up to regular 12v dc throttle output or 12v dc wall wort to do what you want!

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10018621

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Yavianice]

You can just strip the wire and interchange tomix and kato (kato turnout with tomix point driver) right?

[chadbag]

On 4/27/2020 at 10:04 PM, MrmelO said:

Running an NCE Power Cab, do I still need the KATO transformer to power these turnouts? Can power be brought to the turnouts any other way? (I have Bachmann turnouts. I bought a plug-in-the-wall power pack for a charger or something, cut off the input plug, and attached the wires to the input plug of the switches to the Bachmann turnout. It worked).

 

Why don’t these companies make such things? Why didn’t KATO make a power supply for their turnouts for people not using KATO to power the track? Smdh

 

Of course you can use a DCC switch controller 🙂

 

But KATO has pretty good coverage at hobby shops in the US and so things like the adapter Jeff mentioned should be available easily.   I know I've seen them at my LHS.

 

 

[cteno4]

If you want to get hacky I think they are the same connectors as a 9v battery.

 

jeff

[Miamistax]

@cteno4 Actually you can plug Kato track into Tomix track. That's what Kato's mislabeled snap track adapter is for.

[cteno4]

It’s the power connectors that are different. Adapter track works great, just a tad of height adjustment. But the power connectors are different.

 

jeff

[bill937ca]

On 9/16/2020 at 5:16 AM, Miamistax said:

@cteno4 Actually you can plug Kato track into Tomix track. That's what Kato's mislabeled snap track adapter is for.

 

Tomix now makes its own adapter track.

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10429138

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10429137

[defor]

Tomix S35-J's are super useful- I'm using them on my Tomix layout mostly as simple 35mm straights, but the fact that you can use them as Kato (or any other code 80) adapters without having the overlap kato creates is really nice.

I personally use them to connect two pit tracks (since tomix seems to not have any???) to my layout so I can use the normal kato "long engine house". of course with both types of adapters, the tomix track's base is higher than that of Kato, so you either need to space the track up with cork, or dig out the space for the kato track.

I especially love that the Tomix option is available in PC rail, so it doesnt look out of place with all my other concrete ties.

 

As far as power cabling goes, I bought a few premade Kato -> Tomix and Tomix -> Kato adapters from Hobbyland Pochi a few years ago, but they're pretty trivial to make yourself if you buy a Tomix extension cable and a Tamiya T-plug (for the Kato end), and just solder them together.