Really Disappointed in Tomix Turnouts

[VentureForth]

After months of waiting, and investing heavily in Tomix Fine Trax, including the whole My Plan 90950 set, I'm bummed.  The turnouts SUCK.  They NEVER seem to fully switch without actuating the selector multiple times.  I don't remember them being this back back in the 3-wire days.  Any suggestions?

[katoftw]

A few years back I remember someone having the same issue.  I couldn't even give you key words to do a search.  But from memory, it was either a wiring issue or the switches into the throttle weren't providing the full power they'd normally do.

[cteno4]

This does sound like a lack of power. Is it consistent across all your switches? If there is a particular one that’s causing the issue have you tried using a different switch controller on it? Have you tried a different power pack for the switch power?

 

the switch controllers rely on a fast mechanical swipe of a contact to provide the pulse to throw the coil. These can get cranky and not send enough power, hence why to see if it’s just particular controllers or points at issue or global (maybe the power supply).

 

jeff

[Kiha66]

I had a similar issue with kato switches a while back, and like previously mentioned it was due to the switches not receiving enough power.  IIRC my problem was caused by trying to throw two switches at once which had very long cable runs from the transformer.

[cteno4]

The Kato (and I think Tomix) wires are also very small gauge so longer and more connectors will be an issue.

 

one trick around all this is to move to a bipolar capacitor discharge circuit to throw points. It handles throwing multiple points at once as well as sending a really consistent perfect sized pulse to pop the coil all the way with no rebound.

 

jeff

[bill937ca]

Do you have more than one feeder to the track?

 

[VentureForth]

All very interesting - particularly because the turnouts, the single switch and the powerpack all came from the same 90950 kit.  I like the capacitor idea.  Not a sparky, so I may need a little more guidance there.  I only have one power feeder.  Everything is brand new out of the box.

[bill937ca]

One feeder is probably not enough particularly if you are running a rake of lighted coaches.  This is something that has changed over 20-30 years ago.

[cteno4]

Venture,

 

basics are here. I can get you the docs if you want, pm me. Kvp reverse engineered and posted his design up as well.

 

its very simple and can be done with just plain old dpdt switch and capicator and wire it up on a screw down terminal block/strip, no soldering.

 

 

cheers,

 

Jeff