Wow, how hard is this? Points and understanding them?

[Samurai_Chris]

I have read the instructions, I have played all afternoon. But am buggered to work out a simple switch?

 

I plan on having multiple on my eventual layout. But if I can't work out just one, then I am starting to worry..

 

I have just set up a circle track to practice, with a yard to track to practice on.

 

I got the Tomix N-PR541-15 piece, and the Tomix 5536 switch box...

 

Down below is a simple diagram to what I was playing with. But I just cant seem to work it out?

 

[keitaro]

Is this dc ?

 

If so you have a dc feeder each side of the point but since yours is a siding you will not place feeder on siding.

 

Wire the point wire to the switch and clip to the controller.

 

Or in my case not using the tomix controller wire the swith to the 12v uncontrolled accessory plug

[Samurai_Chris]

Yes mate it is DC..

 

I read the instructions, and did everything it asked..

 

When looking at my controler. The slot at the side for point switches has electrical connections, but this point switch has no metal, just plastic that attaches it to the side. So that is why I wired its power feeder to the controller.. I then borrowed another power feeder from one of my other controllers, and put power to the main line I was using, and also power to the yard track line.. You flick the switch, and nothing. So you change direction, and then the switch magically switches, but you don't want it to.. I just can't work it out.. I was under the impression that the switch set the direction one way when switched, and then the other way when switched back? So what am I missing here?

 

I also notice that this switch pack came with a hat to put on top of adjoining switches. And the instructions seem to show that two switches need to be used side by side?

 

It can't be so difficult could it?

[Martijn Meerts]

I haven't actually wired anything like this up, but I do know you'll need a wire form the switch to the turnout motor/coil. The double wire coming out of the turnout needs to go into 1 of the (lower?) sockets on the switch control box.

 

Have a look at http://www.xs4all.nl/~raicho/model/control/tomixctl/turnout.htm, there's quite a bit of info on there about turnouts and the various Tomix switch boxes. It might help.

[john_ibw]

While checking HS http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10072748, it says manual and another which is electric. Also, going by what you mentioned about plastic feeder, my guess is that it is a manual switch that you got and needs a separate switch motor to electrically control it. I do not use Tomix, so can't be sure of the part numbers and Tomix tracks.

 

Also, the electric ones have wires attached from factory as far as I can tell from the pictures. http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10072571

[keiman]

Electric Tomix Switches definately have wires factory fitted. They also do the manual ones as well.

You cannot retrofit the powered mechanism in a manual point without a lot of hassle. Have taken both apart when I was looking at DCC conversion of the ones I have for my tram layouts.

[Samurai_Chris]

It is definately an electric track piece with a wire comming out of it..

 

It is the 5536 switch that I am using to control it.. Or trying to anyway....

[john_ibw]

You could also look at the following URL to check the connections and the 5536. It has some information on the connector and pictures. Pictures help me a lot :)

 

http://www.xs4all.nl/~raicho/model/control/tomixctl/turnout.htm

[keitaro]

ok so with the switches they click into a compatable tomix controller (most or all new ones) on the side.

 

I have the switches wired from my accessory point on the power pack to onto a switch which has 5 others attached to it.

 

They work no issue however the magnet has a side it was last used on.

 

example if you have a switch and have flicked it a few times manually, when you go to use it electronically i have noted it will not trigger the first time you flick in this case get it to opposite the way you want each direction to be.

 

I.e. i have a 2 way point and i want down to be straight and up to be turn left/right. So when plugging in i have it set to right then flick it will fail then i flick again back down and it sets straight automatically and has the switches how i want them.

 

Note - this does not alway happen i think mostly when playing with them manually it sets the magnet to the wrong side so flicking causes no movement. or the switch has not charged the solenoid yet ... one of the two.

 

i also have 4 switches in a row all joined and no issues there. let me know if you want a pic of how i wired them.

 

It's all temporary wiring atm so it looks crap but it was really as simple as it sounds in my first post wire from point to switch then from switch to a 12v accessory plug in the power pack.

[bill937ca]

I have read the instructions, I have played all afternoon. But am buggered to work out a simple switch?

 

I plan on having multiple on my eventual layout. But if I can't work out just one, then I am starting to worry..

 

I have just set up a circle track to practice, with a yard to track to practice on.

 

I got the Tomix N-PR541-15 piece, and the Tomix 5536 switch box...

 

Down below is a simple diagram to what I was playing with. But I just cant seem to work it out?

 

 

I have Tomix track and switches and it is understandable how you could have problems when all the switch control boxes come in similar looking little blue boxes.

 

5536 is the wrong switch box for a siding.  The 5536 is for controlling circuits not turnouts.  For a siding you should use a 5531 which has only one input slot on the back.  The brown tab on the wire attached to the switch goes into back of the switch box.  Then the switch box clips onto the side of the power controller.  

 

The DC power feeder with a white tab at the end of the wire is attached to power controller.

 

5531 -  controls a single turnout

5532 -  controls two turnouts at a passing loop with a single flick of the switch

5533 -  used for double crossover and controlling polarity

5535 -  controls polarity on a reverse loop

5536 -  controls circuits (not turnouts)

 

More info and photos here:

 

http://www.trainweb.org/tomix/control/TomixControlSystems.htm

[keitaro]

I have Tomix track and switches and it is understandable how you could have problems when all the switch control boxes come in similar looking little blue boxes.

 

5536 is the wrong switch box for a siding.  The 5536 is for controlling a double crossover  or similar complicated turnouts.  For a siding you should use a 5531 which has only one input slot on the back.  The brown tab on the wire attached to the switch goes into back of the switch box.  Then the switch box clips onto the side of the power controller.  

 

The DC power feeder with a white tab at the end of the wire is attached to power controller.

 

5531 -  controls a single turnout

5532 -  controls two turnouts at a passing loop with a single flick of the switch

5533 -  used for double crossover and controlling polarity

5535 -  controls polarity on a reverse loop

5536 -  controls two or more turnouts

 

More info and photos here:

 

http://www.trainweb.org/tomix/control/TomixControlSystems.htm

 

funny you show that while they are correct you can still use 5536 for a single turnout i accidentally ordered this by accident and i am currently using it on a single switch until i can order another big order from hs or elsewhere

 

i also have the 5533 and use a single one as well as i ordered and besides the first flick failing on occasions have had no other issues.

 

by the sounds of it the pack he is attaching to may not be putting power. If has wired up and correctly done so

[bill937ca]

The other possible issue is where the DC feeder is placed.  It should be before the turnout so the power is not turned off when a power routing switch is thrown.

 

Also in Chris' diagram it looks like the DC feeder is attached to the switch box which doesn't seem right

[The_Ghan]

Chris,

 

Brown cable from the points connects to the switch.  The switch clips to the side of the controller.  There is no custom wiring to be done. 

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[brill27mcb]

Hi Chris,

 

We are all assuming that you are using the recent track and the "Neo" wiring system. If your turnout/point has a two-wire cable coming from it and all of your cables have connectors at all of the ends, that's what you have. Otherwise, let us know...

 

First, put the track feeder clip to the right of the turnout/point (the end with only one track), as Bill mentioned. Throwing the turnout/point will determine whether that power gets routed to the main line or the siding through the turnout/point.

 

The 5536 control switch does not control points, it controls track power. That's why it has an input cable in the back. (It simply passes the constant 12 VDC electrical power through the snap-on prongs from one side of the box to the other without actually using it. For point control use either the 5531 Point Control Box N-S ("N" means Neo and "S" means "single" turnout/point output), or the 5532 Point Control Box N-W ("W" means "double," as in Japanese Tomix people pronouncing "double-you" and thinking it made good nmemonic sense). All of the other control boxes (5533 through 5536) do not have the word "point" in their name and all have brown input wires on the back, so they are all used for various track power wiring situations, as the "Tomix Modelers' Webpage" descriptions indicate. You cannot use the 5536 to control turnout/points.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Rich K.

[Samurai_Chris]

Very very helpful guys, I will take it all on board, and will let you know how I am getting on.. Like Bill said, If I have simply purchased the wrong switch, then that is understandable. I will order the 5531.

 

keitaro, any diagrams would be helpful..

 

Chris

[Samurai_Chris]

Ok guys, I have been playing around and taking on your advice..

 

So I took bills idea, and re-placed my DC feeder to forward end of the point. I then realized that I could actually use the switch, but it was only dependent on which way I was moving.. Bare with me for a sec so that I can give you a visual image to put in your mind..

 

I have set up an inner, and out circle track. (In Japan, trains always travel on the left side of each other. Like our driving system). So I am using the inside, left track. (As I am running my train left to right as I sit..)

 

If I set my controller to go forward (left to right) The switch will remain in the strait position, and my train can continuously do loops of the track.

 

If I then stop the train, and reverse direction (right to left), I can then flick the switch forward and then back again to move the track to feed off to the yard track, and away I go onto that track.. Now the reason I said that I move the switch forward and then back. Is because if I leave the switch in the forward position. Then for some reason the power drops, and the train moves slow. But when I put it in the rear position it seems to allow the power through.. So it's like doing a double click in order to move the switch...

 

Now that I have worked out that part. I now have to get the proper switch controllers for what I need. And then go back to the drawing board for my eventual yard layout..

 

[keitaro]

hi chris the reason this happens is because current travells in one direction.

 

When you flick the sitch to the right the track behind the switch to the left will not get current as the current is no travelling up to the right instead of passing through stright ahead.

 

you will need a dc feeder on both sides. Will draw up a pic and attach shortly.

 

 

edit attach pic the yellow is the current traveling from the dc feeder through the switch to the siding.

 

If you have a dc feeder in the piece of track after the straight you will get current all the way around the track meaning you can flick the switch right after passing the straight and it won't loose power

[Samurai_Chris]

Yup. On my diagram above, I did just that, and it works fine.. What I was saying was. That if you leave the switch on the down position, it will draw power and the train will slow down. That is why I am finding that I am having to switch down and then back up.. No biggy.. I will look at getting other point controllers to make my life a little easier. Plus I noticed that the controllers have very hard to see diagrams on the back of them as to where to put what chords...

[keitaro]

that is really odd though as mine don't do that. maybe it is your switch but i though all power for the switch is drawn from the cable to the switch. not the track

[brill27mcb]

From your latest diagram, it looks to me like you are sending track power (meant for the train) to the turnout/point solenoid as well through the 5536 control switch. The Tomix point control switches (5531 and 5532) are momentary switches, just like Kato's, so as not to burn out the solenoid. The other track power control switches (5533-5536) are not momentary, so I am concerned that you might risk burning out your point solenoid doing what you are doing.

 

Rich K.

[Samurai_Chris]

Thanks brill, I will order the 5531..

 

Chris