turntable direction

[Charles_M]

I recently purchased a Walthers cornerstone 90' turntable (933-3171) with the motorizing kit (933-1050).  I assembled the motor in the turntable and am wondering, how to get the direction of travel with two wires.  I was told that I needed a decoder to get the direction of the motor.  Any information that you could give me on whether I need a decoder would be greatly appreciated.  Also, how to wire the decoder if it required.

Thank you,

Chuck

[mabloodhound]

Chuck,
I just looked at the Walthers catalog and there is no mention of a decoder required.
You should have received some sort of specifications with the motor telling you what voltage is needed to run it.
Then it's just a matter of hooking the wires to your power source through a regular switch (toggle or similar).
Direction could be reversed by swapping the wires.
A decoder would require a DCC system and additional wiring.

[jonathan]

Chuck,

I recently wired an Atlas turntable using and Double Position Double Throw (DPDT) switch.

The power source I used was a leftover 9v "wall wart".  The power was solder to the center two poles.  The motor wires were connected to two end poles, and then criss-crossed on the other end two poles.

Then the stall tracks were wired using simple on/off switches.  I have been trying to draw a diagram for you, but I'm not having much luck.  Perhaps someone else can do the little diagram for you.

Here's a quote from a post that helped me understand:

"Lets number each post. 1   2   3
                                        4   5   6   
To start, run wires from 4-3  and 1-6, That's for reversing the circuit
second, use 1 and 4 to power the turn table
third, use 2 and 5 to hook to your power source.
If the switch is thrown to the left, its contacts will touch 2,3  and 5, 6
If the switch is thrown to the right, its contacts will touch 1,2 and 4,5
If the switch is thrown to the center, no contacts are made."



No decoder required.

Hope that helps.

Regards,

Jonathan

[RAM]

The question I would have, is it AC or DC motor.  If it is AC the 9v transformer will work.  If it is DC you would need a DC supply. A cheap power pack.  If that was the case you could just hook it up like it was going to the track and use the direction control on the power pack.

[Jim Banner]

I assume Jonathan used a 9 volt dc wall wart or his reversing circuit would not work.  I also assume the motor is a permanent magnet dc motor.  AC motors still exist but they tend to large, heavy and inefficient.  Remember the old Lionels of the 40's?  Huge ac motors, 50 and 100 watt transformers to run them.  Today even Lionel uses dc permag motors, 5 to 10 watts each and small enough to fit into the trucks.  You might also remember the cumbersome, none too reliable E-units that Lionel used to to reverse their ac motors.  I cannot imagine anyone manufacturing a turntable today with anything but a dc motor.  But then again, I would never have believed anyone would ever build a hydraulically operated H0 turntable, until I was given one.

Jim

[Doneldon]

Jim-

Don't be a tease!  Please post some details and pics of the hydrotable.  It sounds like a stitch.

                                                                                                            -- D

[jonathan]

Jim/Chuck,

I am very electrically challenged.  Since my wiring project worked, I also assume the (12v?) motor and 9v wall wart are dc.  I used a 9v power source because that is what I had available.  The 9v power source provided enough power to turn the table at a reasonable speed (not too fast). 

My version is a little noisy.  The Atlas motor sits on top of the layout.  The structure, that hides the motor, doesn't provided much noise reduction.  I think the Walthers version puts the motor under the layout.  Probably much quieter.

Likewise, I am hoping Jim will post some pics one of these days.  I know he is building a layout by his previous posts (On30/HO?).  Haven't seen a recent update from WoundedBear either.    Always love to see what other modelers are doing... you know... for inspiration (stuff to copy).

Regards,

Jonathan

[Thomas1911]

I am using the Walthers turntable on my layout also.  I operate it with my DCC system with a decoder to power the drive mechanism and an auto-reversing unit to change track polarity.  When I was still using DC control I had it wired as Jonathan instructed.  I had a momentary switch to operate drive mechanism, though I used my power pack instead of a separate power source, and a DPDT switch wired to change track polarity.

[Jim Banner]

Donaldon and jonathan,

My garage/workshop is so cluttered up with trains and woodworking stuff that I can hardly turn around.  So I am in the process of building another garage.  Hopefully when the smoke clears, I will get back to working on my 0n30 layout and about 20 other projects.  One of those "other projects" is putting together a display showing how we used to build H0 layouts "in the old days,"  including hand laid track on fiber ties and Tru-Scale milled road bed.  Nickel-silver and brass rails were no problem to find but bare steel and Parkerized steel rails were. Eventually some multiple turnouts in both brass and Parkerized steel showed up along with some Atlas turnout kits that had never been assembled.  To run the trains, a friend donated a "Marnostat" which was the ultimate controller in the 1950's, and for turning the locomotives, the aforementioned hydraulic turntable.  I have a few old cars, including some some made from bolt together tinplate kits and screw together diecast kits, along with a never assembled Varney plastic caboose to carry the markers.  I am still trying to find some old boxcars of the type made from a solid chunk of wood with lithographed cardboard sides and trucks held on by wood screws.  I still have some of the original Kadee couplers, the ones that did not use magnets to uncouple, and some Mantua hook-and-loop couplers which were used by many operators before Kadees came along.  For motive power, I have a 1950's Tenshodo brass F-3 and an Athearn F-7 with Hi-F (rubber band) drive.  All this stuff will eventually form a static display to be shown in our local museum.  I don't expect it will be of all that much interest to the general public but I hope it will be enjoyed by other model railroaders as a reminder of the days of iron men and wooden trains.

Jim     

[Doneldon]

Jim-

I still have some of the Tru-Scale milled roadbed and most of a can of the course gray paint which was used as ballast.  I haven't checked it recently but it was still fresh within the current millenium.  We always finished our own TS track because of the cost of the R-T-R product and the fact that TS didn't put any ballast between the ties.  I have an Athearn RDC which still runs on its HiF drive like it used to.  That is to say, I wouldn't want to be drinking coffee on one of them when it started or stopped.  Even without coffee, there would still be a substantial risk of whiplash.  I might have an atsf F7 and a GP9, too, though they seem to have been hiding in a box somewhere for a long while.  I have a couple of screw together zamac freight cars (no need for extra weight in those babies), some Penn Line zamac 60' passenger cars, a screw together Varney Gerber reefer, a slew of Tru Scale and Walthers wooden freight and passenger cars, a Varney "Casey Jones," some MDC locos from kits and even a couple of the wood block freight cars.  The rolling stock all has CV trucks and Kadee couplers; it's fun to drag them out and run them from time to time.

I guess I've sorta dated myself with this inventory but I can't quite claim 1950 as a starting date, although my older brother had a Lionel set before that, so I think you are still the Senior Sage on this board.

Thanks for indulging my halting stroll on the memory lines RR.
                                                                                                                     -- D

[jonathan]

Jim/Doneldon,

I seem to get the most enjoyment out of trying to get the old stuff running.  I still have some old equipment that I tinker with--some gets on the layout, some stays in lots of pieces in the junk box.  I have a Hi-F diesel that I may never try to get working.  It was terrible when my granfather ran it.

Looking forward to seeing the yesteryear display!

Regards,

Jonathan

[Charles_M]

Thank you Guys for the info, I thought about it and fingered it out that since i am running DCC on my track with the Zepher, I thought that I would use a decoder to run the roundtable

I sure appreciate all the info everybody could help out THANK YOU