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hardcoalcase
New Hire
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Posted - 09/30/2018 : 8:50:23 PM
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I have a simple crossover with each turnout powered by a Tortoise. One of the Tortoises also has a Hare installed to permit auto-throw, with a manual option.
Can I control both turnouts using the single Hare? If so, what gets wired to what?
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Country: USA
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BurleyJim
Fireman
   
Premium Member

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Posted - 09/30/2018 : 11:54:06 PM
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How about wiring the Tortoises in parallel? If one behaves backward, reverse the wires on pins 1 and 8. The Tortoises draw such a small amount of current, that you'll probably be good with that simple of a solution. It can be a little hard to get your head wrapped around it, but even a double crossover ends up either being thrown or not. I have 4 Tortoises connected in parallel.
Jim
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Country: USA
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Greg@mnrr
Section Hand

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Posted - 10/01/2018 : 5:13:15 PM
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I agree with Jim and wire the switch machines as he indicated. I have eight sets of Tortoise Machines in my Saxeville Interchange wired in this fashion and a crossover that is part of my reverse loop and all work perfectly. Each set is controlled by a single mini-toggle switch on the fascia.
Greg
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bitlerisvj
Fireman
   
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Posted - 10/02/2018 : 09:47:18 AM
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Yep, totally agree with Jim, I have a couple of crossovers and wired them in that manner. No need for anything special.
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Country: USA
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Greg@mnrr
Section Hand

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Posted - 10/02/2018 : 12:00:29 PM
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Just a short addition to using Tortoise switch machines....I use card edge connectors which slip over the solder pads on the Tortoise.
All soldering is done to the card edge connector which makes for an easy installation and prevents damage to the card edge connectors.
Greg
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hardcoalcase
New Hire
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Posted - 10/02/2018 : 7:02:57 PM
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Allow me to elaborate for clarity. One of the Tortoises has a Hare stationary decoder installed, which has an edge card connector which covers up the 8 tabs on that Tortoise.
I tried wiring the 2nd Tortoise in parallel to the 1st, and that resulted in a short in one direction.
I also tried wiring the 2nd Tortoise to the Hare's duplicate Tortoise contacts (# 1 & 8 positions on J5) and that resulted in a short in one direction as well.
All this decoder technology is above my pay grade, but I suspect that this is a question regarding the Hare decoder itself.
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Country: USA
| Posts: 8 |
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BurleyJim
Fireman
   
Premium Member

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Posted - 10/03/2018 : 7:56:46 PM
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What is 'shorting' out? The rails, or the Tortoises? You might want to re-read that 12 page user manual. Wiring the Tortoises in parallel doesn't cause a 'short' of the power supplied to the Tortoises.
Jim
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Country: USA
| Posts: 3801 |
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hardcoalcase
New Hire
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Posted - 11/30/2018 : 4:54:01 PM
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And the answer is... you wire the 2nd Tortoise to the "J5" strip on the Hare. J5 is a series of holes to solder wires to the board, or you can purchase a block of screw terminals that will fit onto the holes.
In the case of controlling two Tortoises on a crossover, connect the motor control tabs (1 and 8) on the 2nd Tortoise to J5 positions 1 and 8 on the Hare that is mounted on the 1st Tortoise. Reverse the wires if necessary to get the turnouts in sync.
In an earlier response, I noted that this arrangement caused a short, apparently due to my not-ready-for-prime-time bread-boarding skills.
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Country: USA
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