Reed switches

[Madman]

A while ago, I was looking for normally closed reed switches. I couldn't find any to save my life. By chance, I came upon these on evilly yesterday,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390963311589?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I also found some plain glass reed switches with three wire leads

 

[James Day]

Dan,

Please excuse the delay, but I have used the units you posted the link to before. Around 1990 I think!

I had a tram line, where two trams ran up and down and passed in the middle. One tram was track powered. The other was powered by overhead plus a common rail.

I built a box to control them which featured four EPL drives one for each tram to reverse, separately when it reached the end of the line and two to control the trams departure from the central passing loop.

The points were spring loaded, so each tram passed through the loop in the same way. The isolation of the centre section was interlocked, so both trams had to be there, before either could leave.

Normal LGB reeds and loco magnets controlled most of the switching, but I wanted the system to know which tram was where so that it could be reversed appropriately when it reached the end of the road.

I two mounted block magnets under the 'skirt' of each tram. The track powered tram had them on one side, the catenary powered tram on the other. They were big magnets from burnt out Tri-ang X04 motors.

I used four of those reed switches that you posted the link for, with two mounted either side of two adapted rails. One side controlled the reversing of the track powered tram, the other side the catenary powered tram. I had to mount them really close to the rails and file the tops flat to give good clearance, but they worked well. I used the normally open reed, not the closed ones.

As the reeds inside them failed I substituted ordinary reeds, but used the same mounts. I still have the control box and the two special rails today, although it has been a while since they were used.

They solved a problem for me. That said I did not find the reeds themselves to be that good in quality and I think all failed after a year or two of occasional use. The block magnets supplied were good and I still keep one in my pocket when running the trains should I need to check a reed.

I had planned to do something similar to the above to set different routes for different trains, but mounting the magnet on ordinary stock was not so easy, although my Bachmann Toby would seem ripe for trials!

James

 

[dunnyrail]

Dthis is a link that I have posted before. It is an Auto Line that uses 3 Trams in 2 Loops. Was a basic setup from Deepesche some years back. It did include a reverce cicuit so that the Trans went into the Loops and I think 2 one way. 1 the other. I just started and proved the basic setup and never went further with it bue to a bad headache!

http://youtu.be/nl8yVdYN41E

JonD

 

[James Day]

Jon,

Looking the way that functions:

The tram approaches each loop it releases the one sitting there, so that both are running. I am guessing that the departing tram then switches power off, so the approaching tram stops and stays put until released by the next approaching tram and so on

It is very pretty to watch, but lacks the kind of fail safe robustness I like. The trams also have to be perpetually moving, but I suppose that vintage street trams were like this and used track permissively, rather than having absolute block sections as I prefer.

it goes to show that just about anything can be done using EPL drives, Supplementary switches and reeds, all you need to do is have the idea.

The only time EPL technology on it's own has let me down was where I wanted to control the movement of trains over a diamond crossing. One track ran only in one direction. The other bi directional.

I spent ages studying plans and diagrams and thinking it through, drawing sketches etc. It became progressively complex and I simply could not achieve the robustness I felt it needed.

In the end I did use EPL drives to do the switching, but controlled by a logic box that a rather clever chum built. The LGB reeds tell the box, where the trains are and what is needed and the box sends the power to switch the EPL drive based signals that switch the to the track. It works well and after a little tweaking has been in the garden for around 18 months in a weather proof tub.

It is fun to watch the trains wait to get priority to cross the other lines tracks. The logic box can also store the 'knowledge' that after this train has gone, that one can go next. I simply could not work out how to do that that with EPLs!

James