[Robert V.]

Hi, was wondering if at all possable to isolate the power (current ) from the track power system on my Pit lane changers. Would like to control the the Pit Lane changers from an independant power source, and switch. Can this be done easly without it becoming Rocket Science. Thanks Robert V.

 

[mfogg]

Somewhat surprising that you did not get one reply. The Spanish aficionados on SlotDigital.com have done this successfully. Here is a link to a thread that takes you through the steps -- of course it is in Spanish (Castilian):

http://www.slotdigital.com/forums/index.ph...=18252&st=0

Here is a translation of the above link (I'm not sure that it is that much more comprehensible):

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=e...D18252%26st%3D0

The thread originator (brux) is Bruno Llosá. If you need more information you can join their forum and PM him. He will respond in English. They are all very nice people. Several of them post here occasionally and may see this thread and offer help.

_michael

 

[Robert V.]

Hi mfogg, thanks for the reply, from what i have read on the thread that you posted on isolateing Ninco lane changers it seems like it can be done. However even the English version is confusing because of the way it is explained ( I.E.) missing words and the different terminology. I have a couple of spare single switch tracks and will take one apart to see what makes it work ,test on a standard Ninco power pack. I currenty run the entire track on a Variable Power Supply and would like to cut back on the Track Voltage,but still operate the Switch Tracks. I was allso surprised that i didn't get any feedback on my question allso, seeing that most of SlotForum Posts are from Europe and i figured that Ninco would be more popular there. Thanks Robert V.

 

[Robert V.]

Hi Micheal, well i did the best i could do on the single lane changer with the Spanish to English language conversion instructions and wired it the way the pictures showed . But once connected to the track i can not get the lane changer to do it's thing with the flipper. I am using a Spare Ninco Power supply for the conversion and i have a removable connecter so i can swap negative and positive wires and the track won't change on either of them. Any suggestions or ideas what i'm doing wrong. Thanks Robert V.

 

[mfogg]

QUOTE (Robert V. @ 15 Nov 2011, 11:39) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I am using a Spare Ninco Power supply for the conversion...
I know very little about the ND internals. The approach taken seems to be a simple replacement of supply from track rails to a separate transformer. That would assume that the LC board communicates with the power base solely through the dead strip connections. The only things that I can see to check are:

- voltage at the supply connections to the board.
- make sure that the dead strip connections are still in tact (these are quite fragile).
- your spare Ninco power supply must be a N-Digital 14 V switching. The unregulated analog wall wart will damage the LC components.

 

[Robert V.]

Hi Micheal, thanks for the reply. The power supply i'm using is the N Digital one that came with the Digital Conversion kit. I run the entire track power from a variable PS ,and this is the reason for wanting to isolate the Lane Change Tracks. If i could figure out what im doing wrong, this setup would be perfect,i would like to dial back my Varible Supply and still have full voltage to my LC's. I have converted two LC's so far and neither one one works now. I thought it was straight forward, just disconnect the two Board power wires from the track and connect them to an out side power supply. Thanks Robert V.

 

[mfogg]

I looked again at Bruno's SlotDigital thread and noticed that a very important point was made about both power sources (i.e., main to the power base and "secondary" to the LC's) having a common [ground] reference (in ancient times referred to as "earth" -- ⏚). This is provided in the example by connecting a single [blue] wire between the negative terminals of both sources. I'm not an electrical/electronic engineer but this makes sense in a system that is transmitting data by modulating its electrical source. Just be cautious if you try this.

Bruno's diagram:

 

[Robert V.]

Hi Micheal, thankyou for the info, so if i understand correctly, you have to connect power (positive and Negatives together ?? ) coming from the L.C.s . Right now i have only being playing with one L.C. to figure out how it works,but i have four single Lane Changers in my track. So if i connect both wires of the lane changer to a common distibution centre and i would need an extra wire or third wire. I looked at the his track drawing to and if i understand it correctly,it looks good ,but does it work. More testing ""Talk to you later Robert V.

 

[mfogg]

QUOTE (Robert V. @ 16 Nov 2011, 11:46) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>...so if i understand correctly, you have to connect power (positive and Negatives together ?? ) coming from the L.C.s...
No! Absolutely not! That would cause a short and end life as we know it.

All I am referring to is the blue wire that connects the NEGATIVE terminals of the two power supplies.

Just go by the diagram:

- Power to the power base is as normal.
- Power to the LC's is from a separate regulated 14V power supply. The diagram merely shows that the LC connections are made through a power strip to the separate power source for convenience and order.
- One wire is connected between [ONLY] the NEGATIVE terminals of both power supplies to provide the common ground [reference].

 

[Robert V.]

Hi Micheal, i understand what your saying, i was hoping for a response from you, before i did any more testing . So i will have a better look at the diagram. I would have to connect a negative wire between the Variable power Supply for the track and allso the N Digital power supply that i intend to operate the L.C.s Thanks Robert V.

 

[mfogg]

Just get a terminal distribution block/strip like the one pictured below...

...where the two rows of terminals are isolated. Connect all negative LC supply wires and the negative ND transformer cable to the terminals on one side. Connect all positive LC supply wires and the positive ND transformer cable to the terminals on other side. Then connect one wire from the negative side of the terminal block to the negative terminal of your ND power base variable supply.

Another thing to keep in mind is that under normal operation with the LC's getting power from the track rails, they are protected by the power base overload sensor. Under this separate power scheme they have no such protection. Even though the ND transformer is only rated at 3 Amps and is well regulated, you may want to consider placing a low amp fuse in one of the ND transformer supply lines. It would also be a good idea to put a 6 or 7 amp fuse in one of the variable PS lines that is supplying the power base. Just a thought...

 

[MrFlippant]

I've been looking for a strip that does just that, but all I can find are the ones that connect one side to the other, and each "band" is isolated from the rest. I'd like to use something like what you describe for power taps, but to use the product I've found I would have to connect a bunch of jumper wires or multiple wires to the same post. Do you have any links or specific product names to look for?

 

[mfogg]

Actually, what I described may not even exist.

There are two types of strips: barrier and terminal. It sounds like what you have encountered is the barrier strip. This is basically pairs of terminals that connect two components/sources together (in pairs). The terminal strip (conversely) is a row of connectors that are ganged together or can be ganged together with a multi-position jumper. They usually come in two row configurations where one row accepts the wires and the other row accepts the jumper. So, what I did (for power taps) was to use two terminal strips -- one for positive and the other for negative. I think I got them at RadioShack.

 

[MrFlippant]

Ah, that explains why I can't find what I want. Honestly, I'm surprised it doesn't exist, but I guess I can improvise something. Thanks!

 

[Nijn]

QUOTE (MrFlippant @ 17 Nov 2011, 17:07) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Ah, that explains why I can't find what I want. Honestly, I'm surprised it doesn't exist, but I guess I can improvise something. Thanks!

Greg,

I am sure that phoenix contact can offer what you need.
They have a huge catalogue with lots of terminals
Clipline is the name of the range.

I know that they have terminals that you can bridge
I think you can even skip terminals.

UKK3 is one of these ( both terminals can be bridged)

bridge for 3 terminals: 3000162 FBRNI 3-5 N

You can also use these:
2303132 EBL 10- 5 (cut out pins to skip)

The catalogue is huge, be my guess to have a look and find what you need.

Regards,

Nijn

 

[MrFlippant]

OK, they might exist, but not without special jumpers to actually make it work, OR an excessively large and complex thing that would be overkill.
I'm sure I can figure something out for cheap using strip metal and bolts. I just hoped there would be something cheap and simple already available, like those barrier/terminal strips, but with two parallel strips rather than dozens of isolated connections.

 

[mfogg]

QUOTE (MrFlippant @ 17 Nov 2011, 12:46) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>...I just hoped there would be something cheap and simple already available...
The eight position terminal strip is $2.79.

The eight position jumper is $1.99.

Both at RadioShack. I think that is inexpensive. And it looks pretty simple. Just tryin' to help...

 

[MrFlippant]

Thank you very much, kind sir! From all my looking, I have been unable to find that. I'll definitely look into that option more closely. Cheap and simple... I like it.

 

[Nijn]

you can also go for these:

I add this picture so one knows that there is a pluggable version of these terminals.
Of course you will need to use a bridge as shown in previous post.

 

[Robert V.]

Hi Guys, i have connected the wires from the LC's to my Ninco regulated Transformer,as per the drawing and i just can't get them to work of the seperate power supply, i can get the the LC track section to energize on a seperate power supply ,but i get no power (no response from flipper) when i squeeze the call button on my hand controller. This is frustrating because in the photo it looks so straight foward. I mean i starting to question weather i even have the ground and the positive wires on the track connected properly. I have to go now and take my frustrations out on my Garden Tracktor.

Thanks to anybody who can help. Robert V.