The Tortoises are Coming!

It's slowly happening. After building a total of 9 turnouts (6 #6, 3 #5), I started looking at what I needed to have to install the Tortoise switch motors.

While I have plenty of the Tortoises, I didn't have screws, the drilling template (except in paper which gets torn after a couple of uses, thicker wire (ensures turnout actually moves to the side), boards for the Tortoise to attach wires so I didn't have to solder (5 wires are being used per motor).

After watching several videos to find out specific size information, I ordered 1000 #4 by 1/2" screws to use for mounting the motor. What? You only need a little over 200! Well, the price for 1000 was only a little more than for 3 sets of 100. So I'll have extra.

The adapter boards are SNAPS from Accu-Lites. They're relatively expensive. I've heard I can get quantity through eBay at a lower price. I still need to check it out. I have thought of using Layout Command Control (LCC) to control the turnouts, but I don't know what I would need to implement it. It's also expensive but gives lots of options. A decision for downstream. By using the SNAPS, I could swap them for the LCC adapter board if I decide to go down that road.

I tested one of the Tortoises with a DS74 and verified it worked. I'm still waiting for the momentary push button switches to arrive. Hopefully, I got the right ones or I'll have to find a more expensive substitute. I don't want to use toggle switches as I would need to recess them to avoid accidentally bumping them. The push-button ones lie flush with the fascia.

Something I never thought I would need but again saves me soldering is the use of ferrules for the motor wire ends. They're very inexpensive and using these allows me to avoid tinning the wire ends. It's also faster.

I've started installing the cable clamps to support the wire runs. There will be multiple clamps on each joist as I'm going to keep the track bus and the accessory bus separate.

I've also started documenting the layout design - the different wiring bus colors, electronics, parts used, etc.

Other issues I had during this past month was having the turnout ties come off in various places. Most of the time it was right near the throw bar. That area is very thin as I had to file the stationary rail to allow the switch rail to mate correctly. I also had issues when cutting the throw bar and the surrounding ties. Again, one of the ties came loose.

Lastly, I also needed more power (Tim Taylor where are you?). I only had the DCS100 command station and its power supply. I also had a 10A power supply and a DB200+ booster that I had bought second-hand from a friend. I decided to get 2 more power supplies (Digitrax PS2012E 20A supplies) and 2 more boosters (DB210s). By using these for specific areas of the layout and using PM74s to further divide the layout into power districts, I should have no issue wth power.

However, I don't know if the circuits in the room can handle that much power. I'll need to check (in a few minutes) and then decide how to proceed. At the worst case, I could use only 1 20A PS with the 2 boosters and the 5A PS with the command station - I hope.

The adventure continues. More tortoise installs and then some track installation.