As with so many things in my life, this wasn't planned but just sorta presented itself to me.
I was online, poking around for something, don't recall what, when I came across this;
https://www.modelrailroadcontrolsystems.com/mp1-version-2-switch-motor/
And I was enthralled.
Small, simple and affordable.
Now I have been using the "Bullfrog" from Fast Tracks
https://handlaidtrack.com/product/bf-0002/?v=3e8d115eb4b3
and was mostly satisfied with them except for one ongoing issue.
Sleeve snagging
I have relatively narrow aisles in places, and the choke rods were forever getting caught in clothing and generally annoying me and my operators.
So now that I'd identified a turnout motor that I liked, time to solve the other problem;
Mounting toggle switches.
Again a prolonged Google search turned up the desired item
http://www.togglecup.com/
Exactly what the doctor ordered.
I contacted Daniel Mack at "Togglecup" and a order was quickly placed.
A brief foray into the DigiKey online catalogue for single pole toggles and some 2 pole terminal blocks and we're ready to go.
The fascia mount is simple, just drill a 1.5" hole in the fascia for the toggle cup and screw in place
Pass a piece of piano wire up through the existing hole in the roadbed and throwbar, and screw the motor in place, after some brief fiddling back and forth. I found that a piece of double sided tape on the motor helped keep things in place until I could get a screw in.
Wiring is simple
12 VDC
one lead to the common connection, one lead to the toggle.
2 leads back from the toggle to the 2 options on the toggle
The 2 pole terminal makes it easy for me to run a daisy chain to the other motors along the way
There are terminal screws for frog polarity should one desire, I use Hex Frog Juicers, so that's a nonissue.
The only thing I struggled with was the actual mounting screws
I had bought #4 panhead, Robertson drive screws. It's a Canadian thing. Best screw invention ever. If the screw head is made properly, the screws stay on the end of the driver. However, as with most things these days, these screws are made in China and they don't make the socket in the screw head deep enough, so screws keep slipping off the driver.
Much swearing ensues.
Anyway, one down 51 to go
Fun times on a long weekend
