Wiring the frogs!

 

I've been postponing wiring the frogs of the switches so far, but I thought today would be a good time to give it a try.

What's the frog?

I found this video on Youtube quite helpful:

Wiring the frog!

The Tortoise manual provides minimal information and the same goes for the Peco pamphlet. I'm using two of my previous posts: here and here.

I connect the frog (green wire) to terminal #4 or #5 of the Tortoise motor, then I connect the main feeders (red and black wires) into terminals #2 & #3 or #6 & #7:

Then, I can test with a multimeter:

The switch is not turned, the frog and the bottom rail have the correct polarities

The switch is now turned, so those two same rails have the same polarity

The switch is turned, the frog and the top rail have the correct polarities

How about a double slip?

The same principle applies to a double slip switch. Two things to note however:

• The frog seems to be that tiny element on each side
• Each frog relates to the opposite switch motor

Running through a frog-wired switch!

As usual, we'll conclude with a short video of an engine running through a switch with its frog wired:

All switch points tested!

 

Continuing on testing the layout, I focused on the double slip switch A4, which I knew had an issue. As mentioned before, wiring and controlling a double slip switch is a bit of a trial and error ...

In this current scenario, I just had to switch TA4a and TA4b. So, I just switch the wires at the terminal screw and the labels:

Before

After

And voila! Now, all switch points are correctly controlled by the ECoS:

ECoS Programming

 

With all the wiring done and all the tracks glued down, I can finish the modeling of the layout on the ECoS. Here are the steps:

1. Draw the layout by starting with the switches and by adding the remaining tracks
2. Link tracks to Railcom and retro-signal detectors
3. Test occupancy detectors
4. Test switch motors

ECos switch symbols

As one would expect, the switch's icon on the ECoS does not necessarily show the correct way the switch is thrown. One would also expect that the ECoS allows for the icon to be switched without actually throwing the switch. Well ... I found only this article online and it seems that the only option is to actually switch the power wires to the switch motor. I tried flipping the switch motor manually, but that does not work.

This is unfortunate, as in some instances I could not swap the power wires since they were cut to size. Instead, I had to switch these wires at the terminal, ending in a color mismatching, which I certainly dislike:

Current status

Here's where we stand:

• Wiring: done, except for the switch frogs
• Tracks: done, except for the missing sleepers and for section M4 as I'm still not sure it is the best design since that area should have the freight hall
• Switches: done

What's next then? Cleaning tracks ... again ...

Wiring - cable colors

 

A quick guide on the colors chosen for the wires:

• Black: this is the O pin out from the ECoS Command Station. Any black wires can be connected to any other black wires.
• Red: there are two purposes for the red cables:

1. The B pin out from the ECoS Command Station. Any "B" cables can be connected to any other red "B" cables. This is no retro signal from those "B" cables. It is mainly used for the switches and probably some very small sections on the layout
2. Other red cables are for the retro signal for each section. Those cables cannot be mis-connected!

• White and blue cables carry the power for the switch motors
• Green: this is for powering the frog of the switches - this has not been done yet!

Wiring - part 24 of 24 (?)

 

Well, it seems that the first phase of this wiring is now complete. What's next?

1. Glue the tracks in place
2. Cut the switch bar handles
3. Program all the sections and switches into the ECoS Command Station
4. And enjoy the full layout!

Here are pictures of pretty much all the underneath of the layout:

Wiring - part 23

 

And with that, I also completed the wiring for the switch motors:

Wiring - part 22

 

Today, I completed the wiring between the screw terminals and the terminal to the rack for all the sections:

What I have left is the similar wiring for the remaining switch motors. Almost there ...

Wiring - part 21

 

Yesterday, I didn't wire the switch motor C4; this is done now:

Moving to the next section, I installed switch motor C5 and all the sections G6, G7, G8, and G9:

As it turns out, those switch motors were not wired yet; this is done now:

Moving back on the other end, I installed switch motor E3 and all the surrounding sections:

As mentioned previously, I have yet to draw the wires between the rack connectors and the screw terminals. This is true for the wiring I've done over the last couple of weeks.

Wiring - part 20

 

More wiring in the zone of switches C3 and C4:

Wiring - part 19

 

Unlike what I mentioned on my previous post, I've decided to wire as much as I could in the sections I'm accessing. I have yet to wire between the screw terminals back to the rack connectors:

Wiring - part 18

 

A short update only here:

Wiring - part 17

 

Following one of the previous wiring post, I'm working on sections G1, G2, and G3, which include switch motors TA3, TA4a, TA4b, TD3, and TD4:

Wiring - part 16

 

I just got the longer spring wires for the TD3 switch motor. It was quite easy to fit into the switch bar!

I did a quick test with a power block, just to be sure: