Peco Turntable adaption for perm power ( DCC Sound )

[ianjeffery]

Just thought id share this as i had not found an easy way anywhere else...

 

I have a sound loco and i wanted it to remain powered through 360deg rotation of the turntable. I did start from scratch with a new build turntable, but i wanted to adapt a built one, as that is what most people would have.

 

The plan was minimal adapting, and all non-visual.

 

Sorry if this is teaching you to such eggs....

 

Here we go....

 

the first thing is to make a grove in the top of the plunger section for the wire to sit in. ( also drilled a hole to make it easier for the next stage

 

 

then i drilled a into the main plunger post at the side, into the inside of the plunger

 

 

it looks messy, but remember it will be hidden.

 

next, i feed some of the turntable wire in the pack down the plunger and out the hole on the side i just drilled. its best to give yourself plenty of length.

 

 

then feed the end you just passed through the new drilled hole, up and down what should usually hold the spring loaded brass thingy. Make sure the wire does not go all the way through - i still have some poking out the plunger.

 

 

you should then have this...

 

 

next , take the brass spring loaded plunger thingy and solder the end that came out the rail side of the bridge to the flat end. The idea is we will reinsert the brass thing upside down.

 

 

should look like this...

 

 

then reinsert the plunger, wire down, nobble up into the hole below the track.

 

you can see it upside down in the hole...

 

 

now we need a 4mm brass rod, and solder the wire that comes out the main plunger part.

 

 

once done, file any poor soldering down ( :-) ) and insert into the plunger hole - helping the wire to feed out the drill hole on the side. I then used some insulation tape over the wire as it comes out from the bottom of the springy bass thingy.

 

 

 

Then you need to amend the collar on the table - so i then used a craft nice to cut out the bit of plastic that is usually between the two sides of the split ring - this is so i can solder the two together and not have it too raised.

 

 

i then placed a small bit of solder on the ends of one split ring, then placed the other side ends over the top ( to maintain a true circle ) and joined the two together by reheating the solder through the top one.

 

 

Then i placed if back in the turntable.

 

I then found a 4mm ID brass collar, and soldered another separate piece of wire, 

 

 

then inserted the turntable bridge in to the well, and slipped the collar on to the brass rod. Its not 100% fit ( a little bit loose ) so use a 4mm ID spring ( one the same as supplied in the kit ) to keep the collar against the stepper coupler ( not shown ).

 

this is the end result...

 

 

 

i tested it and it worked really well for me.

 

Let me know if this is useful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Martingchapman]

Well done, a great idea.

 

Thanks for taking the time to document and share.

[Dr diesel]

Thank you Ian for this excellent article.

My friend is soon to purchase this turntable and I will draw his attention to this modification.

Regards

Jeff

Edited January 13, 2019 by Dr diesel

[ianjeffery]

ah, even easier if your putting it together first - as you can drill the holes easier in the base.

 

if he plans on motorising it, either with DC or DCC then www.dccinterface.com have a good kit on sale.

[Dr diesel]

Ian

I will be seeing him tomorrow

Thank you for the web link

Regards

Jeff

[lem1winks]

Any chance the images can be restored for this guide? Trying to do the same thing myself but no idea what to do Sadaly. 

[AMJ]

One thing that I have seen done by someone building a turn table from scratch is to use an audio jack as the main pivot point and electrical contact.  This ensures that the power always stays on no matter what angle you have the deck at.  It will need an auto reverse module feeding it to ensure that upon the loco moving on/off the bridge that there are no shorts.

This will also work on a PECO one provided that you are not using the shaft for turning using motor or other mechanical means.