Wiring Electrofrog turnouts for DCC Cobalt motors

[Bob G]

Wiring Electrofrog turnouts for DCC Cobalt motors 

Unashamedly this is an NGS Helpline question for which I do not have the answer, as I have never used Cobalts (only Peco turnout motors).

If you have the answer to this question, please let me know. I'm sure others on the forum would also appreciate the answer too.

Cheers Bob


I have recently decided to build a small layout and this time wished to use turnout motors which hitherto and was too apprehensive to try.

I will be using DCC Cobalt digital motors in conjunction with Peco Code 55 Electrofrog turnouts.

I understand how to wire up the Cobalt motor to the bus wire but am confused as to how to wire the frog to the Cobalt motor. I have watched all of the videos that I can find on this subject on YouTube and have not found the answer. The principal reason for this is that the Peco turnouts are featured have a thin wire that is then soldered to another wire and then to the appropriate terminal on the Cobalt. That seemed fairly straightforward.

However, I have just purchased four electrofrog turnouts and the wiring underneath the frog looks nothing like those in the YouTube videos. I enclose a photograph of the underneath of the frog. It would be possible to prise the wire out of its channel and solder a wire on a corner where there is a little more room, but I am apprehensive to do this without some further advice.

Are you able to advise me on this matter?

[jpendle]

Hi Bob,

You correspondent needs to solder a wire either to the frog rails, or they can indeed prise up the visible wire and solder to that but they would then need a suitable cut out in the baseboard so that the point can still lie flat.

Regards,

John P

[PLD]

1. If you're using Cobalts or any other similar slow action point motors with Peco points, it is advisable to remove the over-centre spring from the point.

2. Some will advise to modify the point breaking the link between the switch rails and the frog and linking the switch rails to the adjacent stock rail. This is really only needed with the tight clearance of finescale track and unnecessary for the more generous spacing of Peco points.

3. To connect the frog, wire from that link wire under the frog (or a pre-wired fishplate on either of the frog exit rails) to the terminal labelled "Switch 1 C" on the motor. The + & - track buses should be connected to terminals Switch 1 L&R. (if this causes a short, swap over these two on the motor).
If there is another track feed beyond the frog, an isolation gap will be needed on the frog rail after the feed.

[ntpntpntp]

Those must be older Electrofrog points, originally they didn't have a frog dropper wire fitted as it's not mandatory for operation of the point - just a more reliable "belt and braces" approach to fit a switched dropper somewhere.  Yes I've always fitted a dropper wire, usually to one of the frog V rails.

[Bob G]

Many thanks guys. I 've passed the info on.

I think I will stick with Peco point motors on my layout 

Bob

[LASteve]

Bob - another piece of advice is that if the section or layout shorts out when the point is changing with the frog wired, your correspondent needs either to swap over the +/- wiring on the Cobalt, or reverse the operation of the motor itself (the Cobalt manual has information of how to send a command to the motor in "learn" mode to do that).