# Kati unitrack dcc turnouts question



## daveben (Jan 30, 2021)

Newbie again with a lame question. I have Kato track and MRC dcc controller. How would I use this controller to operate turnouts and accessories without a Kato power pack? Thanks for your input!


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Your DCC controller is designed to power the layout tracks.
You must use another source of power for your
turnouts, lights and other accessories.
Many use old DC power packs (any make) and others
use discarded wall Warts. Look on the label of
the wall warts for output Voltage and type of current,
AC or DC. You likely will need 12 to 15 volts DC.
The turnout instructions should tell you the 
power requirements.

The exception to the above is the use of stationary
decoders which may or may not use track power.
You would need a decoder for each turnout.

Don


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I think Don missed the mark on his answer (unusual for him). Obviously, you can POWER the turnouts, and thus use the Kato remote operators, with any old wall wart of the appropriate voltage.

But I also don't think that's what you were asking (although frankly, I think that's the better option -- saves the power and recall slots in the DCC system for actually running trains). That said, if you want to operate your turnouts with your DCC system (no matter what brand), you will need to purchase a "stationary decoder" for EACH turnout, and wire those to the DCC bus in accordance with the directions that come with it. You will then be able to assign each of these a unique address, and send them commands using your DCC handheld. You can also set routes which will align multiple turnouts with a single command.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

daveben said:


> Newbie again with a lame question. I have Kato track and MRC dcc controller. How would I use this controller to operate turnouts and accessories without a Kato power pack? Thanks for your input!



daveben;

Don't sweat asking questions. That's one of the main functions of this forum. Asking questions & getting answers. Also, the only "lame" questions are the ones you don't ask! 
DonR & CTValley have answered your basic question, but there is one difference between the solenoid-type switch machine inside a Kato turnout, and some other brands of switch machine.

There are two basic types of switch machines.

The first is a "Twin-coil' type. These will work on either DC or AC power, but the power can only be on for a second or two, or the coils can burn out, which ruins the switch machine. Atlas, Bachmann, and Peco, switch machines are examples of twin-coil type switch machines.

The second is a "Stall motor" type. This uses a DC motor, geared down for slow motion & a lot of mechanical force. These can run on DC only.
The DC power's polarity is reversed to move the points of the turnout. A stall motor is normally powered on constantly. Unlike the twin-coil type, a stall motor won't burn out because the power is on for more than a second or two. Stall motors are specifically designed to have power supplied to them all the time. Tortoise, and Switchmaster are two examples of Stall motor type switch machines.

And then there's Kato!
As far as I know, Kato is the only switch machine out there that runs on DC only, and uses DC power polarity reversal to move the points of the turnout. (You can probably see that both of these characteristics are the same as the stall motor machines.) BUT, unlike stall motors, the Kato single-coil machine can not stand constant power. It will burn out, just like the twin-coil type, if power is constantly applied.

Stationary DCC decoders typically can output either a short pulse of DC, (for the twin coil machines), or a constant, but reversible, DC (for the stall motors.) Kato turnouts can't use either of these voltage combinations.
If you plan to use stationary decoders, make very sure that hey have a brief pulse of reversible DC power output, and that they are compatible with Kato turnouts.

Another point, some stationary decoders have more than one output channel. They can therefore control more than one turnout, independently. For example a four-channel "Quad" decoder can control up to four turnouts.

The attached files have more info on turnouts, switch machines and DCC.

Traction Fan 🙂


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## daveben (Jan 30, 2021)

Thanks so much friends. I think I understand what to do. I will get a separate DC power pack to operate the turnouts and some toggle switches.


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## Wooky_Choo_Bacca (Nov 13, 2020)

daveben said:


> Thanks so much friends. I think I understand what to do. I will get a separate DC power pack to operate the turnouts and some toggle switches.


Yeah, but make sure of a couple of things, the power should be 10-12 volts DC and most important on the toggle switches, get DPDT Off/Momentary On/Off switches. they will snap back to off when released. You only will need the power supplied when you flip the switch one way or the other and they will have to be wired to reverse the polarity depending on which way they are thrown


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

daveben said:


> Thanks so much friends. I think I understand what to do. I will get a separate DC power pack to operate the turnouts and some toggle switches.


daveben;

I want to add my support to what Wooky_Choo_Bacca says above. It is very important ! Using conventional toggle switches will quickly burn out the coils inside your Kato turnouts! Normal toggle switches make the current stay on constantly whichever way they are thrown. If you use toggle switches, they must be spring-loaded to a "Center Off" position. 

The red & black wires from the Kato turnout should be connected to the two center terminals of the toggle switch. The 10-12 volts (DC only) should be connected to the pair of terminals at one end of the toggle switch. Then those same end terminals should be connected to the terminals at the opposite end of the toggle by jumpers connected in an 'X' pattern. Doing this will cause the polarity of the DC current to be reversed when the toggle is (briefly) thrown to that direction. Current reversal is what makes the unique Kato single-coil switch machine work. Supplying the reversed current only in brief bursts is what "keeps it working," by not burning it out ! 

Traction Fan 🙂


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## daveben (Jan 30, 2021)

Wooky_Choo_Bacca said:


> Yeah, but make sure of a couple of things, the power should be 10-12 volts DC and most important on the toggle switches, get DPDT Off/Momentary On/Off switches. they will snap back to off when released. You only will need the power supplied when you flip the switch one way or the other and they will have to be wired to reverse the polarity depending on which way they are thrown


OK thanks.


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## Wooky_Choo_Bacca (Nov 13, 2020)

daveben said:


> OK thanks.


LOL, I messed up and just caught myself  , supposed to read Momentary ON / OFF / Momentary ON. Hopefully you got the basic madness of the method here, you throw the switch one way or the other so the turnout goes one way or the other then let go and it snaps to OFF








I have mine laid out close to how they are on the layout, not shown but I've marked each how the turnouts go with the track. The row of switches along the bottom are for lights, on and off


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