# Help with 90ft Turntable 933-3171



## Rogue (Apr 7, 2020)

Hey, new to the forum, desperately need help. I’m trying to instal the 90ft Turntable and the instructions are... less than desired (as usual!) and I am lost and frustrated. Working with DCC. According to the directions:

A) The track power: Solder wires to the rail (only using the metal railings), then glue the rail to the deck. Where do these wire go/connect to?
B) #35 is 2 brass rings, says to solder a wire to each and run it up through the hole so it comes up the turntable. Does this connect to the track feeders?
C) Then there are the brass strips which get wires at the base where it screws in. And must touch the brass rings (above). The wires go to?
D) Then there is the motor and power supply. 

WHAT connects WHERE?? I can’t find any videos showing the actual wiring and I would need very detailed instructions if someone has the time and patience, that would be so amazing! Thanks!
- R


----------



## gregc (Apr 25, 2015)

the wires soldered to the track are threaded down thru the shaft and soldered to the either the inside or the top edge of the brass rings riding on the shaft.

the wires to the brass strips are connected to the track either thru a reversing switch or auto-reverser if DCC

the motor needs to run both clockwise and counter-clockwise and therefore needs a convenient way to reverse polarity. a DPDT center-off toggle can be used. a momentary DPDT center-off toggle can be used. Two momentary DPST switches can be used, one wired opposite polarity of the other (possibly one a momentary DPDT with the normally closed contacts providing power to the other to prevent a short if both were pressed at the same time)


----------



## Dennis461 (Jan 5, 2018)

See my post here...








Walthers 90' turntable kit


DO NOT BUY THIS TURNTABLE UNLESS you like scratchbuilding, kitbashing, repairing . There have been numerous posts over the years regarding the less than adequate performance of this 90’ Walthers turntable kit. (links at end of post). I received this as a gift and feel compelled to assemble it...




www.modeltrainforum.com





One other hint, when test assembling the kit, do not tighten the small screws that go into plastic. You will find you may need to disassemble and re-assemble several times. The screw holes will break or wear out.


----------



## Rogue (Apr 7, 2020)

Thank you so much for replying! So the track gets wired twice then? At the center point which then connects to the brass wires and then where for the brass strips and where do the wires get hidden? We don’t plan on using a reversing switch, it won’t be turned enough to worry about polarity so now what?

I have the kit motor for it but I have a separate power supply with reverse switching, where do they connect to?


----------



## Rogue (Apr 7, 2020)

Here is what I’m understanding: The track is to be wired once through/at center, from the track down into the brass rings. Then (since I’m not using a reverser) the brass strips go to my track which instead is a separate multi-directional power supply. I’m thinking that the Turntable motor also connects to my power supply, so power supply will have 4 wires in total. Does that sound appropriate?


----------



## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

Does the kit not come with two brass/copper blades, or wipers? Those are supposed to ride on the outer surface of the two rings. They will tend to ride down over time, perhaps right off the rings. I fashioned a couple of plastic washers to separate the rings from each other and so that they would act as a retaining flange of sorts on which the sagging wipers would eventually find purchase.
The tracks get two wires which I seem to recall I had to solder onto the insides of the rings...maybe it was the outside, I forget...it was 15 years ago. The two wipers each get one end of another pair of wires that will go to the power supply for the rails. If you are going DCC, then their other ends would be spliced into the main DCC bus or onto the output terminals of the DCC system. 

You'll need a reverser, and that can be a DPDT or a PSX or AR, your choice. Their a bit spendy, but the PSX series are amazing and they are fire-and-forget. The reverser would be in series between the two wipers and your main power outputs or source.

The drive mechanism would be driven off another power supply, ideally. Keep the tracks and reverser separate from the drive power that turns the table.


----------



## Dennis461 (Jan 5, 2018)

Rogue said:


> Here is what I’m understanding: The track is to be wired once through/at center, from the track down into the brass rings. Then (since I’m not using a reverser) the brass strips go to my track which instead is a separate multi-directional power supply. I’m thinking that the Turntable motor also connects to my power supply, so power supply will have 4 wires in total. Does that sound appropriate?


Almost right. You need TWO power supplies. The turntable rotating motor needs both speed and direction. As it rotates, you slow down right before the tracks align, then power off. If you overshoot, you need to reverse direction and rotate back.

Meanwhile, the layout track has it's own power supply, which is usually dialed down to zero, no trains running.

The two wires from TT track down through center, soldered to the rings is the hard part of the assembly.


----------



## Rogue (Apr 7, 2020)

Yes, it comes with two brass rings and strips. Have the motor working, one last question, does one wire go from the track to each brass ring (black to top, red to bottom) and the only way the rings and strips interact is physically rubbing against each other, there is no wiring to link them correct?


----------



## gregc (Apr 25, 2015)

in order to keep the wires from twisting and eventually preventing the shaft from turning, the only electrical contact between the external wiring to the track power source (thru a reversing mechanism) and the bridge tracks are the 2 contact strips and brass rings.


----------



## Dennis461 (Jan 5, 2018)

Rogue said:


> Yes, it comes with two brass rings and strips. Have the motor working, one last question, does one wire go from the track to each brass ring (black to top, red to bottom) and the only way the rings and strips interact is physically rubbing against each other, there is no wiring to link them correct?


correct, I trimmed my wipers, they seemed to be dragging on the gear which lifted them away from the brass rings. I put a LED light in the control house, hard wired to the TT track. This was done so I could see the polarity of the TT track as I throttled up a locomotive. Once I had it up and running/testing, as the TT rotated through 360 degrees, I noticed the LED would go off and then light. That's how I knew the wipers were loosing contact with the brass rings.

And Notice the kit uses two black wires not red and black. In conventional use, they get reversed with the double pole double throw (DPDT) toggle switch or reverser most people use.


----------



## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

Dennis461 said:


> In conventional use, they get reversed with the double pole double throw (DPDT) toggle switch or reverser most people use.


I was just wondering about that -- SURELY with the wiring setup being described there must be something to reverse the polarity before the train tries to head back out onto the track.

@Rogue -- you say it won't be turned enough to worry about reversing the polarity, which means you're already doomed to certainly spin it 180 degrees more often than you imagined.


----------



## Rogue (Apr 7, 2020)

Thanks for the great advice, esp about using the plastic washer for spacers, pics are much appreciated! 

Shdwdrgn... Nah, the way our layout is set up we have repair shops and a roundhouse in a very narrow area that won’t need to move this turntable much. I have a power supply that moves clockwise and counter clockwise and we’ll just keep an eye on it; This one is my dad’s project btw so his corner of the track. We might get a reverser or a decoder at some point but right now things are hard to come buy (can’t find) and it’s not a priority project at the moment. It works as is and if we short out the table I promise I’ll let you know so you can have a good I-told-you-so moment ;-)


Thanks for all of the advice, much appreciated!


----------



## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

The pick up rings that the wipers rest on my have gaps at the 180 degree points, which would eliminate the need for any track reversing electronics. You just don't want to have any tracks that use that position.


----------

