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I have just installed an Atlas O turntable. I have it wired for 3-rail operation, however one half of the center rail does not have any power. Shown in the picture below, the left side center rail has power, the right side center rail has no power and the engine stops on this part of the track. The two center rail haves are separated by a screw located at the center of the turntable (where the rotation shaft must be located).

There must be a loose connection between the center rails. However, I am not sure how to get inside the turntable and check the connection or solder a jumper wire between the two center rails. I do not want to damage the turntable with my typical trial and error. 

Does anyone know the correct way to access the center rail jumper wire, within the turntable? (has anyone else ever had this problem?)

Atlas turntable top view with center rail arrows

I have checked the wiring in the tool box, at the center of the turntable, and all the connections are properly powered for 3-rail operation.

Thanks in advance for any help getting inside this turntable.

 

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  • Atlas turntable top view with center rail arrows
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I resolved the problems with track power as follows:

the bolt in the center of the turntable is the rotation shaft that can be removed with a flat head screwdriver. There is a nut under the turntable (don't loose it). this allows the to part of the turntable to be lifted up. there are two spring loaded contacts for the outer rails (they will fall out when you lift the top of the turntable off).

I was able to reassemble the turntable with these contacts in place, by using some "red & tacky" grease to hold them in place when the turntable is reassembled, preventing them from falling out of their contact seat in the moulded plastic top.

The dead center rail was due to a contactor clip being broken. I soldered some wire between the center rail power clip and the center rail, restoring the contact. This would would make the easy transfer from 2-rail to 3-rail more difficult, (as the soldered wire would need to be removed), however this is not an issue as I will only use the turntable for my 3-rail operation.

I hope this post will help anyone with a similar problem, as this broken center rail tab came from the factory, new out of the box turntable.

Hi I know this is an old post but I scored one of these Atlas turntables today. It worked for five minutes before one of the contacts melted. It says in the instructions it can handle constant voltage from legacy tmcc. So I took it apart and the tiny little contacts that make the track connection were completely melted. This is a used turntable i got for $50 so it wasn't a surprise. I modified the pickups that make contact under the turntable with screw heads and springs. Now those make the contact with the power rings. I think the original set up wasn't heavy enough to take the constant power.

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Last edited by hiker39

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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