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5.04.2005

narrow gauge turntable drive


Part of a turntable mechanism built for a good friend. The pivot is a 1/4" mono phone plug and jack combination. A brass bushing was made to accept the cable end of the phone plug, and a nylon gear was bored out to fit the outside diameter. A brass plate to support the superstructure (built separately) was affixed to the top of the bushing. Power fed from the tip and ring contacts on the phone jack allows for sound equipped locos to remain uninterrupted throughout the turntable rotation. The wires are run from the plug solder tabs up to the rails inside the bushing body.



The turntable is powered by a Switchmaster stall motor mounted on a spring loaded swing arm. The spring keeps the stall motor pinion gear in mesh with the bridge pivot gear. The entire bridge can be removed from the top of the layout for maintenance or detailing by simply pulling upwards. A Lenz automatic reversing relay deals with the polarity change during rotation.

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