Schematic Reference

This small circuit can be used to control model railway turnouts operated by AC voltages. A logic level in the range of 5–12 V can be used as the control signal. The coils of the turnout are switched using triacs. Changes in the logic level of the input signal are passed on by the buffer stage built around T1 and T2. The buffer stage is included to boost the current available at the gates of the triacs. If the input goes high, this positive change is passed through via C1. That causes a positive current to flow through D2 (D2 is reverse biased) to the gate of T3. That triac switches on, and power is applied to the turnout coil.


This situation persists until C1 is fully charged. No more current flows after that, so the triac does not receive any gate current and switches off. If the input is set low, a negative current flows briefly via C1. It can flow through D2, but not through D1. T4 is switched on now, and the other turnout coil is energised. This circuit takes advantage of the fact that triacs can be triggered by negative as well as positive gate currents. If the turnout coils are energised for too long, you should reduce the value of C1.

If they are not energised long enough, increase the value of C1. The TIC206D can handle several ampères, so it can easily drive just about any type of turnout coil. You can also use a different type of triac if you wish. However, bear in mind that the TIC206 requires only 5 mA of gate current, while most triacs want 50 mA. That will cause the switching times to become quite short, so it may be necessary to reduce the value of R1.

As a guide, a one-inch reed switch with 40 turns reliably switched on with the current flowing through a 150-watt lamp (approx. 625 mA) but larger reeds may require more turns. If the master appliance draws less current (which is unlikely with power tools) more turns will be required. The reed switch is used to switch on transistor T1 which in turn switches the relay RE1 and powers the slave appliance. Since reed switches have a low mechanical inertia, they have little difficulty in following the fluctuations of the magnetic field due to the alternating current in the coil and this means that they will switch on and off at 100 Hz.


C3 is therefore fitted to slow down the transistor response and keep the relay energised during the mains zero crossings when the current drawn by the appliance falls to zero and the reed switch opens. C1 drops the mains voltage to about 15 V (determined by zener diode D1) and this is rectified and smoothed by D2 and C2 to provide a d.c. supply for the circuit. The relay contacts should be rated to switch the intended appliance (vacuum cleaner) and the coil should have a minimum coil resistance of 400 R as the simple d.c. supply can only provide a limited current. C1 drops virtually the full mains voltage and should therefore be a n X2-class component with a voltage rating of at least 250V a.c.

Warning:
The circuit is by its nature connected directly to the mains supply. Great care should therefore be taken in its construction and the circuit should be enclosed in a plastic or earthed metal box with mains sockets fitted for the master and slave appliances.

How often does it happen that you close down Windows and then forget to turn off the computer? This circuit does that automatically. After Windows is shut down there is a ‘click’ a second later and the PC is disconnected from the mains. Surprisingly enough, this switch fits in some older computer cases. If the circuit doesn’t fit then it will have to be housed in a separate enclosure. That is why a supply voltage of 5 V was selected. This voltage can be obtained from a USB port when the circuit has to be on the outside of the PC case.

It is best to solder the mains wires straight onto the switch and to insulate them with heat shrink sleeving. C8 is charged via D1. This is how the power supply voltage for IC1 is obtained. A square wave oscillator is built around IC1a, R1 and C9, which drives inverters IC1c to f. The frequency is about 50 kHz. The four inverters in parallel power the voltage multiplier, which has a multiplication of 3, and is built from C1 to C3 and D2 to D5. This is used to charge C5 to C7 to a voltage of about 9 V.

The generated voltage is clearly lower than the theoretical 3x4.8=14.4 V, because some voltage is lost across the PN-junctions of the diodes. C5 to C7 form the buffer that powers the coil of the switch when switching off. The capacitors charge up in about two seconds after switching on. The circuit is now ready for use. When Windows is closed down, the 5-V power supply voltage disappears. C4 is discharged via R2 and this results in a ‘0’ at the input of inverter IC1b. The output then becomes a ‘1’, which causes T1 to turn on.


A voltage is now applied to the coil in the mains switch and the power supply of the PC is turned off. T1 is a type BSS295 because the resistance of the coil is only 24R. When the PC is switched on, the circuit draws a peak current of about 200 mA, after which the current consumption drops to about 300 µA. The current when switching on could be higher because this is strongly dependent on the characteristics of the 5-V power supply and the supply rails in the PC. There isn’t much to say about the construction of the circuit itself.

The only things to take care with are the mains wires to the switch. The mains voltage may not appear at the connections to the coil. That is why there has to be a distance of at least 6 mm between the conductors that are connected to the mains and the conductors that are connected to the low-voltage part of the circuit.