SignalTraffic Forums

by **vaughnsimon** on Wed Aug 15, 2012 4:48 pm

RunsWithCrouse-Hinds wrote:Yeah, AM/SW radio interests and electromechanical devices are quite an unfortunate combination...I always know when my controllers are changing!

OK I have a story about that if you don't mind an off-topic ramble: I was an avid amateur radio operator for many decades (WB4UHB) We got a trouble call from a fellow amateur radio operator complaining about radio frequency noise from our signalized intersection closest to his house.

Naturally I wanted to help, so we scheduled a trouble-shooting session. It was a big diamond interchange on I-95 so we scheduled two police officers. Our plan was to turn off one side at a time to see which one was radiating the interference, and then experiment with some filtering when we had the trouble localized.

So we got all ready. Two police cars, two bucket trucks, two other techs and my boss. I grabbed a portable radio so I could go the the fellow's house and listen to his radio to evaluate the results. When I suggested that we go, the man said "Oh I can't hear it at home, it's just when I'm driving by."

Ten minutes later we were back at the shop.

by **IndianaSmith** on Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:31 am

I wired a light up to it and it seems to run without the cap. It started off flashing red so I turned off the smaller timer thats mounted to door. Once I did that it cycled through GYR once but after that it wouldnt resync the cam rod. I'll screw with it more today. thanks

by **TacomaJoe** on Thu Aug 16, 2012 7:56 am

Check the dial contacts. Most keys will close the impulse set, only one will close the resync set.

Power for the impulse set comes from the cam contact #1. The resync set is always powered. Repeated closings of the impulse set will advance the cam until contact #1 opens and there is no longer power to the impulse set. At this point only the resync closure will advance the cam, close contact #1 and repower the impulse set.

by **traffictechgreg** on Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:51 pm

Dying to see what is inside! Did you get it open yet? If not, You could have a busted lock, start drilling baby!

by **traffictechgreg** on Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:53 pm

Oops - didn't realize there were more pages to this thread I must be :sleep:

- she's a beaut!

by **LarryC39** on Sun Aug 19, 2012 10:54 pm

JVC8230 wrote:
vaughnsimon wrote:That capacitor is likely just a line filter. Unless you like listening to AM radio, you probably can do without it.

The Original Vaughn

I like to listen to AM radio. You can definitely hear each time my EF-20 solenoid pulls in, LOL!!

Is there any stations on the air other than 650AM? I don't trust this FM stuff...

by **TacomaJoe** on Tue Aug 28, 2012 6:40 pm

Now there's your problem!

I was given the opportunity to look at this controller and found the problem right off with a good visual inspection. The problem was the sync contact wasn't working and the cam would stop. The contact above supplies power to the sync contact and should be closed. A slight twist of the cam below it will fix it. The second problem is that the head of the pass thru screw has popped off so even with the contact closed, power still won't make it to the sync contact.

The screw for the upper contact had popped on the back side as well, making a total of three breaks in the circuit.

This is not too uncommon for these panels. Same thing happens with the terminal panel in the cabinet. The screw get tightened, the panel expands a little with moisture and the screw heads pop off. Often everything stays in place and looks perfectly good.

by **TacomaJoe** on Mon Sep 03, 2012 9:13 am

Now that the dial advances the cam, I gave the rest of the controller the once over. Cam was a little sloppy because the stop pawl was worn.

It should be a nice flat surface. When they wear this bad there are two issues. The cam can over-rotate or the check pawl can stick in the groove.

With the cam dialed in, I went after the motor. This one had been a victim of "if a little oil and grease is a good thing, more is better" maintenance. Broke it down for cleaning. There are some places that shouldn't be oiled, the disc brake and clutch are two.

The clutch coil had been spliced out before but there was bare wire remaining.

You'll have to use your imagination to picture a couple of new cloth wires soldered in and the coil re-wrapped because I didn't get an "after" shot and it is buried back inside the motor.

The date on the motor core is DEC 30 1954, so it's been around the block. These are nice little controllers, this one has FLASH built in.

by **IndianaSmith** on Mon Sep 10, 2012 7:45 pm

Got the timer back from Joe today. Works great now thanks Joe !!!

by **Troy** on Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:28 pm

Wow! Nice work guys. :thumbsup:

I'm not sure how I missed this thread :scratch:

SignalTraffic Forums

Eagle Control box

Re: Eagle Control box

Re: Eagle Control box

Re: Eagle Control box

Re: Eagle Control box

Re: Eagle Control box

Re: Eagle Control box

Re: Eagle Control box

Re: Eagle Control box

Re: Eagle Control box

Re: Eagle Control box

Who is online