# No more melted terminal tracks solved Part III.



## Tycoarm (Jan 7, 2006)

I thought I had a way for the Tomy track on part II but found out that it can't be done in the same manner as the Tyco track.
So I have come up with a solution.

Let's start once again with some HO train track rail joiners you'll have to unfold them first. I found it easy to use an awl slip it into the end of the joiner and slowly push it through, then finish with a pair of needle nose pliers.


















The joiner should now look like the one on the right.









Next you need to cut and solder them to some wire as shown, four pieces two for power and two for controller. I used common light cord wire for the power and 24 gauge speaker wire for the controller.










Now to attach them onto the track. If you hold a piece of track to the light you'll notice these small gaps next to the rails.









Now this is where to slip the soldered pieces you made. From under the track slip the tapered ends into the gaps. This could be tricky, so patience is the key.









* If you find it difficult you can slip an Exacto blade into the gap to open it up a bit but careful you want the soldered rail joiner to rest firm up against the rail.
Remember to match all the power and controller wires the same for each terminal you make.
Once you got them all in it should look like this.









Ok now test out your work ( I usually connect a power pak directly to the wires to test) if the car runs then good you did it, next just squeeze some hot glue onto the wires from under the track as this will help to keep the wires from becoming loose.

The last thing to do is to either cut the tips sticking out from the top of track (a Dremel with a cut off wheel works great for this) or simply just fold them down.

Note: The Tyco track has the same gaps, so I would think it could be done in the same manner. 

Special thanks to Scafremon :thumbsup: for inquiring on this system. I never put it to use on the Tomy track and after finding out It could not work the same as it did for the Tyco track it got me to come up with this method. 

Tycoarm/Tycosaur


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## Scafremon (Dec 11, 2006)

I'm real excited about this method for power taps, and will post results when I get to try it out fully. 

I was surprised when I held a piece of my Tomy track to the light and actually saw those small slits. I then found some old HO RR connectors, and (with patience like you mentioned) was able to get a tip pushed through the tiny slit.

I then flattened out a couple of the connectors, and took a stab at soldering. I did not cut the connector like I will need to - I was just seeing if I could actually solder something together, and after a few feeble attempts I was able to. My soldering is probably not ready for prime time yet, but I'm ok sacrificing a few of these connectors and short lengths of wire while I learn.

Sometime over next few days I will try and complete the process.

I really think this can be a great way for power taps, especially for the soldering newbies like me. Thanks again for the idea, and the additional photos and description.


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## Tycoarm (Jan 7, 2006)

Hey Scaf, I'm not a pro at soldering myself but a few things that can help you in the process.

1. Use the right wire for the job.

2. Twist the wire before you solder it down.

3. Use flux on the wire and on the piece your attaching the wire to.

4. Have the piece your soldering the wire onto secured so all your holding is the wire and the soldering iron.

4. Both the wire and the piece your soldering has to get to the same temperature for a good bond. That is why it can be difficult to solder on the track itself as the track rails are just too thick and the heat won't transfer onto it causing you to overheat the rail which now leads to melting the track.


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## a427fi (Aug 24, 2005)

There's an article on howorld.net that describes a similar method for connecting power to Tomy track. I have not tried it, but both methods look good to me. Click on archives, then scroll down and on the left side of the page under "how-to's", click on "quick connect-track terminal."


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