Did this concept even exist before DCC was a thing? (see how I'm trying to stay on topic here - I really couldn't find a topic for this) I thought this would be a cool upgrade for my DC switching, without worrying about/resetting momentum settings and such. If I had a bi-directional wheel on my throttle that switched polarity at the zero point, that would work without constantly using the reversing switch. Has anyone seen anything like this out there, even as a project?
Son, just about everything existed before electronics. Love, sex, music, color, comedy, drama, even computers (though mechanical calculators were admittedly loud, noisy and slow). Yes, it was called pulse power. And modern motors are not fond of it, so you would be well advised to skip it.
I don't think he's talking about that. He wants reversing more convenient so you're not throwing a switch every time. I don't know about DCC as I don't do DCC but many European power packs in DC used to have a center off feature instead of a reversing switch. Doug
Back in our club's analog DC days we had a member who built a 'throttle' for switching. I use the term 'throttle' in parenthesis because it wasn't really a full throttle but rather something to control direction. The unit was really a six pole DPDT Center Off spring switch mounted on an Old Spice deodorant container. It was tethered to a power pack for power (the variable DC terminals) and also to the track. Voltage was constant as set by the power pack and flowed through the unit to the track. The unit only controlled direction. The switch had to be held in position for the engine to move. Releasing the switch's handle caused it to return to the center position which cut off the power. It worked well. Also I believe MRC marketed a similar product back in the pre DCC days.
Not sure why the switch needed 6 poles... unless it was connected to multiple power districts? I'm not experienced with complex DC layouts. But a DPDT with center-off would do nicely with a single power pack, ahead of any district switches, and they are readily available, even in momentary (dead-man to center-off).
Two poles for power in + and - . Call the poles A. Center poles connected to track + and -. Call them poles B. Third set of poles for reverse - and + (wires from first poles switched to opposite poles). Call them poles C. When toggle is in middle position no power to track, engine doesn't move. When toggle is switched to engage poles A the locomotive moves North. When toggle is moved to engage poles C the engine reverses and goes South..
Most Arnold Rapido power packs, back in the day, had a throttle with reverse - center off - froward. I have a couple of them. I actually like that feature once you get used to it. Doug
there are several older makes of power packs to choose from .. off the top of my head life like and bachman had power packs with a center off, forward one way, and reverse the other .. from what i remember these were not high current power packs, maybe one and a half to two amps tops ... should be able to find a few on ebay for ten bucks plus shipping
You were right the first time. Double pole. Two inputs, which don't count, two outputs each for the two directions you can throw the switch. DPDT. Six pole double throw switches have fourteen places to attach wires. Or am I thinking of double pole, six throw switches? The other one has eighteen.
