# DCC reverse loop



## arthur (Dec 27, 2007)

Greetings. My wife will allow me to put a reverse loop in my office in HO scale. ( Ask wife first, be safe) Can you have a reverse back and forth with DCC. I think the answer is no, but I thought I would ask. So this is a half question, HA,HO get it? It's Monday sorry. Second half of question. Do they have transformers to power HO with wireless throttles? I use a MRC 20? In the office for G gauge with a tethered throttle. I would like to hide the transformer for this little project and use a wireless type throttle. Thankx for putting up with my questions. Cheers, Arthur


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I don't quite understand your reverse loop question, can you try explaining your question a bit more?

Yes, Crest Electronics is making an HO version of their well-liked Revolution wireless system.

Regards, Greg


----------



## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Are you referring to a reverse loop (a large balloon-shaped track used to turn locomotives around) or a point-to-point back and forth commonly used for trolleys and the like? 

For back-and-forth set-ups in DCC, I want to say Massoth and Lenz make decoders with automatic back-and-forth capability programmed in to the decoder. (I'm not positive on the manufacturer, but I know the capability exists as I've seen it in action.) Reverse loops are independent of the decoder, but there are control modules which will handle the track polarity in those instances. 

Later,

K


----------



## arthur (Dec 27, 2007)

Sorry that I was not clear. It would be a trolley type back and forth. It would only be 15-20 feet in length. I was given some old locks. I thought I would use those, although I could only run a car or two due to length. The DCC would be for sound etc. I did not think a back and forth would work because of voltage differences between DC and DCC.


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

For almost 30 years I have used a simple unit, made by PH hobbies (no longer in business), that changes the polarity to the track. It has a dial to adjust the time needed. While PH is no longer in business, there are other units on the market; LGB, and I believe Split-Jaw. These work with straight DC. 

I used a 10 ohm resistor across a gap in the rails a couple of feet before the diode gap at each end. This cut the speed by about half and prevented a quick stop, which gave the passengers and crew whiplash.

This might be easier than DCC and unless you really need all the additional sounds, a simple sound card will work nicely for a Point to Point; engine, bell and whistle.

Chuck


----------



## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

You'd only need DCC if you wanted to control the railroad by DCC. If you're happy with traditional track power, then there are many products on the market that will allow you a simple back-and-forth arrangement. I usually recommend RR Concepts' *"Stationmaster Reverser"* control as it's very simple to set up and allows for smooth starts and stops. There are others that will do the same thing (*Dallee Electronics*) but they're a bit more complicated to set up. Still others will give you the basic back-and-forth, but with sudden stops and starts, which is hard on the eyes and the gears. (To say nothing of the passengers' whiplash lawsuits.)

If you want sound, there are non-DCC options from Phoenix, Dallee, and MyLocoSound. 

Later,

K


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

If you go the DCC option, and they are low current motors, then you can probably get by with an HO motor/sound decoder, like a Zimo, and you can also then get some of the cool options with the braking section (where you use a diode to the track section) and a few other built in automation things.

Most European decoders have these options.

I'm not an expert using these options, perhaps Dan Pierce will see this thread and comment, he's pretty much the expert in Zimo decoders.

Regards, Greg


----------



## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

There are yahoo groups for many of the decoder manufacturers where the experts can really help.
Axel and I are on the zimo forum as are many others around the world.


----------



## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

The Lenz Gold have the reverse function.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Dan can you post the link to the zimo forum?

Thanks, Greg


----------



## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg, here it is. there are many other groups here including NCE, JMRI and MRC

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Zimo-DCC/info

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/NCE-DCC/info


----------

