automatic reversing

[dmestan]

For handcars and trolley that don't have auto reversing, is there any wiring techniques that can accomplish auto reversing? Also, any have any experience with K-Line hand cars? I'm looking at the coke bear handcar and trailer, K2625-02. Thinking ahead for next Christmas, and would like to have straight track display with the car going back and forth.

thx, Don

[Roger Bielen]

Don,

For starters, if the Coke Bear handcar is similar to the KCC one it doesn't have a reversing unit, therefore no matter what you do, short of converting it to DC, I don't believe this is possible.

For units with reversing capabilities there are manufacturers of electronics to accompli***his. Do a search on this forum, I think this has come up before.

[SPFan]

QSI Industries sells reversing boards for AC and DC powered units. They are used in some of the trolleys. Not sure they would fit in a handcar. I suspect handcar electronics would have to custom made using Large Scale Integration (LSI) techniques in order to fit. http://www.qsindustries.com/

Pete

[lionelsoni]

The difficulty with adapting ordinary e-unit pieces for automatic reversing without serious mechanical modification is that the e-unit will sooner or later miss a step.

One way to accomplish automatic reversing is to eliminate the e-unit and convert the piece to operate on DC like a scale locomotive, using the DC polarity to determine the direction. If it already has a DC (can) motor, this is as simple as reconnecting the motor directly to the frame and pickup. If it has an AC motor (like traditional toy trains), disconnect the e-unit, wire the armature brushes to the output of a bridge rectifier and put the input of the bridge between the field and the pickup. The motor will then act like a DC motor. Then you can use any of the electronics made for automatic reversing of scale trains.