The NMRA came up with this option many years ago. They figured some will not want to change or have the finances to do so. DCC is quite old and always evolving.
I did for a while as my 0-8-0 was a bashed loco and at the time, DCC did not exist. A real challenge to take the loco and tender apart.
http://www.dccwiki.com/Zero_Stretching
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Command_Control
A little Googling can show you a lot about this issue. I see a lot of assumptions in different forums.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
No, it does not hurt the command station or booster. The command station is producing the zero stretched waveform and the booster is putting it on the track. This is a DCC feature, not mixing of DC and DCC using a traditional power pack.
It is NOT the same thing as the "Jump" throttle feature on the Digitrax Zephyer/Zephyr Xtra. That feature uses a standard DC power pack connected to the DCC system to act as a second (and third - you can connect 2) throttle via circuitry in the system to convert the variable DC voltage from the power pack into a DCC throttle command.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.