Wouldn't it be nice if.......

[Jacktal]

Day in day out I read comments stating that while DCC has numerous advantages,it is regarded as a very hard to reach goal for many who don't have the budget,specially younger modellers.The other main objection I read about is that many fellows feel that they don't have big enough layouts to justify the upgrade,which in my mind is a very strong point also.

Don't get me wrong here,I'm installing DCC on my layout,a rather small one I might say because I simply wanted it...and could stretch the budget a little...and also got a good deal on my system.But I understand that for many,it may just be too big of a leap.

Other than being able to operate different functions on locos(lights,horn,etc) independently,my perception is that the most significant advantage of DCC is the ability to set-up reversing loop automation,so one doesn't have to tackle different switches every now and then,making operation a lot more enjoyable.

OK,my question is theoretical but I believe could be,if only electronics engineers gave it a thought."Wouldn't it be nice if DC controls featured reversing loop poles,which through internal polarity detection,would supply the right polarity to the loop tracks?"

Such a feature would improve operational enjoyment and even with an increase in such a DC control,it would be much cheaper than DCC,so that many modelers could benefit from at least one of DCC's main features.They couldn't have 128 steps throttles,the MU'ing advantages and so on but it coud still be a reasonable compromise.

I'm only wondering here,since I'm no engineer.May be it can't be done at reasonable costs,or for other technical reasons....but I'm curious.........

[Anonymous]

In the end itcomes down to the same cost, except with DCC you do it almost all in one shot, where-as with DC you'll most likely spread it over the long term, but in the end you'll spend about the same.

Jay

[nfmisso]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jacktal

OK,my question is theoretical but I believe could be,if only electronics engineers gave it a thought."Wouldn't it be nice if DC controls featured reversing loop poles,which through internal polarity detection,would supply the right polarity to the loop tracks?"

I'm only wondering here,since I'm no engineer.May be it can't be done at reasonable costs,or for other technical reasons....but I'm curious.........

I am a Design Engineer.

DCC is much much cheaper than what you suggest.

The problem with trying to do it with DC, is that the reversing section is not the only one that switches polarity, the rest of the layout does too, and the design has to be specific for each layout. DC has the dis-advantage that the polarity on the track controls the locomotive direction, which complicates things.

DCC locomotives don't care about the polarity on the track, so the autoreverser can just detect the short as a locomotive crosses into and out of the reversing section, and flip the polarity of the reversing section only.

[Jacktal]

I knew about reversing polarity on the whole layout but this situation didn't cross my mind when I asked.........sorry for that.I realize that it probably could be done,but probably would end up as expensive as DCC,and still would require very careful wiring so that it could work.

DCC has its strong points and doesn't end up that expensive as DC controllers have their costs too,and considering that DCC can replace many DC throttles,it is a definite advantage not counting all the other options DCC offers.

The part I find a bit of a financial burden is retroffiting multiple locos as the decoders don't come that cheap.I like collecting locos("N" scale),even oldies,and retroffitting them all would be an important investment.Even more,some of them would be pretty difficult to retrofit,so I'll keep some of my trackwork wired for DC.