Trolley upgrade

I know it appears that I'm stalking you but what is this "external module" you refer to and how is it powered and triggered?

I think there's general interest in eliminating the slam-bam whiplash-inducing reversals in bump-n-go mechanisms.  If you don't find a suitable trolley based on an electronic E-unit, I think you can simply bypass the AC-to-DC converter within bump-n-go trolleys and power the track with DC- or DC+.  So the "external module" would remove track voltage for the delay period, then reverse the polarity of DC track voltage to send the trolley to the other end.

Stan

A somewhat pricey ($119) trackside unit is available from Dallee Electronics.  It cycles an E unit equipped loco or trolley F-N-R with timed stops at each end for back and forth operation.  I imagine that you could hobble together some of those Chinese eBay modules to do the same thing with DC power to the trolley for a fraction of the cost.

Update:

Dallee has a cheaper unit ($49) that can be used if you convert the trolley to DC.  Still, I'm betting Stan's solution comes in around $5.  I suppose I should add GRJ's tag line:

Nothing is so easy as the job you imagine someone else doing!

Bob

Heh heh.  When I saw $119, my first thought was, "does that include the trolley?"

I think a nice feature of the E-unit method is you can have the lights ON in the trolley when stopped in Neutral....though I believe you still get a hiccup in light when momentarily removing track power to advance the E-unit thru its F-N-R-N sequence.

$49 for the DC-version seems more commensurate with the price point of a trolley but to each his own. 

I briefly looked at the instruction sheets for the two units and from what I can tell both still require "cutting" the track in some fashion to create isolated trigger/power sections.

I like the E-unit method in that the interior light is ON during the stop intervals - loading and unloading passengers will appreciate this!  For methods that do not use an E-unit, I think an inexpensive alternative would be to install LED lighting inside the trolley using a storage capacitor (a.k.a. supercap) that can store, say, 10-15 seconds of LED power.  The supercap would charge while the trolley is powered and discharge when stopped.  As the mind wanders, one can even imagine the lights brighter when stopped and dimmer when running - triggered by the presence or absence of track power.

The HO crowd does some trick with three sections of track, two diodes, and a timer. This requires a DC motor in the trolley. First the track has one polarity, and the trolley runs until it gets to the end section and dies. Then the polarity flips, the diode conducts, and the trolley runs the other direction and heads out. It traverses across the middle section and gets to the third section where again it stops, then the trolley stalls, the polarity flips.

Its about as dirt simple as can be. As I recall, the HO crowd solders the diode right across the gap, might need a bigger diode underneath for O gauge. Should be somewhere on the internet. Then you need some sort of timer and a relay. The electronics are pretty simple in the trolley - none! just a DC motor. You could do this with one of Walt's Cameron's Hobbycraft trolleys,  a WBB trolley chuck the electronics, or maybe score an MTH trolley with broken electronics.

And there is probably a way to make an MTH trolley under DCS, but I'm not familiar with it.