catnap posted:Why on earth would you want to change directions with a locomotive in motion? That sounds like a recipe for disaster to the running gear and motors.
I wouldn't. But with the right programming it might be easier than decreasing the speed with the thumbwheel, no less realistic, and also not damaging to the drive train. Please keep reading...
From the beginning PS3 has had an issue with abrupt stops, whereas the prior MTH control boards (PS2) did not. Even mechanical momentum from the flywheel doesn't seem to overcome it. Some have suspected a programming (firmware) error. If PS3 locos exhibit this same abrupt stopping behavior under DCC, that suggests the issue extends beyond the DCS firmware to the hardware on the motor driver board.
For a long time I was active with a modular group that displayed to the public several times a year. Sometimes we would let kids run the trains. And sometimes, either deliberately or accidentally, a kid would press the DIR button while the train was running. (On the proprietary 3-rail command systems, there is no way to lock out the DIR function without seriously modifying the hand-held controllers.) The default programmed behavior for DIR was to decelerate the train at a gradual programmed rate to a full stop, and wait at speed step zero, primed to run in the opposite direction when the throttle control was advanced. No harm done. That's convenient, logical, and also what I would prefer with DCC.
So what's the default behavior of a PS3 board under DCC? Does it stop gradually or abruptly? And can it be configured to behave as I describe above? Thanks!!
