Pulse

Now back into it, I abandoned model model railroading back in the early eighties, until a couple of years ago. In the interim, DCC took off. I own many DCC locos but I have a lot of very nice, old vintage standard DC units too.

At about the time I bowed out, there was a controversy about running locos on pulse power and it was argued by detractors as being able to harm the motors within within the models.

My question is, how did that finally shake out? Can pulse power, although allowing for more prototypical analog DC operations, do harm to these small electric motors? Is there a harmful effect on dual function (DCC/DC) engines if run on analog pulse power?

Thanx!

Oddly enough, i too stepped away from the hobby in the 80s. only slowly returning now. pulse power and dcc were both new then. however dcc being touted as the wave of the future. i see, along with outlandish pricing, that dcc has indeed become the standard.

i dont recall much talk of pulse power harming anything. it was just another way to send the power to the rails. it was still dc, and the motors didnt know the difference. and now, 30 years later, my MRC power packs still work like a charm, as do my legacy locomotives of the 70’s and 80’s. so apparently no harm ever came to them from the years of using pulse power. (please note, i wasnt using cheap equipment, and serviced it regularly)

in my best opinion i would think pulse power would enhance dcc operations. as it did regular dc back in the 80s. my equipment is 30 and 40 years old and still to this day run like a top! as for dcc, i think you have asked a very, very excellent question. but really, dcc is just a glorified dc. its only difference is in the control, not the power. again, dc is still dc, and the motors running on it are the same. they just dont know the difference.

i think for all intents and purposes this would be a good question to submit to the guru’s of our esteemed trade magazines ( MR and MRC ). i myself dont plan on going to dcc atleast while its pricing is tantemount to funding a college education or buying a house. thats NOT what this hobby is about! but you have asked an excellent question, and i would be very interested in knowing this outcome.

it seems questionable to me that the control side of dcc (the onboard controller) may have a problem handling the pulsed power. being designed for straight forward dc as opposed to pulsed dc. and this i think is the real question. the motors certainly can handle it, the controller is the weak link.