Single Track with Auto Reverse

[mmlo]

Any suggestion how to run a metro on a single track and it can reverse automatically when it reaches the end? Thanks.

[cteno4]

mmlo,

i like the minatronics RU21 auto reverser. its nice because it uses photo sensors you can put into existing track (ie you dont have to isolate tracks) and it also can have up to 5 pause stops in between as well. also has an acceleration and deceleration feature so its not a hard on/off like many of the others. it also has power with it so you dont need a throttle as well for it (most others require a throttle in addition to the auto reverser circuit.

longer review on it here:

http://www.jnsforum.com/index.php/topic,1255.0.html

cheers,

jeff

[mmlo]

Thanks, let me try and will keep you posted on my progress.

[Bernard]

I would spend the extra money and go with the RU2-1 which has 5 spots instead of the one I have the RU1-1 that goes back and forth. With the RU2-1 you can set up at least 5 station stops and is a little more interesting to watch.
I also have to wonder with my Tram how long it is going to last with the constant reversing on the gears and wear on the motor.

[cteno4]

thats one of the reasons i like the minatronics units as they have an acceleration/deceleration effect along with a pause so its not slamming the unit into a hard stop. ive installed the circuitron ar1 a couple of times and its not as nice and i know of two blow outs of the boards. ive also used one of the auto reversers that require you to isolate tracks its a real pain and once installed very tough to change easily.

the other big trick with the minatronics is you can do some tricky things by wiring two sensors into any of the sensor circuits (pauses or reversing). if you wire them in parallel then both sensors need to be covered to trigger the circuit. if you wire them in serial then either one will trip the circuit. this lets you do some interesting things on where the tram or train will stop. if you are doing long trains and you want it to stop in the center of the platform you can put sensors at either end of the platform just short of the length of the train and wire them in parallel. that way the train will stop once both sensors are covered when its the centered on the platform. of course this wont work if you then try to use a shorter train! but you could have several pairs of sensors and just have a selector switch to pop in which correct length pair to use with which train. sensors are $1 so no big deal there!

cheers

jeff

[Webskipper]

Here's a link to another reversing unit.

http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/search.aspx?sfield=keywords&search=reversing

Circuitron uses optic sensors so you cannot use it tin the dark or low light like a Christmas tree.

The AAR3 uses current detection. it can also run crossing gates, lights, and multiple station stops.

[mmlo]

I got my RU2-1, since the adpater provides up to 2 amps, is that mean I can hook it up on the track together with NCE Pro CAB? or the track will auto reverse will be using RU2-1 power only?

[cteno4]

well you dont need dcc with the ru21, it will do all the power control plain old analog. they just ship it with a heafty 2amp wall wart transformer for the ru21 to control and supply the eventual track power.

thats the nice thing with the ru21 is that it comes with its own power source, many of the auto reversers need a throttle that you supply your track power with and set the speed you want the tram to go with the throttle then the reversing circuit just does the reversing and stopping with the supplied throttle power (non dcc). with ru21 it has its own slider you use to set the speed of the tram with and then it does the acceleration/deceleration, pauses and reversing as well.

one thing with the sensors when you wire them up make sure to either use some heat shrink on the leads or paint on insulation stuff to isolate them so when you poke them down a hole between the tracks they dont short themselves out.

cheers

jeff

[Webskipper]

Did I mention JRMI and transit tables?