,
a diode is like a check valve in plumbing. It will allow current
to flow in one direction and not in the other. Thus, with energy
storage on the microprocessor side of the diode, when a drop-
out occurs, the microprocessor and the amplifier keep generat-
ing sounds. After the dropout, the rest of the decoder comes
back to life and starts decoding packets of data again and run-
ning the motor and the lights on the function leads.
Lenz pioneered a concept called USP – Uninterruptible Signal
Processing – based on the detector scheme I described earlier
in this column. Along with that, they offered power storage
modules that could connect to their decoders that would allow
operation without track power for a period of time.
At the NMRA National convention in Seattle in 2004, Lenz dem-
onstrated the combination of the two: their G-scale Gold-Maxi
decoder with USP and their Power-3 energy storage module.
They ran a G-scale loco down the track – about 12 feet on a
table in the clinic room. Okay, fine. Then they ran it back, but
put a piece of paper covering one rail for 11 inches of the track.
The loco slowed a bit, but ran across the complete power inter-
ruption, with its light on! The next demonstration, showing the
power of the USP system, was when the Lenz folks ran the loco
onto the paper, stopped it (proving it was receiving commands
through the paper), turned off the light, turned on the light
and drove off the paper! The final demo was to pick the run-
ning loco off the track and set it on the table. It continued run-
ning for about a foot.
I don’t know of another manufacturer who is offering the USP
style of DCC decoding today.
MRH-Feb 2013
