Some decoder manufactur-
ers opted to include a feature
to overcome the stiction and
inertia by providing addi-
tional power at low throttle
settings for a bit of time.
They frequently called it kick-
start. It gave much of the
same effect as the early pulse
power packs and is adjust-
able in some brands.
As DCC became popular and
more and more locos began
running with decoders, folks
began to notice that the
locomotive would hum at
the frequency of the pulses,
usually in the octave below
middle C, for the musi-
cians in the crowd. Decoder
manufacturers responded
with high frequency drive
where the pulses
were so rapid that any "sing-
ing" of the motor was beyond
human hearing, some as high
as 30 kHz. Each manufacturer
has its own marketing moni-
ker for this design.
