Brake vans (originally called break vans) were first employed on early industrial tramways and cableways to provide...
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What is a stay-alive?
A stay-alive (or keep-alive) is a capacitor that can be used with a DCC decoder. It stores power to allow for a more effective and constant power to your locomotive motor and therefore, smoother running.
However, there are issues with fitting the capacitor to the decoder chip: some soldering may be required and fitting the capacitor to smaller engines could be problematic due to lack of space inside. So, these things should be taken in to consideration before buying one.
Please note, some high-end DCC decoders are already fitted with a stay-alive.
Posted in: Power and control
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