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Hi, I am new to the site and have a couple posts and responses and find that the information on here is invaluable. I may not have taken enough time to look through the posts to see if this question is answered but I have decided that I want to go with DCC for my layout. I understand how it works but could use a little guidance in the way of which brand/model to go with. I will probably never run more than 2-4 engines at the same time and I am not interested in sound. I am interested in possibly controlling the speed at different locations on the track if that is possible (Have the train speed up out of town and slow down in town). Thanks for you guys help so far and I look forward to your responses.
Im new to dcc too, and want similar things as you. I went with the NCE PowerCab. Ive yet to hook it up, will probably do it after the 1st of the year. I have a 6X11 layout, and I run about 2 trains of 2 locos each. To me, this system promises the best of simplicity, ease of use, price, ease of expansion, and meets my needs.
Your going to get a thousand different answers about which system is best. To me, only a handful of the starter systems kept rising to the top of my list: lenz, nce powercab, and digitrax zephyr, and the mrc prodigy system. In the end, youll have to sift thru each and decide which best suits your needs.
Hey, thanks big B, I actually looked at that one and am going to dig up their website and do some detail reading. Thanks for the info and recommendation!
I went with NCE Power Cab and couldn't be happier. I will add that I am now DCC with sound only. You wouldn't believe how much difference sound makes. To me, DCC without sound isn't worth the money.
I have a Digitrax Zephyr and like it. You can easily run three or four trains and control the speed of each train separately. Any single train can be adjusted to whatever speed you want. I would avoid the MRC system but the other three are fine. It's really just a matter of personal preference. If you have a local hobby shop or train club, see if you can try different systems and find out which one fits you better. I do like sound but it's not essential to start with. Sound decoders can be added to most modern engines when you get the money and inclination to try it out.
I am trying to understand completely DCC. I have read the explanation on WIKI and that has cleared up a lot. A couple questions though. If I wire in a reverse loop and place shunts just before the track comes back in contact with itself, will the loco continue? Or is there a requirement to stop the train to reverse polarity such as with a DC system? (upon forther reading I find that you need a seperate module in order to perform this function, but I believe I am correct in thinking that if I install this module that if a train enters a reversing loop, it will continue on it's own without stopping as long as the module is wired and working properly)
What is a CV? I am reading a thread and that term comes up frequently.
I am running N scale and will probably run 2 trains at any given time along with a switcher. So at the most possibly 4 locomotives and a switcher (Unless I use one of my SD's) then maybe three at any given time.
I am also thinking the Zephyr but doubt I will get into it much beyond being able to run multiple trains. I don't see wanting to control switching and having a computer run trains etc etc.
for reverse loop scenario what you will need to isolate that loop and wire it with auto-reversing module such as AR1(~30$). only one train a t a time can cross into that loop and the isolated section needs to be as long or longer then the longest train you intend to run.
CV. i think it stands for Configuration Value (or am i wrong ?). in any case it is a numerically addressed register that holds a parameter (such as acceleration for example). you can configure that parameter
Out of curiosity what system do you run? How many locos are you commanding and what led you to your decision for your selection? Thanks for your response by the way, I have been doing a lot of reading and having not had interest since I was about 14 things have changed a lot in 30 years.
As I said I want to set my layout up so I can run a couple of trains and do some switching at the same time. I REALLY like the idea of being able to put in that reversing loop as that has just opened up a LOT of new possibilities for my layout.
As my progress goes, I have laid down about 6 different layouts now and think I am closing in. At first I did not want much of a switching yard but after visiting the yard here in Chattanooga and seeing all those trains....I GOTTA have a yard, and hopefully a large one! I just received my two new Atlas MP15's (with decoders) and cannot wait to start running around what should be a good sized yard.
i ran up to two trains, thats how much DCC equipped i had. i started of with MRC express , which for the money is excellent. now shopping for NCE power cab. in a few words i wanted a system compatible with JMRI - interface to PC for signaling and all the interesting stuff. NCE and digitrax are compatible, MRC is not .
Ron, take a look at that thread i linked to, we were discussing just that.
mods and admins, perhaps this is time to consolidate the threads mentioned above (removing any side discussions) into a sticky for this forum? the only sticky is quite outdated
Thanks Anton, yes I have been following that post also but that thread was beginning to get a bit over my head simply because I am not familiar enough with the terminology. It is definately very interesting and yes I ahve been reading daily. Thanks for your input. So far it feels like I will be going with Digitrax simply becaue if I do decide to expand or go with more options that maybe the system that would be most compatible.
Again, thanks for your input!
The decoders are programmed with firmware that is designed to allow the user to 'configure' the performance of all features controllable by the decoder....lights, sounds, motion.
A CV means a "configuration variable because there is always a variety of numbers (within a defined range...) that you can input to that CV so that you get the behaviour of the function you want...less loud bell, louder bell, faster clapper rate, slower clapper rate....mute fully on so that the engine goes completely silent, or only partially muted so that some ambient noise still issues from the speaker (QSI's have that nifty feature).
DCC doesn't permit you to operate the motor or lights, or the sound system, directly. You must 'negotiate' with the decoder, but the decoder never declines to do as you ask it to do...a nifty feature, don't you think?
Very interesting indeed! I see you have several references to sound, howver I ahve not heard good things about N scale sound. The locomotives I am purchasing do not say anything about sound capabilities so I assume that must be referenced specifically or they will come without sound capabilities. I, at this point, am not interested in sound. Will that be something that all of the decoders will have to be changed out to perform?
If the specs don't trumpet sound, a more expensive option, then it is highly unlikely you will have sound. Yes, the decoders are different. For simply motive decoders, or what they call four and higher function decoders, they control engine motion and lighting effects. Sound decoders have a sound file storage and amplifier circuitry, plus a small speaker is added to the locomotive someplace...often at the expense of weight-helping traction )in diesels) because the frames must be milled to make room. In steamers, such decoders and speakers are almost always found in the otherwise empty tender, leaving the heavy frame to bear down on the drivers.
Sound in HO scale isn't great, to be honest, except that I find it vastly better to the alternative. In time, you may begin to develop a hankering for it, but that may not be until the engineers can figure out how to beat the laws of physics and have something approximating realistic sounds emitting from those tiny speakers.
Since you're in N scale, I wouldn't worry much about sound. The relatively large decoders and speakers needed to give even halfways decent sound in N scale means that you sacrifice a lot of weight that could be used for tractive effort, as Crandell correctly points out. It's going to a take a while for miniaturization technology to catch up with things like speakers before sound in N scale become common. For now, all you need to worry about are motor and lighting functions, and any good decoder with at least four functions will take of that. I had DCC for about a year before I got my first sound engine. I now have six, but the vast majority of my engines don't have sound and probably never will. It's fun to run the sound engines occasionally, especially to impress visitors, but it can get irritating after a while.
If your N Scale layout is small, you can put a sound chip under the baseboard and feed it into a speaker there. Give it the same CV as the loco and you will get coordinated sound.
Doesn't work on a large layout but should sound good on a small one.
David
In time, you may begin to develop a hankering for it, but that may not be until the engineers can figure out how to beat the laws of physics and have something approximating realistic sounds emitting from those tiny speakers.
