Do you use DCC?


What control system do you use?

  • Conventional DC, not interested in DCC

    Votes: 19 9.4%

  • Conventional DC but will upgrade to DCC in the future

    Votes: 22 10.8%

  • Battery power and/or radio control

    Votes: 3 1.5%

  • Mix of DCC and conventional and will continue to use both

    Votes: 23 11.3%

  • Currently upgrading my system to be DCC only

    Votes: 23 11.3%

  • I currently use DCC exclusively

    Votes: 112 55.2%

  • Other system: Computer control, live steam etc.

    Votes: 1 0.5%
  • Total voters
    203
scubaterry said:
I started out a newbie about four years ago with a Digitrax Super Chief and I could not be happier.
Terry
Click to expand...


Talk about doing it right the first time. Smart move, Terry. :)
 
I'm currently running DCC and am in the process of converting my locomotive fleet to DCC also, so I guess I'd fit into the "currently upgrading" category. I have several DCC equipped locomotives and a few that I have already converted. I still have quite a few to do, though. FWIW, I went with the MRC Prodigy Advance and am very pleased with it. It offered the features I wanted at the most reasonable price I could find. For the features I was looking for, it would have cost quite a bit more to go with another brand.
 
jdavid93225 said:
I'm currently running DCC and am in the process of converting my locomotive fleet to DCC also, so I guess I'd fit into the "currently upgrading" category. I have several DCC equipped locomotives and a few that I have already converted. I still have quite a few to do, though. FWIW, I went with the MRC Prodigy Advance and am very pleased with it. It offered the features I wanted at the most reasonable price I could find. For the features I was looking for, it would have cost quite a bit more to go with another brand.
Click to expand...

I hope to someday, being in N scale, and with the amount of available space in the shells, I am looking at having to mill them or buy the milled frames, I can see the advantage though.

I am thinking about the MRC myself, the new one they have the Express or something that's the little cousin to the Prodigy looks interesting, as long as I can update to the Prodigy series down the road.
 
If you are thinking of getting into DCC and you want to "do it right" -- meaning you want to buy a system that can grow with you as your layout grows, and your understanding of DCC grows, then IMO, do not buy Atlas, MRC, or Bachman.

These three systems have one serious oversight in common: no computer interface.

Most modelers don't realize why a computer interface is important on a DCC system ... after all, they don't intend to computerize their layout. And you are right.

So what's the big deal with a computer interface on a DCC system?

Put in simple terms, a computer interface on a DCC system allows you to program decoders using a few simple clicks of a mouse on your PC. You don't even need to know or care what a CV is, or what bit values are. Tuning your loco performance with speed curves takes only a few mouse clicks.

You can save your loco decoder settings and reload them if you ever need to with only a few mouse clicks. And finally, if you get the same or similar decoder in other locos, you can copy the settings from the other decoder in seconds and load the new decoder literally in seconds.

This is all done using the powerful and free DecoderPro software.

Believe me, once you've programmed decoders with your PC and DecoderPro, you never want to program CV's and bit values by hand any more.

If you want to avoid decoder programming headaches, a computer interface on your DCC system is *vital* in my opinion.
 
Good points Joe. Do most of the other systems when it comes to the computer, hook up with a USB port or a serial? I use all Mac's here so as you know, they only come with USB or Firewire. I don't know if the USB to serial port adapters will work. I know they make a Mac version of the DecoderPro so I am imagining a Mac would work?

Also I could see tying the computer in more with the MR as time goes along.
 
David:

Most systems use a serial port, so you would need a USB to serial adapter. I know they have them for the PC ... don't know about Macs.

Also, I believe the Lenz system has announced a direct USB computer interface, and I've also heard the new NCE starter system, the PowerCab, will have a USB computer interface. See: http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips/2005/071905b.htm
 
jfugate said:
David:

Most systems use a serial port, so you would need a USB to serial adapter. I know they have them for the PC ... don't know about Macs.

Also, I believe the Lenz system has announced a direct USB computer interface, and I've also heard the new NCE starter system, the PowerCab, will have a USB computer interface. See: http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips/2005/071905b.htm
Click to expand...

Thanks Joe, I guess I will have to start researching the NCE stuff and see what they have for pricing. I am lucky as I only have about 12 engines at the moment, probably smart to do it while I am still on the low end of prime movers ;)

One more "dumb" question from me, can you just have one throttle but yet run more then 1 train?
 
Digitrax lets you switch between multiple locos with one button, but overall I find the Digitrax systems to be less user friendly than the other systems.

I measure user friendly by how close you need to keep the manual in case you need to do something you don't do every day. If I can figure out how to at least get started at something just by looking at the throttle, then it gets high marks in user friendliness.

NCE does user friendly better than most other systems, I think, with EasyDCC a close second. Then comes Lenz, and Digitrax brings up the rear in the user friendly department. However, to be fair, Digitrax has made good strides in the last year or two ... with the user friendly nature of their systems far better than it used to be. I still rank them behind NCE and EasyDCC, however.
 
Oh yes, and to answer your question about running multiple trains with one throttle ... yes it's possible. You just change the loco address on the throttle. However it's not instant, so if an emergency was to occur with the other train, you probably couldn't switch trains fast enough to stop it.
 
Lenz Set 100 and LH 90 handheld throttle for me! Love them, really easy to use, don't have to release a loco when your finished, just grab another address and go.

Cheapest cordless throttle on the market, cordless home phone, with an adaptor plugged into XpressNet.

Awesome system highly recommend it.

Ken. :)
 
I have a Digitrax Chief controller and I wired my track to be DCC-compatible, but I have to wait indefinitely* until I can afford decoders for all my 30+ locos. So I guess my layout's gonna have to remain in the stone age for awhile...

* - i.e. when I'm finished paying for my kids' educations
 
For inexpensive decoders - look at the NCE D13SRJ. A ten-pack ends up costing less than $12 each. As long as you don't need dozens of flashign ditch lights, they work well in all sorts of locomotives. Silent running and back-emf even! Amazing for the price. They are my fleet decoder of choice when there is no special fitment like a Kato or the Proto2000 that can use the Digitrax DH163L0. But since I model the 50's all I ever have are the headlights. The Reading never went in for all the fancy Mars Lights and so forth.

--Randy
 
rrinker said:
For inexpensive decoders - look at the NCE D13SRJ. A ten-pack ends up costing less than $12 each. As long as you don't need dozens of flashign ditch lights, they work well in all sorts of locomotives.
Click to expand...
That might work for me. My era does require ditch lights, but I could specify a select few to be lead units and put the pricier decoders in those only...
 
Well, they DO have 4 outputs, so if all you have are the front and rear lights plus ditch lights, it's actually enough.

--Randy
 
rrinker said:
Well, they DO have 4 outputs, so if all you have are the front and rear lights plus ditch lights, it's actually enough.
Click to expand...
COOL! (I still need to wait a few months though...)
 
Been using DCC since 1993 on the Siskiyou Line and I used CTC-80 command control prior to that. So I've been using command control of some form since 1990.

I used the Lenz system for 7 years, then wanted wireless (Lenz didn't have it at the time) so I upgraded to EasyDCC -- and am a happy EasyDCC user ever since.

IMO, DCC is *the way* to go if you have a layout of any size, you are interested in realistic operation, and you want to run more than one train at a time.

With fleet decoders available for as little as $12 each as Randy illustrates above, the cost of upgrading your loco fleet should no longer stand in the way. If you could do a $12 upgrade to each of your locos that would dramatically improve their performance, wouldn't you do it?
 
Have Lenz 100 with the LH90 & LH100 cabs. Best of both worlds. Knob and push buttons. Installed decoders in all 6 of my HO locomotives (steam & diesel). Still use Tortise with toggle switches on my turnouts.
 
Stay Away from Bachmann DCC!!!

Chris UK said:
I am planning to use it on my new layout and Bachmann have just introduced a new system over here in the UK which a friend of mine oozes confidence over. Will probably try that one and upgrade later if I feel I need to. The cost for this system is running at £50 with decoders at about £20. I beleive this equates to about $100 and $40 respectively.
Click to expand...

:eek: No matter how cheap, it's no more than what you pay for it... and that ain't saying much. The worst thing about the system is the single digit addressing scheme (1-9). So, you can't identify a loco by its road number - not even the last 2 digits as most entry level systems allow. And if you have more than 9 locos, you'll have to choose the best 9 and forget about the rest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top