old dude, new tracks

[dano126]

I'm going to label myself as a noob, even though I've been dabbling in model railroad for some years now. I have some questions about DCC. I have a MRC DCC unit. (i'll have to provide the exact unit I have, later) I then picked up some chips to put in some of my locos. I think they are Digitraxx, but here again, I'll have to enter that info later, like when I get home from a road trip. At one point, I did install a chip in a loco, only for it not to work right, which I'm blaming on myself when it came to programing the chip. I messed up somewhere because the loco would barely move.
With all the media out there, can someone point me in the right direction for learning about programing these things?
Thanks in advance for any information,

 

[DeaconKC]

This section has LOTS of folks who know this stuff inside and out!

Wiring, Electronics and DCC

modelrailroadforums.com

 

[DeaconKC]

Oh, PS: Welcome to the place!

 

[Bill Streep]

Also a relatively new noob here. Back in the hobby about a year after a 25 year absence.

Wade into DCC with your eyes wide open. It’s a decision that you will probably be stuck with. Digitrax was chosen for me by my local hobby shop. I mostly like it. I love the utility throttles. Not wild about the rest. I chose ESU LokSound. I would probably choose Soundtraxx if I did it again, and I’m actually considering switching. I saw Blunami at the St Louis RPR and decided to give it a shot. I freakin love the app interface and that you can make CVs on the fly. But I don’t like running trains from a phone.

Again, I’m a newbie too.

 

[RhB Michael]

You can also program CVs on-the-fly with the ESU Cab Control system. It is a hybrid controller that uses a touchscreen, but also has four programmable buttons and a huge throttle knob. It's costly, but the best money I ever spent on a system. Especially using ESU decoders in about half of my locomotives.