dcc vs. regular power packs of the old variety

[Anonymous]

Hi kids,
I'm new at this modern train stuff. I got my grandson some HO stuff for Christmas, and before building a layout, have been studying MR mag, etc., and am lost on the differences between DCC and regular power packs. I'm no electrician, and that may be the problem. What's the diff? How does DCC work, as opposed to a regular power pack? On an old style set, do I need a separate line for each train? Are new trains programmable?
HELP!!!!!

[jwmurrayjr]

Yikes! You're asking a lot of questions. [:)]

I just got back into MRR after 20+ years because of DCC, which I highly recommend. DCC is not difficult but there are some things that you need to know.

Take a look at DCC for Beginners on Tony's Trains web site:

http://tonystrainexchange.com/

There's a lot of other good info there too and I hear that they are very good to do business with.

Read away for a while and then ask questions.

Have fun,

[dano99a]

The basic difference is:

DC (old style power packs)-
-Single or multiple engines on the same track, going the same speed, same direction. All at the same time.
-Isolation blocks are needed to isolate an engine that you don't want to use.
-Wiring can be mind boggling depending on what you want to do.
-Engines get power directly from the power pack increasing and decreasing the voltage on the tracks

DCC
-Single or multiple engines on the same track, going different speeds, different directions. All at the same time or as you command them(the engines).
-Blocks aren't nesseccary, but helpful with signals (traffic lights)
-Wiring is vastly easier if starting from scratch.
-Track is at a constant voltage, microchip placed inside the engines regulates the voltage and polarity of the voltage the engine is recieving.

The DCC engines are programmable, the old DC style engines are not.
-Some new engines come with a DCC chip installed, most do not BUT, they're getting more and more out there these days.
-Look for "DCC equipped" engines (DCC decoder installed).
-A "DCC ready" engine means that there is a NMRA dcc socket of sorts inside the engine but you have to install the decoder yourself.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask more questions as there are a lot of very knowledgable folks on this forum that can really help you out with DCC.

[Anonymous]

Hi MRR fans,
Thanks for the advice and help, At least now I have something to look into. God bless you all.

[Anonymous]

[:)] Bachmann have just released new DCC Starter sets which could be a very economical way of getting into DCC for less than $100. Check the reviews in some model railroad magazines and also the extremely competitive pricing in the same mags.

[cacole]

In simple terms --

With the old DC control system, the power pack varies the voltage on the track. If you have two trains on the same track, they will run in the same direction and, if their motors are similar, will run at the same speed. Lights will go off when the trains are not running, because there is no voltage on the rail. On some models, the lights will be very bright when running at high speed, and dim when running slow, because the lights change according to the amount of electricity on the track.

With DCC there is a constant voltage of around 14 Volts on the track at all times. Mixed into this voltage is a digital, high frequency, square wave control signal. A microchip inside each locomotive reads the digital signal, and if that signal is addressed to it, the locomotive does whatever that signal tells it to do; i.e., run in reverse at 50 percent speed with the backup light on. Because of this digital control of locomotives, each train on the track can be controlled separately, and trains can even run in opposite directiions on the same track, or they can run at different speeds simultaneously.

In addition to the microchips in the locomotives (decoders), you can put decoders into passenger cars to turn their lights on and off on the fly, dim the lights, etc. Other decoders can be used to throw switches (turnouts) as the train goes around the layout, or control animated objects. The use of decoders to control items other than locomotives is limited only by your imagination and whether or not they contain lights or motors.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the help kids-you all have been good for me. will be looking into various ways to get going. waiting to hear from bachmann about train i bought at Christmas, as to dcc prgrammability.

[Anonymous]

"regular power packs of the old variety". I can't read that without it sounding like "close encounters of the third kind". If you make the move to DCC you'll probably enjoy it. If you use "regular power packs of the old variety" and wire the layout carefully you'll probably enjoy it. In either case, good luck!