What is plug and Play?

[Anonymous]

What is plug-and-play? Tell me what the components are and info?

[Javern]

plug n play is exactly that....plug it in and go. An industry-wide standard for add-on hardware which indicates that it will configure itself, thus eliminating the need to set jumpers, and making installation of the product quick and easy.

[Anonymous]

To expand on that, in the model rr world "plug-and-play" is usually used in the context of DCC systems, such as add-on boosters that you just plug into your existing DCC system to add power. More commonly, PnP is used to refer to drop-in decoders that go into a locomotive with a minimum of fuss, such as those that plug into a DCC socket already present in the loco, or a board that easily replaces an existing light or control board in the loco.

[Anonymous]

Basically, it is ready to use, out of the box without any (or much) set up.

[cacole]

When referring to model railroads, PnP usually means that a locmotive has an NMRA decoder socket in it so you can plug in a decoder that has a wiring harness with a matching NMRA plug, and not have to do any soldering.

[Anonymous]

Kato's Unitrack system is plug and play. I am trying on my layout using dcc.

[Anonymous]

While the NMRA standards have helped to make "plug and play" more of a reality in the model railroad field, the computer field has modified the term to "plug and pray". Not all products behave the way we expect them to.