blownout cylinder It kind of makes me wonder if Dilberts boss is the owner of MRC--
It kind of makes me wonder if Dilberts boss is the owner of MRC--
Or at least the manager of the DCC divisions, because as many have stated, their DC controls have always been top of the heap. I had many over the years and they were always reliable and offered excellent control. Although, you probably didn't want to look inside if you were at all familiar with electronics. But that was the same with any brand, not just MRC. The Troller ones I've seen the guts of were absolutely horrible, like they just soldered parts together and left them hanging, no circuit boards or anything. MRC transistor packs were top end mil-spec designs compared to that.
To sum up my issues with MRC DCC:
1. Decoders that don;t even offer CV readback - huh?
2. PREVIOUS DCC systems all incompatible with one another
3. Current system getting a computer interface WAY late in the game and it being proprietary software - Bob Jacobsen of JMRI has indicated MRC showed no interest in having support for their system in JMRI.
4. Apparent cost of expandig the current system - like their throttle plug-ins being twice as expensive as the ones for NCE and Digitrax. Wierd with the initial cost being relatively low.
5. Odd changing of button positions across the systems. Sure you can start with the most basic Prodigy Express and later expand it to Advance^2 capability without ditching the whole system and starting over - they FINALLY got that part right after the previous failures - but the button positions on the handhelds changes from one to the other. ANd not just 'extra' features - the direction button moves!
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Maybe "What's Right With MRC " would be a less volatile thread?
rrinker 3. Current system getting a computer interface WAY late in the game and it being proprietary software - Bob Jacobsen of JMRI has indicated MRC showed no interest in having support for their system in JMRI.
That would be a real trick to pull on MRC but as I already know--could that be done legally without getting JMRI in a lot of hot water? I'd doubt it. Hence my open/cloed frame issue with these people---no imagination I tell you---
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
mfm37 Maybe "What's Right With MRC " would be a less volatile thread?
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
blownout cylinder rrinker 3. Current system getting a computer interface WAY late in the game and it being proprietary software - Bob Jacobsen of JMRI has indicated MRC showed no interest in having support for their system in JMRI. That would be a real trick to pull on MRC but as I already know--could that be done legally without getting JMRI in a lot of hot water? I'd doubt it. Hence my open/cloed frame issue with these people---no imagination I tell you---
I don't follow? Bob approached MRC about adding support for their interface in JMRI. MRC said not interested, we're writing our own software. End of story. There will be no MRC support in JMRI unless MRC changes their mind.
rrinker There will be no MRC support in JMRI unless MRC changes their mind.
It would've been interesting if and only if JMRI went ahead and did it anyway. But looking at that idea I had closer there would have been trouble. I was not saying they should, I was thinking a "what would happen if---" type of scenario.
And as for MRC rethinking the approach I cannot honestly see them ever changing their minds---
Maybe if it's a complete marketing dud they'll rethink it. Not gonan hold my breath, and anyway I'm quite happy with my Digitrax system works works equally well with free JMRI as well as several commercial software packages. Note I doubt there will be MRC support in programs like RR&Co as well.
Not any real way for JMRI developers to go ahead and add it anyway, without MRC's permission. The detailed 'whys' would stray to political talk so I'll leave it alone, but it's 4 letters and was championed by a former senator from Delaware
simon1966mreagantYes, my system is very fundamental (MRC Command 2000) and when I move up the limitations will surface, but so far they have served well. By contrast, if 10 years ago you had purchased a Digitrax system, you could purchase brand new components to upgrade your system and continue to utilize the bits you purchased all that time ago.
mreagantYes, my system is very fundamental (MRC Command 2000) and when I move up the limitations will surface, but so far they have served well.
By contrast, if 10 years ago you had purchased a Digitrax system, you could purchase brand new components to upgrade your system and continue to utilize the bits you purchased all that time ago.
I don't know about MRC but can speak to the 10-year replacement issue from an NCE (North Coast Engineering) perspective... I bought my NCE PowerhousePro system back in 1998 or 99. About a month ago I had an issue with programming some decoders-- I contacted NCE and they sent me out a replacement EPROM to bring the unit completely up-to-date with the most recent model. *THAT'S* service.