I have been reading post after post about DC vs DCC. It has my head spinning on it. I'm just getting back into the hobby after 20 years (Kids). I have a small fleet of engines mostly acquired before I left the hobby that are defintely not DCC ready that I'm thinking of either leaving in my train cases for display or creating a separate DC Layout to run them on.
I have recently bought some engines that I didn't realize weren't DCC ready and when looking online to buy more engines its tough to tell when it says Standard DC is if they are able to be converted to DCC because there is big cost difference in DCC equiped vs Standard DC. I have an Atlas RS2 and a couple of Walthers GP9M's that are Standard DC and don't have the plug to add a DCC encouder.
Any advice?
Sir,
(Suprised at the lack of replies to your message. The regulars must be sleeping in.)
DCC Ready means different things to different manufacturers. Sometimes an eight pin plug is provided, sometimes a easy-to-swap PC board is provided. I wouldn't put too much weight in the designation.
Assuming you are about to build your layout I'd recommend planning for DCC and wiring the layout accordingly, but running DC from a power pack as you install track and wiring. When you buy the DCC system of your choice you can pick the easiest loco to upgrade to DCC. You'll be hooked, I'm sure.
Building a seperate DC layout sounds a little extreme. If you're adamant on keeping your DC locos DC, then wire your layout to switch between the two.
Dwayne A
Virtually any locomotive can be converted to DCC although some may be sufficiently difficult to not warrant the effort.
Two things are required for the conversion:
Train Control Systems (TCS) is one of several decoder manufacturers. Its web site has very good installation photos, organized by locomotive brand and type.
Converting to DCC will take some effort but you will be glad you did it. Good luck.
I finally got back into model railroading about 7 years ago (when I retired) and have a lot of older DC locos. I converted to DCC about 4 years ago and would never go back to DC. Converting to DCC isn't that difficult but you do need to learn or know how to solder. The suggestions already mentioned are all valid and each loco may need a differernt approach when installing a decoder. I would definately encourage you to 'jump into DCC' and you will see what makes it so much fun.
As far as 'DCC Ready' is concerned, those locos are manufactured with the motors isolated so a decoder can be installed easier. There may be an 8 pin plug in some which makes the DCC installation a matter of plugging in a decoder with the mating plug. Others may still need some soldering to install the decoder. Just get a small pencil type soldering iron as the gun type are just too big. I went through two of the pencil ones and finally bought a temperature controlled unit which I should have done in the first place.
I would also recommend that you pick up one of the many books on DCC; they are very helpful and informative.
Good luck in your reintroduction to the model railroading world.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
Gzygadio,
Click on this link and store it in Your bookmarks and do some reading. It will explain about anything You need to learn about, what DCC ready means, wiring, decoders, install how to's and diagrams:
http://www.wiringfordcc.com/intro2dcc.htm
Take Care!
Frank
da1 (Suprised at the lack of replies to your message. The regulars must be sleeping in.)
Guilty as charged.
I've got one of those Walthers GP9M engines. I have a Tsunami sound decoder in the workroom destined for that engine, but when I first got it I just pulled an old basic motor decoder out of the parts box and installed it. Yes, it's a soldering job, but it's not much effort. The motor on those is already isolated.
You mentioned the difference in price between DC and DCC engines. After I was smitten with the love of sound engines, I compared prices and discovered that it's actually cheaper to buy a sound-equipped engine than it is to buy a straight DC engine, sound decoder and speaker, and you don't have to do the work. If you are thinking about sound, that's the better way to go. Give this some thought before you build a fleet of non-sound engines if you think you might ever want to upgrade.
Another option on sound is to consist sets of engines. While it's nice to have all the engines sound-equipped, for many of us it's sufficient to have have one sound engine per train. That Tsunami has been sitting on the shelf for so long because that GP9M is the "silent partner" with another sound engine, and that will do until I get around to doing the conversion.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
There's a lag on posts appearing - I was up until 2:30am yesterday and did not see this post yet at that time.
"DCC Ready" is mostly a nonsense marketing term anyway. It can mean anything from, you pop out a dummy plug and plug in a decoder to, you completely reqire the loco. And everything in between - and it will have "DCC Ready" on the box.
ANY loco that has at least two wires in it (not counting the lights) - one from the right pickups to the motor, and one from the left pickups to the motor, is EXTREMELY easy to add DCC to - snip the wires, connect the pickups to the input of the decoder, connect the motor to the output of the decoder. Where it gets trick is when there is only 1 wire, and other side of the circuit is via the loco chassis. There's very little made in the past 20 years that can't be converted, and most of it without a whole lot of effort (aside from the train set level stuff).
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
After I posted this I went to the local train shop and picked up the book "The DCC Guide" and currently reading it. As I have removed the shells on a number of my engines they seem to have them wired directly to the trucks. Those are ones that probably can't be converted. Except for the few I bought this year most of my fleet is over 20 years old and sitting in display cases.
Thanks for all the advice.
I figure I probably will make the DCC plunge as I put together this layout. Working on deciding what to purchase for a DCC system as my layout is in an area of 10'x12' around the walls layout. I'm looking at railpro, MRC and NCE.
As others have posted, "DCC Ready" is pretty much a cruel hoax and marketing ploy. Most of my DCC installs, ummmmm, ALL of my DCC and sound installs have been hard wired. In most cases, if you plug in a decoder to an existing lightboard, there isn't enough clearance for the shell to fit back on properly. But it isn't rocket science. You have a red and a black wire, which are the right and left track pickups. The orange and grey wires go to the motor. The white, blue and yellow wires are for the headlight and backup lights. The speaker wires may be purple. Most importantly, be sure the motor isn't grounded to the frame. The first install may be a little intimidating. After that they are pretty much routine. The biggest problem will be finding or creating room for a speaker. Some locos have plenty of space under the shell. Others not so much. Make sure you don't pinch or crush wires when putting the shell back on. Make sure no wires rub on the flywheels or gear towers.