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[quote user="tangerine-jack"][quote user="dave 1194"] " I normally run straight DC because it's what I grew up with and I am comfortable. " okay... following that logic, why do you have (or use at a library or work, or whatever) a computer and obtain access to the internet? chances are that if you grew up without DCC you grew up without the internet, so why such a luddite when it comes to enhancing your model railroad experience? worrying about throwing switches and all that nonsense for electrical "blocks" simply detracts from the fine art of yard switching. how can you think five or six moves ahead of time when you're worried about your engine losing power in the next block?? just my two cents, and i hope this doesnt seem like a nastygram...   [/quote] Nasty, no, not at all!  A very valid point.  I am forced at work etc. to use a computer, I don't like them, and they fail more often than they work.  They certainly are not my preferred method of getting things done, but I have no choice if I want to interact with the modern world and conduct business.  My model railroad is not constrained by the modern world, I choose if I want to find a bad wire by looking, or spend hours diagnosing a DCC gremlin (is it the encoder, decoder, uploader, downloader, programming, PC, PCC, LSD, NBA or just a bad wire?).  I don't have to be forced in my hobby to do anything I don't want to. I take comfort in knowing, I mean positively knowing, that the #4 red wire to track 7 is soldered properly to the rail and when I throw the selector switch electricity will pass through to the loco.  Sure, it can be a pain to route select with DC, but I do feel more connected to my layout that way and I can pretend to be an overpaid corporate sell out union dispatcher making 200K a year by throwing switches (no offence to real railroad workers, it's just my fantasy, that's all).I am certainly not saying DCC is crap, I use it regularly and enjoy its benefits, but I don't feel comfortable with the technology.  Last year a photo journalist with the Chrysler museum came by to do a photo shoot, I am now forever in print trying to get my DCC loco to communicate with transmitter.  Had I used DC, the train would have been running for the photo shoot.  DCC makes wiring the layout very simple (a few feed blocks and some reversing loop tricks is all it takes), I'm not as sure about operations as a whole.  What's the difference between throwing a switch on the DC panel as opposed to pushing buttons on the DCC control pad?  I have to work either way, one to shunt electricity, the other to program a gizmo to communicate with a loco.  I just feel more comfortable shunting electricity.  No harm, no foul.  Some like technology, some like the old skool way.  If you enjoy the hobby, then who really cares?"how can you think five or six moves ahead of time when you're worried about your engine losing power in the next block??"Easy, it's called planning your operating session.  It's like playing a game to me, I enjoy it a lot.  Besides, I worry about my DCC engines stopping for no apparent reason, so what's the difference?[;)][/quote] well said. if whatever you do provides a respite from the stress and strains of today's world, go ahead and do it! i'd sure have choice words for anyone that told me how to spend my free time, let alone micro-manage it...  djt out
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