atseibert74What are the differences between DC & DCC?
Oh my
With DC, you vary the voltage in the track. More volts, more speed and brighter headlight.
With DCC, it is a form of AC current and how it alternates and the shape of the wave form creates a huge menu of things that you can get a loco to do, including speaking, in a figurative sense, to that specific loco, while at the same time you are also controlling other locos.
Many, perhaps half, still run DC. A large layout is typically divided into blocks and with multiple throttles, it is possible to run a couple trains at the same time, but not in the same block, at least not independently. Blocks aren't needed in DCC but it likes better wiring and clean track.
DCC has more sound options, though the latest and greatest DC locos have some sounds. Not everyone is a fan of sound. Even those that are, find the factory level of sound too loud and have no use for some sounds, like crew chatter. That's a personal decision you have to make. I like sound.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
BigDaddy atseibert74 What are the differences between DC & DCC? Oh my
atseibert74 What are the differences between DC & DCC?
I was wondering who was gonna pick this up . . .
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
With DC you are not controlling the locomotive, you are controlling the track. If you want to speed the train up, you turn up the juice. If you want to make the train go backward, you flip the switch on the transformer to reverse the polarity.
With DCC, you are controlling the locomotive, not the electricity to the rails, and the DCC throttle sends a signal to the decoder (circuit board) in the locomotive through the rails. The rails are nothing more than a conduit for the signal to the locomotive.
Check this link out: https://blog.micromark.com/dc-vs-dcc-which-is-right-for-your-layout/
and this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XmLEj_C5_k
Bear "It's all about having fun."
Thank you bigdaddy and bearman!
What does everyone like to use for track underlayment? My local shop has black foam strips and cork strips. Which do you prefer or what other options are out there? Thanks!
atseibert74 What does everyone like to use for track underlayment? My local shop has black foam strips and cork strips. Which do you prefer or what other options are out there? Thanks!
I personally prefer cork, as I hand-lay track and it doesn't melt with soldering. I used cardboard for one of my layouts, and laid track directly onto the wood for another one.
First of all you need to determine what scale you want to be into. I first started with N scale thanks to my dad then got older and bolder and went into HO scale. My uncle had a fiber tie with brass track layout on the back porch which I rebuilt with plastic tie nickle silver sectional track and flex track. I was impressed to get it to run at age 15 ! Later went into N scale until my eyes got bad and went back to HO scale. Haven't looked back since. I'm building a double track main with blocks to allow 2 trains to run continuously and two separate yards one being for many Walthers passenger cars I have collected over the years.Maybe one day that layout will be finished in my own basement instead of the spare bedroom(10 by 9) that is there now.
One thing does help in deciding what railroad you want to model is availibility of roadnames in the scale you will prefer. You can't go wrong following the big names,Pennsylvania,New York Central,Santa Fe,Union Pacific and later BNSF ,NS, and CSX. For any scale these roads are well available in hobby shops. You may want to find some all color books by Morning Sun to peak your interest in what each railroad has to offer in terms of rolling stock ,buildings and settings to model. Start small and your interest may grow just watch your wallet some stuff is $$$$! Research the design then build. All baby steps in planning your future interests. Good Luck. Steve