question about ddc noise

[Anonymous]

thanks alot everyone

[Anonymous]

I can say that it's always worth spending the extra few £/$ for the silent drive version. I bought three of the cheap Bachmann decoders which don't have this, never again!

[tstage]

To answer Rotor's comment about decoders. Some decoders are noiser than other decoders. The quieter ones are called "silent running" and virtually make no noise at all. Greg, when you eventually switch over to DCC, and you start checking out the different decoders, be sure to compare the features between the decoders. Tony's Train Exchange (link below) has a very handy comparison matrix so that you can do just that.

TTE website:
http://www.tonystrains.com

Decoder Comparison Matrix:
http://www.tonystrains.com/productcompare/decoder_comparison.htm

Tom

[MisterBeasley]

Opinions vary about the safety of running DC engines on DCC. Most agree that you shouldn't let them idle. Some people claim they've burned out motors by running them, not just idling.

Once you put a decoder in one, though, you'll want to equip them all. There's just no comparison. Welcome to 21st century model railroading.

[Anonymous]

Tom is correct. The noise you are hearing is the actual digital signal (the "D" in DCC) that controls the decoder. Hearing that noise from a DC loco. on a DCC layout is normal.

[Rotorranch]

I'm not a DCC expert by any means, but do know the answer to your question. [:D]

A DC analog loco running on DCC will normally make a whining sound, ( do to the current pulses going through the track? Not sure about the correct terminology here ). This is normal for any DCC system I'm aware of.

Installing a decoder will reduce, if not eliminate this "whining" noise. Some decoders do run quieter than others, also.

I'm sure one of the DCC "Gurus" here can explain this phenomenon a little more completely!

Rotor

[tstage]

Greg,

Yes. Whenever you run a DC locomotive using a DCC controller, you'll get that annoying "buzzing" sound. It shouldn't harm your locomotive to run it that way but don't leave it idle on the track for a long period of time or you might burn up your motor.

Tom

[Anonymous]

i recently puchased one of mrc's prodigy ddc transforms. i haven't got any decorders yet, and when i put an engine one it makes a wining sound. is this normal? will it go away when i buy a decoder for it?


thanks