We are looking at the Locolinc system to run our garden railroad thats now in construction. Has anyone done a heads up comparision or the product against other DCC products? We primarily are looking for simplicity in wiring and ease of operation, but cost, product interoperability and reliability are also issues. Current plans are to use track power, on stainless track, with grades of 3.5% max. Input or direction will be appreciated.
mr
I've never seen, used, or known anyone who uses LocoLinc, but from its description in Garden Railways magazine I would say that it is a proprietary system that is nothing comparable with DCC, and is possibly not compatible with any other type of control system. From their list of features, it would appear that some type of receiver must be installed into each engine.
Check their web site for more information at http://www.locolinc.com
Thanks.... after downloading all of their info and reading about half of it last night that's the impression I get, though they do claim interoperability with some sound units. I guess we'll continue to research and look at the information from other DCC vendors.
Hi MR, first off save some money and use brass track and a battery based system. Do the cost comparsion now before you invest alot of dollars. Any track based system still requires some track maintenance and it gets old real fast. Have you considered a battery based R/C system? I am making a plug for our system that you might find that is very reliable, simple to run and maintain and we have always offered an upgrade path. We believe a interface between our system and any DCC decoder is in the future.
Don Sweet RCS of NE www.remotecontrolthrottles.com
Greetings:
I went into Locolinc big time. it looked like a great system.
I purchased 20 - 2 amp receivers ,and 2 - 5 amp, and 2 transmitters.
I started to install them into my engines. I have Bachman, Aristo, & U.S.A..
Problem 1 opening the engines to isolate the motors from track power pick up.
Problem 2 finding space to place the receiver and running the wiring.
Problem 3 after I installed several I started finding bad receivers. about half were bad. Locolinc charges (at the time$25.00 to repair each new receivers).
Then I had the idea to used 9 pin computer serial port plugs for quick replacement or to move to other engines.
Then i made up a test stand. Half of the replacement receivers were received inoperative another $25.00 each.
Problem 4 running an engine. you hit a dead spot and the engine stops dead. when you are running multi unit engines. one dies and you do not know it and your other engine is pulling a dead load.
BIG Problem 5 the receivers have different sensitivity. Some engines you can stand back and run perfect. others you are running next to the engine to change a command. when you are running multi engines some will react and other will not.
Problem 6 if you are pulling a load. you need a lot of ventlation to cool the receiver or it burns out quickly.
Problem 7 you need find isolators to operate sound units. or you get a lot of humm or very poor sound quality.
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