I haven't seen my Power Cab manual since I opened the box. My Lenz manual looks like it went through the war. I guess what I am trying to say is NCE is more user friendly than Lenz but if I used the Lenz more than at the club it would be easier to use. DCC is only as hard as you want to make it. Its only a hobby and not a job to me.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
The "Big Book of DCC" (which is what I suspect you're looking at) gets into in-depth explanations of how everything works and the mathematics behind it - very very little of which actually has anything directly relating to setting CV's and running trains. When it's hot in my car, I want to know how to turn the AC on. I don't need a detailed instruction in the manual about how air conditioning works.
TCS decoders come with a page of instructions that tell you how to set all the CV's to get the results you want. If you're new to DCC, I think that's the best decoder as far as clarity of instructions. I wouldn't have any Digitrax decoders except that at one time they had Back EMF "cruise control" when TCS ones didn't.
Remember you choose how much you want to adjust re the CV's. If you want to change the decoder ID no. from 003 to the no. of the engine, and nothing else, you can do that and your engine will run fine. Later if you want to use CV's to make adjustments to lighting, slowing down the speed, setting momentum for smoother starts and stops etc. you can do that...but you don't have to. The engine will run fine on the decoder default settings. I think a lot of people looking at DCC think decoders come as blank slates and they have to spend hours "programming" it to get it to work.
Harley,
There's a learning curve to just about anything and DCC is no exception. The capabilities of the technology are vast - hence, the reason for the thick manuals. Oftentimes, the manufacturers are just trying to give you a handful of scenarios for examples, hoping that you'll be able to take it from there.
The key: Soak in as much as you can at one time and don't be afraid to try things. And, if you mess up something while programming, setting the decoder back to the factory settings will 99.9% of the time remedy the problem. I like having a 3-ring binder copy of the NCE manual so that I can write notes in the side columns.
Eventually, once you've learned a few of the aspects about DCC, you then start making connections between the things you're grasping and understanding and it begins making more and more sense. In the meantime, Harley, you don't have to understand every aspect of DCC to enjoy it.
Just chisel away at it, a little at a time...and don't forget to have fun in the process.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Sounds like you've been reading a 'D' manual and suffering the consequences. . Read through some of the other manufacturers' manuals. Some are easier to read than others. With decoders for example a TCS decoder manual will walk you through exactly what value to use for CVs for lighting effects or for directional lights. Not all manuals require an advanced degree in engineering to comprehend.
What do I think? I think your are looking for a reason to Rant.
When you step from the DC, Analog age into the DCC, Digital age, you take a big leap.
Change is inevitable, struggle is an option. There has to be a desire to learn. I am 69 years old and I know what I am talking about.
If you are old enough, you will remember having to get up and tune the channel knob on your TV, change the volume, etc. Remember how complicated a remote use to be?
When I have troubles like that, I get some Cheese to go with my Whine. I then buckle down and learn. Your mileage may vary.
Do you remember how to program your VCR?
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Don´t you feel that DCC manuals are written by engineers FOR engineers, only? Hundreds of pages with numbers, bit, hexa, etc. are very confused for most modelers, and we need to have a tecnician near to understand anything more that set CVs. What do you think?