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www.wiringfordcc.com is a good place to start. Sounds to me like you're still inside the "starter set" envelope, but I always recommend going for a "full" DCC system from the get-go. It's very likely you'll get there anyway, and buying a starter THEN a full system later is more than just buying the full system now. One thing that can easily push you beyond a starter system is sound-equipped locos. They draw significantly more amperage than a non-sound loco, and all of a sudden that 2 or 2.5 amps gets eaten up real quick - especially if you like to let your locos standing idle still run their sound. Steam locos do a lot of cool stuff just sitting idle - air pump, steam blowoff, etc. so many folks DO want that. If that's the case, that means ANY loco just sitting on the track is drawing amperage of note. Many report that once they get sound, they are 'hooked' (I would be in that camp), and it's the quickest way to find yourself having to replace a starter-level DCC set. Now, which set to buy??? Yes, Digitrax is a very good system. I particularly like how their cabs have _two_ throttles built in so you can run two engines without "switching" back and forth. BUT... I consider that DT has one fatal flaw...maybe. If you ever think you'll want to do wireless control (and my answer is... you will...) the Digitrax wireless system is second rate (at best), in my book. It's uni-directional - the wireless throttle can send commands to the system, but cannot receive feedback. There are various gripes with this, but the biggest is that you cannot switch locos wirelessly. If you're running a loco and want to switch to another loco, you must plug the throttle in... For me, that would mean A LOT of unplugging and replugging... this about 95% defeats the whole purposeof wireless, from my standpoint. Most other systems use duplex wireless, so you can do anything wireless you can with a cord, and there's little reason to ever "plug in". EasyDCC, NCE and Lenz (using the CVP wireless throttle) all do duplex wireless. I'll go so far as to say picking a DCC system from among these four is simply based on two areas where they have signfiicant differences. On the fundamentals, I think it's largely a wash: Will it run 99 throttles or 999? For 99% of us who aren't buying for a massive club layout... who cares? I believe the two key areas of differentiation are: 1) Throttle. Single most important element. Do you like how the throttle is laid out and how it works? A very, very personal thing to which I believe there is NO right answer except what's right for you. 2) Wireless (and you can ignore this if you're _certain_ you'll never want to go cordless)... Questions to consider are: Can you live with simplex rather than duplex communication? Are their wireless throttles laid out different than the regular throttles (Digitrax, NCE = No; CVP, Lenz = yes) and do you like them? Etc. That's my thoughts. Have fun! I can tell you this: the underlying question of DC versus DCC I have zero doubt whatsoever that DCC is the way to go. Casey
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