The "DCC WAVE" has it influenced your model railroading?

[fmilhaupt]

To quote a buddy of mine, "I'd go back to Baker couplers before I'd give up command control."

My friends and I like to run timetable and train order-- there's enough to think about just running the train and handling paperwork that having to concern ourselves with power-routing controls would seriously detract from the experience.

I really dislike doing wiring work on the layout. But, I've found that I quite enjoy installing decoders and don't mind engineering the lighting arrangements (all three of the roads I model used Gyralights...). For this reason, DCC has been a good fit for me.

[randybc2003]

YES. I find that in planning layout, I am THINKING like a RR engineer. (trackwork, not loco - although that is comming.)
Existing layout is DC, but I have a "DCC Cab". Local club - DCC. Digitrax decoders work either DC or DCC. Also, DC locos can work on Digitrax DCC. I can MU/Helper my consists, and control my Rotary Snow Plow along with my (pushing) steamer.
Slowly converting all locos to DCC. Remoter and gear as necessary.
Once you've tried it, you won't go back.
Randy

[Anonymous]

Where are you at DOUG?

[robengland]

Why do several responses here say the Zephyr won't scale? That's what boosters are for. I'm not aware of any constraint on scaling up the Zephyr

[IRONROOSTER]

I'll probably go dcc wireless, if I get more space for a bigger layout. Right now my 11x18' layout doesn't need it and I'd rather spend the $$$ on some more locos and buildings.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

I am running a bigboy and a y6 mallet
is there any one who can tell me a place
an inexspensive decoader for them.
I love whatm dcc dose it is quite neat.
who has agood but easy sytem.

[AntonioFP45]

Hello Deanbrunnet,

Click on this:

www.LitchfieldStation.com/s/i/ho/hods/hods.html

Decoder prices are listed. Very reasonable. [:)][:D][8D]

By the way, consider updating your profile and filling in the "Bio" and "Hobbies" categories. This will help modelers in the future respond better to you if they have an idea of your interests and age group.[;)][4:-)][C):-)][tup]

Hope this helps, Amigo!

[Anonymous]

Eventually I would like to get into it. But for right now I'm still using the old DC method. Though I love operating my trains, most of my enjoyment comes from the construction side of the hobbie, the contructing of the mountains, canyons, water, buildings, sidewalks, roads etc. I find it very relaxing.

Georgia Boy

[Anonymous]

Atoio fp45
dean brunnet here with a word of thanks for the web
site it will help me grately. this is one reason I like mrr, everybody
will try to help each other, if I run into a problem I know I can come
here and have my prolem solved,thank you agin and keep up the
good everyone.

[AntonioFP45]

DeannBrunnet,

Hello to you, and very glad that this was helpful!

Looking forward to your future posts!

[jrbernier]

I have noticed that several folks talk about the expense of converting all of their engine 'fleet' to DCC(97 engines, etc...) 10 years ago I had over 100 engines, now I have under 30. The reason is not financial(like lost my job, divorce, etc...). I got into DCC about 10 years ago and started converting the engines I really needed to run my railroad. The plan was to convert ALL my engines. What I realized was that a lot of those other engines hardly ever get run(even in DC). The plan then changed to build more display cases to view them. Eventually, I started selling off the older engines that were not detailed as well, or there were newer/better models available(Athearn vs P2K).
I now have 23 DCC equipped engines(3 with sound), and the rest are mainly display models and have no decoders. Since I only really need 11 engines to 'run' the railroad, a lot of the DCC engines are in the display case as well.
I suspect a lot of folks have engines they 'just had to buy', but never run them or even take them out of the box. A lot of older 'brass' would need a lot of gearbox/motor work just to get them to run on good DC, let alone adding a decoder! I have 3 brass engines left in my collection, and really have no to plans to convert them(2 are half painted, one is still in natural brass). DCC has made me think about what I really 'need' for my layout, and I have more fun running trains. For example, I used to use two GP9's on road freights, mainly because a single GP9 could not pull the 'hill' with a full road freight. Now I use a single GP9 and have a 'helper' engine at the bottom of the grade. The helper operation is so simple; never could do it very well with DC cab control.

Jim Bernier

[jwmurrayjr]

After 20+ years away from MRR, relatively affordable DCC is what got me back into MRR. I love it! [:)]

[aluesch]

QUOTE: Originally posted by orsonroy
I could care less about route control, signalling, automation, or computer interfaces, but I can't get a starter set that'll crank out 10-20 amps.

Yes you can get a 16A system from Zimo. And even though you have no interrest in all the features you mentioned they are still there, just in case you change your mind later like so many others [;)]

Regards,
Art
http://www.mrsonline.net/

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jrbernier

I have noticed that several folks talk about the expense of converting all of their engine 'fleet' to DCC(97 engines, etc...) 10 years ago I had over 100 engines, now I have under 30. The reason is not financial(like lost my job, divorce, etc...). I got into DCC about 10 years ago and started converting the engines I really needed to run my railroad. The plan was to convert ALL my engines. What I realized was that a lot of those other engines hardly ever get run(even in DC). The plan then changed to build more display cases to view them. Eventually, I started selling off the older engines that were not detailed as well, or there were newer/better models available(Athearn vs P2K).
I now have 23 DCC equipped engines(3 with sound), and the rest are mainly display models and have no decoders. Since I only really need 11 engines to 'run' the railroad, a lot of the DCC engines are in the display case as well.
I suspect a lot of folks have engines they 'just had to buy', but never run them or even take them out of the box. A lot of older 'brass' would need a lot of gearbox/motor work just to get them to run on good DC, let alone adding a decoder! I have 3 brass engines left in my collection, and really have no to plans to convert them(2 are half painted, one is still in natural brass). DCC has made me think about what I really 'need' for my layout, and I have more fun running trains. For example, I used to use two GP9's on road freights, mainly because a single GP9 could not pull the 'hill' with a full road freight. Now I use a single GP9 and have a 'helper' engine at the bottom of the grade. The helper operation is so simple; never could do it very well with DC cab control.

Jim Bernier

10-4 on that Jim!

I actually have fewer locomotives than I did a decade or so ago. I'm excited about building an HO layout, but I plan on having 20 or less powered units total. As much as I like various locos and paint schemes, I doubt if I would run all of the units regularly, and some would wind up with "stiff gears" and sporadic electrical contact from years of storage. (Talk about "Sputtering and Growls!") This is the problem with some of my old Athearns and Atlas units that I've had stored since the late 1980s. On my Athearns only the FP45s and SCL U-Boat will be converted to DCC/sound. The FP45 has the advantage of having a decent amount of internal space.

If I get new locomotives, they'll very likely be P2Ks and P1ks. It seems that the Proto series units have become the "Athearn of the 21st century". Reasonably priced, nice looking, heavy, tough, and actually quieter than Athearns. From what my good friend tells me, DCC/Sound installations in these units can be challenging, though as the weights take up quite a bit of room.

Peace out!

[Anonymous]

My local club uses DCC, so I installed some decoders in a couple engines, after I got tired of waiting my turn to use 00. I loved DCC a lot. We used a Digitrax Chief, and it was really good. And a lot of fun to use. But alas for my 1 engine switching layout I'll be using DC. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to go DCC for a one engine, one person layout. If I had more operators, I'll go for DCC.

Alvie.

[dano99a]

WOW, who brought this thread back to life?? Still, it's good to see so many supporting the DCC wave.

[jfugate]

I started using Command Control back in 1990, and switched to DCC in 1993 ... which means I've been using DCC on the Siskiyou Line for 11 years now.

Command Control is the way to go, and I would not use anything else. With wireless DCC, things go to even the next level -- you literally assign the throttle to your locomotive lashup and then go! A dream come true!

I talked about my experiences with DCC over the last 11 years and what I've learned at my clinic in Seattle last month. If you'd like to watch the clinic on video, you can get it here at: http://model-trains-video.com.

I firmly believe the day is quickly approaching when DCC will be like radio control for model airplanes. Who would think of building and flying a model airplane without radio control? And who will think of building and operating a model train layout without DCC? It's almost here ...

[tatans]

dcc,dcc.dcc. What is dcc?? am I missing something? you mean to tell me I have a layout that actually runs without dcc, how can this be? what is the next expensive gimmick thay you MUST have? is the next wave of electronic "stuff"
(in the next 3 months) going to antiquate dcc. I've got to get back to scratchbuild my $1.25 yard sale tank car and take my mind off 5 pages of dcc.

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tatans

dcc,dcc.dcc. What is dcc?? am I missing something? you mean to tell me I have a layout that actually runs without dcc, how can this be? what is the next expensive gimmick thay you MUST have? is the next wave of electronic "stuff"
(in the next 3 months) going to antiquate dcc. I've got to get back to scratchbuild my $1.25 yard sale tank car and take my mind off 5 pages of dcc.

No must have to it. Will have is more like it. The locos you buy will have DCC decoders in them out of the box.

Having tried to do prototype operations on a regular DC layout and also operating on a wireless DCC layout, I can tell you which one is easier to operate like the prototype.

Sure, you can run trains on a straight DC layout, but to operate without having to give even one tiny thought to how the train's getting its power, its going to be DCC.

So enjoy you DC layout while it lasts. One day it will be as common as non-radio equipped operating model airplanes.

[Anonymous]

You betcha! It totally reformed and enabled our operations at our club, generating more purchases of new locomotives in a short time than ever before, just 'cause there's so much new stuff out there with great detail, high quality, suitable for installation of not only DCC operating decoders, but sound as well. It's like any other phenomenon....once it gets up a "head of steam" (pun intended) it seems to grow by leaps and bounds. It makes operating so much more fun that it gets me away from the work bench and back onto a throttle again.

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tatans

dcc,dcc.dcc. What is dcc?? am I missing something? you mean to tell me I have a layout that actually runs without dcc, how can this be? what is the next expensive gimmick thay you MUST have? is the next wave of electronic "stuff"
(in the next 3 months) going to antiquate dcc. I've got to get back to scratchbuild my $1.25 yard sale tank car and take my mind off 5 pages of dcc.

Tatans, Why the sarcasm?
No "gimmick-ery" involved. Just a feature that allows modelers to run and enjoy model locomotives with more freeedom and realism. DCC has been standardized by the NMRA, is an adopted technology. As advances are made, the equipment will still be "backward compatible". So you won't have to run out and keep buying equipment every time there is an improvement.

BTW: I was very "anti-dcc" myself. Once I saw locomotives running independently of each other, super smooth running due to the continuous track voltage, and the features offered by DCC Sound; I started reading about it and had a change of heart.

[Anonymous]

Old Farts arise. I built the CTC-16e following the series published in MR. I still use this system and find it works just fine for operating the layout. I am not going to spring for the new DCC equipment just yet. I am trying to find a way to get the high zoot sound systems available today to work with my system. Big problem is I am not into electronics sufficiently to be able to determine if what I seek is even feasible. I am getting there. Taking night classes at community college to learn about electronics. Good information to be learning, but just might be a heartbreaker if I cannot get sound to work with my system. If things don't work out, then and only then would I consider the purchase of the newer edition stuff. By the way, I do have the steam chuff sound. What I am looking for is the bell, whistle, compressor and brakes squealing sounds. I do hope I can keep the present system with upgraded sound, I have grown to understand it and can even do some trouble shooting on those rare occasions a gremlin comes to visit.

Tom

[AntonioFP45]

Tpaulsen,

Salute to ya!

I remember reading about the CTC-16 in MRR back in the 80s with Dr. Richard Kamm and MRR Staffer Keith Gutierezz (is Keith still around?). This was the foundation that led to today's DCC. There was even a PBS show called "ALL ABOUT TRAINS" back in the early 90s. Doc Kamm demonstrated a layout run by the CTC system.

Contact [e-mail] and see if Bruce can give you any pointers.

Hope this helps!

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AntonioFP45
I remember reading about the CTC-16 in MRR back in the 80s with Dr. Richard Kamm and MRR Staffer Keith Gutierezz (is Keith still around?).

Antonio:

What planet have you been on? Keith G. is the brains behind CVP, RailCommand, and EasyDCC. See: http://www.cvpusa.com ...

CVP had the largest DCC booth of just about anyone at the National Train Show in Seattle last month, and Keith was there in the flesh. They are pioneering battery powered DCC with their AirWire900 product -- you can see Keith explaining it on video here: http://model-trains-video.com . So he's certainly "still around" and still pioneering in the hobby!

P.S. Also, I don't believe Keith was ever on the payroll at MR. Just a frequent contributor with ground-breaking electronic project articles. I believe he's an EE for Texas Instruments.

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jfugate

QUOTE: Originally posted by AntonioFP45
I remember reading about the CTC-16 in MRR back in the 80s with Dr. Richard Kamm and MRR Staffer Keith Gutierezz (is Keith still around?).

Antonio:

What planet have you been on? Keith G. is the brains behind CVP, RailCommand, and EasyDCC. See: http://www.cvpusa.com ...

Hey guy! Hmmmmm..I've been on the messed up planet Earth in the 21st century where:
[1] UP, MTH, QSI, and Lionel either sue or get sued
[2] HO & N scale locomotives are sold as "Limited Runs"
[3] Where many modelers and railfans think graffitti on freight cars is cool !

Man! Wish I could "time warp" back.

Seriously, I haven't kept up with who's who in model railroading as I had stopped subscribing to MRR about 1993. I started again in 2003. I'm very glad that Keith is still contributing. I still remember the picture of him in a MRR magazine holding a microfphone against the engine compartment of an idling Union Pacific SD40-2 as he was involved in advancing the sound technology for modeling. Is Dr. Kamn still around?

Thanks for the heads up!

"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"

 

• Reply