I hooked up my PSX-AR auto reverser yesterday and it is simply fantastic. I just can't get over how well it works, I do not understand how but it does. I simply wanted to brag a little on how well DCC works. Mike
Good for you Mike. That is my experience, DCC is the funnest toy in the train room. I assume that the smart people who understand all this will make it better, but DCC is what I always wished for in the early years.
mikesmowers I hooked up my PSX-AR auto reverser yesterday and it is simply fantastic. I just can't get over how well it works, I do not understand how but it does. I simply wanted to brag a little on how well DCC works. Mike
ARTHILLGood for you Mike. That is my experience, DCC is the funnest toy in the train room. I assume that the smart people who understand all this will make it better, but DCC is what I always wished for in the early years.
Hey, guys, I agree 100%, but I can't believe that both of you could spell DC wrong!
Wayne
No argument here. I love DCC.
But I'm sure you will hear from some DC guys.
Different strokes for different folks. That's why they still make both systems.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
It sure beats flipping toggle switches all the time.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
doctorwayne Hey, guys, I agree 100%, but I can't believe that both of you could spell DC wrong! Wayne
LOL, Wayne that was a good one!
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Don't tell us how great DCC is...... It is bound to start another war!
Yeah, I went with DCC after getting back in the hobby a few years ago and just love running the trains instead of flipping switches every 15 feet or so..... The Autoreverers are a fantastic little electronic dohickeys, I always would have the setting wrong for whichever end of the loop I was entering with a train and would have a short. At the other end I was forever forgetting to change the direction of the mainline (Had to walk way over to where the main toggle foe the mainline cab A or B was) and would get a short on the other end as well. Now I just run the train and it takes care of itself....
Oh, and all you DC guys out there that love DC, Bless you one and all. It's your layout, and if you like it the way it is....... Nothing at all wrong with that!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
jeffrey-wimberly It sure beats flipping toggle switches all the time.
Who flips toggles? I still use DC but don't flip any toggles.
DCC is great, it's just not a one size fits all solution to the job.
Sheldon
5 years before-my dealer said to me:Cancel your H0-layout from DC to DCC-my answer was-to expensive :-((At this time I only run with DCC on my G-scale-layout)
And a half year later I want to buy DCC-items for H0-and today-I will not miss them-for me is DCC the best way to run model railroads
I like "to go with my trains",and many functions,such as light,horn,smoke,,,
I will never miss DCC
ATLANTIC CENTRALWho flips toggles? I still use DC but don't flip any toggles. DCC is great, it's just not a one size fits all solution to the job. Sheldon
I wondered how long it would take before you chimed in
As for me. I LOVE my IBM select typewriter. Computers...myeaaa.....they're just a fad, just like DCC.
Driline ATLANTIC CENTRAL Who flips toggles? I still use DC but don't flip any toggles. DCC is great, it's just not a one size fits all solution to the job. Sheldon I wondered how long it would take before you chimed in As for me. I LOVE my IBM select typewriter. Computers...myeaaa.....they're just a fad, just like DCC.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Who flips toggles? I still use DC but don't flip any toggles. DCC is great, it's just not a one size fits all solution to the job. Sheldon
If not for the "toggle flipping" comment, I might have left this alone completely.
I was convinced DCC was great back around 1982 when a group I was with built and got running a CTC-16 system. The major drawback then was you usually had to buy the system as a kit, solder it together, hope nothing got fried in the process, and hope it worked. It was very basic, but you could run multiple trains on a single track without a lot of toggle/rotary switches and fancy wiring.
The thing that makes today's DCC great is the NMRA standards that make all the periphials from any manufacturer compaible with any base DCC system (almost), and the variety of decoders available from inexpensive basic ones to fancy expensive sound decoders.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
But DCS is better--it's virtually idiot-proof.
UP 4-12-2 But DCS is better--it's virtually idiot-proof.
Never underestimate the ingenuity of an idiot.
Check out the Deming Sub by clicking on the pics:
ATLANTIC CENTRAL jeffrey-wimberly It sure beats flipping toggle switches all the time. Who flips toggles? I still use DC but don't flip any toggles. DCC is great, it's just not a one size fits all solution to the job. Sheldon
One size NEVER fits all!
The OP is thrilled by DCC - good. More power to him.
The DCC aficonados all feel vindicated - and good. I'm glad that they feel good.
Cheap shots at DC control prove only that the shooter isn't familiar with the more sophisticated analog DC systems - and didn't think of One-Train Herbert and his toggle-free toy train loop.
People who are happy with their analog DC systems are glad the DCC folks are happy - as long as they don't try to become missionaries for their chosen system(s) in complete disregard of what the analogers are doing, or planning to do.
Enjoy whatever size you like - even if it's the 78-ounce steak at the Cowboy Restaurant in Amarillo (which is free if you can eat it, and $$$ if you can't finish!)
As for me, I'm a happy camper. Sheldon knows why.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - analog DC, modified MZL system)
el-capitan UP 4-12-2 But DCS is better--it's virtually idiot-proof. Never underestimate the ingenuity of an idiot.
There is no such thing as foolproof; fool resistant is the best you can hope for.
Phoebe Vet There is no such thing as foolproof; fool resistant is the best you can hope for.
Javelina Phoebe Vet There is no such thing as foolproof; fool resistant is the best you can hope for. We've got a saying in the machining world, "That fool could break a crowbar in a sandbox and loose one of the pieces".
There's another saying. If you idiot proof something, they'll just come up with a better idiot. I'm a foot dragger when it comes to new technology. I didn't even have a cell phone until about 4 years ago. I don't have an iPod, Blackberry, 3G connection or any of the latest and greatest electronic gizmos. I did, however, make the decision to commit to DCC when I started my current layout about 6 years ago. I have never regretted that decision. Lots of new technology actually makes our lives more complicated. DCC is a technology that makes life simpler. Other than the added cost of factory installed DCC and sound, I see no downside to DCC. I can't imagin ever going back to the old way.
I agree 100% but have to wonder how much cooler /better it's going to get in the future
Personally, I can't wait to see how long it takes before this thread gets really INTENSE and locked.
For myself, I'm DC and happy (and no toggles. What the Heck are Toggles, anyway? ). But I'll tellya, if you're DCC and happy, then more power to you.
Let me put it this way. I'm a happy Catholic, but I see no reason to try and convert happy Protestants, as long as they don't try and convert me. To each his own and happy with it.
'Nuff said.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
twhiteFor myself, I'm DC and happy (and no toggles. What the Heck are Toggles, anyway? ). But I'll tellya, if you're DCC and happy, then more power to you.
Observation - those of us happy with DC don't use block toggles. Those using DCC keep telling us that block toggles are the problem with DC. I guess that explains it.
Jeff,I don't use blocks on my ISLs so no block flipping for me..If I did use blocks I would use Atlas selectors anyway and would leave my route lined..
I used DCC and found its ok but,overkill for a small 1 horse ISL.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
You don't need toggles when you only run one train at a time.
Silver Pilot ATLANTIC CENTRAL Who flips toggles? I still use DC but don't flip any toggles. DCC is great, it's just not a one size fits all solution to the job. Sheldon You don't need toggles when you only run one train at a time.
The way my control system and layout are designed, I can run 4 trains at a time on the mainline, and four more on branch lines and industrial areas, and still not flip any toggles.
Fact remains, toggle switches or rotary switches are likely the worst way to wire ANY DC layout. Yet these poor examples of clumsy DC systems are all that many have ever seen.
i didn't want nothing to do with dcc. it scared me just like computers and dc was good enuogh. one day a guy i knew showed me his ho railroad. i saw him run engines on the same track going different ways. i had to know how he did it. i lookd for bunches of wires but there was only a couple of them. he said it was dcc. he gave me a little card showing how engines program and how cv works. was easy. i didnt feel so dumb anymore and went dcc later. i like runnin engines anywhere i want with out it messing with the other engines in the block.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL The way my control system and layout are designed, I can run 4 trains at a time on the mainline, and four more on branch lines and industrial areas, and still not flip any toggles. Fact remains, toggle switches or rotary switches are likely the worst way to wire ANY DC layout. Yet these poor examples of clumsy DC systems are all that many have ever seen. Sheldon
You've got me curious. Without toggles or slide switches like the Atlas Selector, how is it you are able to independently control so many trains. Way back in the 1960s my brother and I bought a used 4x8 HO layout that had two power packs, each controlling a different loop of track, so there was no need to for switches. Is there another way to assign a train to different throttles without the use of some type of manual switch?
Yup, DCC did a lot to enhance operation and to ease wiring - for me! I would not want to go without it. Finally, it is an issue of personal preference - if your happy with DC, why not!
jecorbettYou've got me curious. Without toggles or slide switches like the Atlas Selector, how is it you are able to independently control so many trains. Way back in the 1960s my brother and I bought a used 4x8 HO layout that had two power packs, each controlling a different loop of track, so there was no need to for switches. Is there another way to assign a train to different throttles without the use of some type of manual switch?