For several years I have been using DCC decoders from Lenz or some locally made brand; both working pretty well. Recently I bought sound decoders (from Sountraxx). Sound is great, BUT pretty soon I found that they are very sensitive to dirt on the track: even the slightest dirt brings the engine to a stop and then restart (or stay idle if the dirt is larger). Things are worst with a long acceleration rate (CV 3). Am I the only one to notice that ?
I just installed a MRC Brilliance in a Stewart F unit, works well but there are occasional points where there is a slight loss of momentum then it picks up again. Maybe a good indicator of track that needs cleaning or other maintenance. Roger Aultman
Ciana wrote:
Yeppie, dirt is the enemy of the DCC system! You need to have a good contact with the rails in order to have good trouble free operation. Of course, this is true of any control system but the DCC system can have more problems than ordinary DC does. Cleaning track does help with the problem as well as keeping the layout room clean with an air filter. Also helpful is to use contact shoes although this does make you clean up your trackwork a lot.
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