Question on several trains on one layout

Doc is doc, if it's any kind of digital, it was written for geeks by geeks.

Frustration leads me to destroy things. There is NO mention in the socalled on line help files as to how to access the data in the camera. Just absolutely beautiful, typical of digital equipment. If it doesn't work as advertised, you're screwed, charlie. It doesn't.

I worked with and on digital equipment for a good many years, I'm sick of manuals that don't tell what I need to know, and "help desks" that don't even know how to operate their own equipment. No way am I going to complicate my hobby.

And by the way, I don't mind if someone wants to go DCC, it's not my railroad. I don't like it when they press being able to stay ignorant as it's strongest point. "You don't have to learn *****".

Greybeard

Being as I'm trashing my connection in six more days, I don't think any of those would help me. I can't justify $50 per month for a 156K connection, and I've already tried the locals, with varying degrees of unreliability. A couple of them would be overpriced at $2 per month.

Greybeard.

And more rubbish. Neither has any advantage over the other, it's a matter of personal preference. The HUGE disadvantage is it's cost, it would cost me more than $400 to equip my locos with DCC, and that's only the locos, says nothing about the controllers, the time lost in learning curve, and the frustration of having to "program" every new loco, another loss of time in addition to installing DCC modules in very tiny locos. I PREFER not to.

Greybeard

Can u give some good web adresses for those DCC-computer interfaces and that open source software? Looks like this is what i'm looking for thx

"Carolyn Marenger" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@marenger.com...

I'll give up my "allowable level of ignorance" when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers...

CL

P.S. I've been out west for a month...I need to get some good barbecue, I think.

But /your/ preference is /your/ preference, and clearly stated as such. Mr. Flynn's comments were stated universally, and therefore different. We all know that the fiddly bits of wire are /your/ hobby, and you prefer to do things that way. That's fine, perfectly all right, and publicly acknowledgeable. My hobby is operating a model railway, and there's no way in the world I could get the advantages of DCC from a DC control system for less than $400. I'd have to pay some git like you to do the engineering for me, and I found a displaced Kiwi to do it for less than you would charge.

So you see, your constant touting of /your/ preferences and /your/ system are falling on (mostly) deaf ears. You won't sway anyone who doesn't want to do it /your/ way. The problem lies in sweeping generalisations promulgated by Mr. Flynn.

CL

Just wondering why those are mutually exclusive? What's to prevent you from running the Bullet/Thomas trains for the public while doing switching for yourselves (for fun) at the same time?

Yep. Observable phenomenon at every train show.

Mike Tennent "IronPenguin"

Well, you should seek help for that. It can be cured, you know.

Then it is defective, or fails the test of merchanability, and should be returned for a full refund. If you didn't get your money back for a faulty product, you have no one to blame but yourself.

CL

There's alwasy satellite...

It's interesting that you, of all people, would consider time spent learning something new to be "lost time."

Weren't you just criticizing folks for not taking the time to learn electronics?

You obviously don't consider the time you spend tinkering with parts to be "lost time," but don't want to grant others the same consideration when they tinker as they "prefer."

Why not?

Mike Tennent "IronPenguin"

I can report back to you right now that it will be a battle to do so. I said "some people". That does not necessarily include eeveryone.

Glad to hear it.

The particular yard where he likes to operate seems to clean the wheels of every thing that comes through it better than any other cleaning method we use.

Paul

It's pretty much an accepted fact that DCC track can stay cleaner than DC. It's simply polarity, DCC is an AC signal and DC is well DC and it can attract dust, dirt, etc. Most track problems really depend on the environment the track is in.

The track still gets plenty dirty. BUT, with the full power to the tracks DCC it doesn't suffer from the dirty track as quickly. i.e. - the track can get a log dirtier before you have to clean it.

Paul

in article NNGqmIRtbIm0-pn2-QKLzUhDLIWN1@localhost, Ernie Fisch at snipped-for-privacy@cox.net wrote on 3/2/05 6:44 PM:

Maybe one of the DC advocates in this news group will agree to your terms ;-}

Uh, Mark, DCC does have CRAP documentation. It is opaque and contains too many detail without enough examples; no real "quick start" guides, etc.

It's just that I've read enough crap documentation and managed tech writers and trying to get them to think like and end user that I can usually read through that stuff. Also, I'm not afraid to push the buttons and see what happens. "Oh, that's what it means!"

Once a decoder is properly installed, it is difficult to destroy it by trying to program it.

Ed

in article snipped-for-privacy@optusnet.com.au, mark_newton at mark snipped-for-privacy@optusnet.com.au wrote on 3/2/05 7:58 PM:

See! I was right: a little way into a discussion of DC and DCC and how a new user might consider each, the thread turns into a personal flame war. Sigh...

Ed

PS: I deleted the flame so as not to perpetuate it; the flamers will do that on their own.

I solved the digital camera problem by buying one with a removable memory card (5.1 MP Sony F717 in my case), bought a Mac and a memory card reader, and use iPhoto or Photoshop Elements (available for PC as well), and it just works. I can even post 'em on the web in easy steps directly out of iPhoto. See my website...

Ed

in article snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, Greybeard at snipped-for-privacy@Nowhere.moose wrote on 3/2/05 11:51 PM: