DCC questions aren't we sick of them yet? Erm no, my turn to ask one :-)

Although I don't have a DCC layout I've been reading the various DCC threads with some interest and as it happens the layout I've got involved in at the club will be DCC (shock, horror!) so I do need to gen up on the subject.

One question arising from the current thread has sprung to mind. There's been some debate as to which decoder is best for which engine. I'd assumed that in essence it was simply a matter of deciding how many functions you needed, whether you wanted lots of addresses or just a few and then finding just which of the available options would fit.

Having now followed the various threads I find that some apparently similar decoders are better than others in particular engines and vice versa, got to say this has caused a certain amount of head scratching.

Is there any sort of guide as to what decoder works best where? What I don't have is enough cash to splash out on half a dozen different chip types and experiment.

Reply to
Chris Wilson
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"Chris Wilson" wrote

I thought that too, but there appears to be an element of trial and error involved, and sometimes some minor tweaking of the decoder settings to get the best running characteristics.

The end result is however worth the effort.

John.

Reply to
John Turner

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That's about the perceived wisdom, but it might be you've not listed all the questions:

How much current will your locomotive draw when stalled? How many auxillary functions need operating and how much current do they draw? Will the locomotive be used in a consist (multiple heading or banking)? Does the motor require high frequency drive (coreless motors and such like that can't tolerate low frequency PWM)? Would the locomotive benefit from back EMF feedback control (if it has large flywheels then the answer is probably no unless you don't want to 'drive' the train, e.g. you have sharp curves and steep gradients and don't want to manually adjust the throttle)? How many speed steps do you want? Do you want programmable speed tables? Does the locomotive have a NMRA plug or must the decoder be 'wired' in? How much physical space is available in the locomotive?

Decoders are starting to get like VCR's and PC's, each year the 'entry level' models are supporting more and more features such that it can become merely a question of if you want to enable particular features. Of course this then leads you to the question of 'Which command station?' as not all can program all decoder features, or addresses :-)

There are a number of DCC specific discussion groups out there. It might be worth spending some time on those. That said it would doubtless be a worthwhile exercise to pick a group and collate peoples experience of different decoder and locomotive combinations. Not only could lists of decoders that work well and those that work badly for particular locomotives be drawn up but also which CV configurations gave the 'best' results.

Reply to
Chris White

decoders work with flywheel motors.

Reply to
titans

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