DCC questions from a dedicated DC'er

Hmmm. If it was me, I'd wait for the Bachmann Dynamis, and see what reviews that gets before plumping for any specific DCC arrangement. I can't comment on the Prodigy, as I've never used it.

I have a Lenz Set100 system, and bearing in mind its cost I'm not inclined to replace it.

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Dormouse Line model railway

Welcome to the world of DCC :o) The Gaugemaster set has had good reviews, but if you are going to the Warley show you will have the advantage I suspect of comparing the others such as Lenz, ZTC et al side by side. I use Lenz control system, although for loco chips, as long as they are NMRA compatible I will vary the decoders based on the cost number of function and size of the chip I need, (BTW I model in N). If you are handy with a soldering iron a site worth visiting is the MERG site

where you can obtain more DCC stuff all of which is compatible. Finally if you are based anywhere near Salisbury and need a hand fitting chips etc drop me a line.

All the best and enjoy your search.

Unless you have young children at the controls you probably won't need that much power. The 2.5 amps provided by my Compact is sufficient to have 4 trains (OO) circulating at near maximum speed (limited by the need to avoid crashing rather than available power).

Mark Thornton

Mark Thornton wrote in news:YdI% i.40825$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe5-win.ntli.net:

Thanks for the pointer but I'm not to sure, the track goes all round the garage (which is also my workshop) and gets quite dirty, moist and dusty.

64Magnette wrote in news:ba041857-8053-4ea5- snipped-for-privacy@b32g2000hsa.googlegroups.com:

Cheers

I'm not there yet

I've used Lenz and ZTC .. albeit not side by side and there's no way I can get to Wharley, shame.

...

It looks worth it (the membership fee) just to get your hands on the technical papers.

Nope, sorry I'm miles away, thanks though.

"Ian J." wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

Cheers but the bottom line is that every year near Christmas I get a bung from work, and to be frank it's a very good bung but if I don't spend it SWHTBO gets her hands on it and purchases carpets, wallpaper and all that sort of stuff. It wuldn't be so bad but I've just bought her an iron, anyway the bottom line is that once a year I get to splash out, but if I don't it dissapears so I don't really want to wait.

I'd looked at that, 5A I believe but thought that it was more expensive than the Gaugemaster?

Doesnt that suggest more droppers than a direct line to a power station ?

There is the Elite as well you know (5 amp)- buy that and use the saving for lots of decoders or another lnwr kit.

Cheers, Simon

I would imagine so, but I haven't checked prices recently.

Mine is outside, running around two sides of the garage and under an apple tree (Bramleys). It doesn't need extra power, just more connections to the track. I'm not suggesting a Compact of course as that is now too old to consider, but there are a number of more recent systems that can manage a similar power output. Having more amps available makes no difference to the usability of dirty track. You might need more power if you run a lot of illuminated coaches, or if you use track power for accessories.

Mark Thornton

For power consumption you need to look at the locos you intend to run as most modern locos draw about 1/4 of an amp so pratically all of the entry level DCC systems will work for you. Best to look at Lenz and Digtitrax first as they are the biggest and longest established DCC players. Unless you want sound most decoders are under £20 now excepting the top of line decoders fropm the manufacturers. Have a look at TCS as well for decoders plenty of UK dealers and a wide range of prices.

In thoery all decoders should work with all systems but there have been some issues with the Hornby system and other systems. I have also experienced problems with ZTC decoders and Digitrax system, no problems with Lenz, TCS and of course Digtrax decoders though.

A number of the big dealers have demonstrators such as MacKay models in Scotland.

Chris

"More connections to the track": I have some 8-wheel American diesels (with sound), that run much better than their British counterparts. What is the difference? The axles on the American diesels are sprung, whereas those on the British diesels are not. Since the sound does not keep going off and restarting again, it is a fair bet to say that there is constant connection to the track with these American diesels.

Incidentally, 4 of these diesels together use something like 0.6 amp, as measured by my RRampMeter.

"simon" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@bt.com:

I'm a bit of a belt and braces chap, the exising feed comes off striped down 13A cables.

"Elite" isn't that the Hornby offering, I've heard some unpleasent things about compatability, or lack thereof.

Mark Thornton wrote in news:ylT%i.8773 $ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe6-gui.ntli.net:

I have one train in development that carries it's own vacuum cleaner :-)

Chris wrote in news:-c- snipped-for-privacy@bt.com:

Cheers

Only the number of locos (and accessories) being used at once determine the current capability required.

If it's a large layout you need to use thicker wiring for the power bus so that the voltage drop is kept to a minimum at a given current.

MBQ

" snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com" wrote in news:7af45e51- snipped-for-privacy@b32g2000hsa.googlegroups.com:

Yup, see a previous post of mine, I use stripped down 13A cable as a "ring main" under the layout to carry power around and have droppers from every rail join (albeit some aren't actually wired in to the "main") - my eldest wanted to learn how to solder :-)

I would suggest you try to get along to a big exhibition or two - I expect there will be a lot of DCC equipment on show at Wakefield, Warley and Wigan for example, and it is not too bad to get to from most places. See if you can get your hands on the controllers and see what they feel like for you.

P.

The Hornby Elite DCC Console now has its NMRA certificate.

Theres your answer, NMRA compatible - only suprising thing about that is how quickly its been done ! It was the budget one (Select) thats not compatible, was never claimed to be compatible and apparemtly suffered some teething troubles.

Suggest you look at its features and price then look at other makes in the same way before deciding anything. I still think a lot of the bad 'rumouring' is down to people that paid a lot of money for a system that does less than the Elite.

Cheers, Simon