I haven't made the plunge to DCC yet but I certainly will be in the very near future. I have a question regarding train movement automation. I have planned some hidden staging track and I want to know if it's possible to automate the trains in and out of there. In other words, can DCC be programmed to automatically stop the train when it arrives at a desired location and then start up again ? Hope this makes sense. Thanks
Bruce's train shop in Sacramento has a lionel passenger train running in a big circle. It has wig wags, gates that lower and when the train comes into the passenger station it whistles, gradually slows down, then stops. After a minute it will whistle and gradually start up. It also give the proper whistles when approching grade crossing. The diesel engine also make the proper noice when starting and stopping. All this is done with hands off operation. I asked the store clerk what type DCC it had and you wouldn't believe his answere. "I don't know. I was just told to unlock the door to the controls and turn the switch on and everything is done automatic". Can you believe that? [ 21. August 2002, 23:18: Message edited by: Telegrapher ]
Digitrax systems can be setup for auto stoping. If you plan not to use Digitrax and you favorate brand does not support it, I believe you can use the booster with any other system and will work fine. Digitrax
Look into Zimo. It is by far the most complete system for this kind of operation. You can have manual, semi automatic and full automatic operation on a PC, if You wish. In fact You can run Your layout on up to 7 PC's if that's what is required! Art mrsonline.net
There you go pushing that Zimo system again. I am sure it is good but look at the price. Most DCC systems have some way to connect a computer either directly to them or by tieing into their buss system. The PC and software solution is available for most of the systems (Digitrax, NCE, Marklin, Roco, Atlas, Zimo, etc). Software programs that are available include Winloc, Railroad & Co, CTI TrainBrain, and others. I personally use Railroad & Co software to control my Digitrax DCC system and CTI signal controllers. With Railroad & Co you can totally automate your layout if you want, combine automatic and manual, or run the layout from the computer manually.
I found some good info on Digitrax web site. Appearantly they have transponders that can be used for automation. Also, DigiToys has a software program called WinLok 2.1 that can run on a 80386 computer.
One of the differences between the many DCC systems on the market is how easy or how complicated it is to do certain things. ZIMO shines on that front for two reasons: a very good user manual and a very integrated system that does a lot more straight out of the box than most of the other systems. It isn't cheap, but you get what you pay for. It is quality you pay for and quality you receive. BTW their tech support is second to none. Coyote
