Sorry, but I've read through this entire thread and have seen little or no evangelizing. What I see is other modelers doing their best to answer the questions presented by the OP based on their own experiences. I get that DCC is not for you. Great. It's a hobby for goodness sake. I see no reason for hostility.
I agree, pretty tame thread. Read it earlier with two replies, then saw it and 3 pages and expected the worst but really mostly good replies. I think the o.p. has kinda nailed the thought processes. The biggest issue in my mind is cost. 100% of the guys I know that haven't converted yet is because they already had a layout pre-mid-90's before decoder ready frames were commonplace and they already did the dirty work for blocking everything out. So the cost-benefit/fun ratio for an established layout and 200 locomotives is not quite as skewed toward DCC. The truly honest ones will also tell you they simply bought too many locomotives over the years. Personally, I got back into model railroading BECAUSE of the n-scale DCC-ready offerings. So it never was a decision point for me. I would suspect that most new entrants to the hobby go DCC sooner than later....so I guess if we are evangelists it's because of them. I would hate to be in this hobby for any time and find out about DCC later after--you guessed it--I bought 50 locomotives. I'm not an evangelist...I just play one on TV.... :thumbs_up:
I built a new room size layout recently, and even bought "NCE PowerCab" DCC for it before I built it. For some strange reason.............I just CAN'T bring myself to make the switch. I've got about 30 locomotives, and although I would prefer the layout with DCC, the thought of switching all the locos over ( & the cost!!! ), just leaves me cold. I'm still running DC & happy for now. I just can't justify the cost of buying decoders, and paying someone to install them ( old, with bad eyes & fat fingers ). In this economy, I'll just enjoy....................
Same here. I like my DC layout as it is and I'm too old and have too many engines to convert. I do use DCC in H0 scale.
I think Rick sums it up way back in post No.3. You don't have to go 100% DCC and probably never will, I've got many engines that will never be converted but I still run them, you won't have to trash all your old museum pieces. I bet if the internet had been around in the 1920's there would have been similar discussions back then. "I've got no need for these new electric trains, my clockwork ones are good enough".
I have to disagree with this opinion. You can operate realistically with DC. For the above example, all you need is well-thought-out placement of block boundaries. Just park the train so the lead unit is at a block boundary. Turn off the block. Back the helper and couple to the lead GP7. Turn the block back on, and proceed. If you use automatic (magnetic) uncoupling, as I do, the helper can be removed by putting an uncoupling magnet under said block boundary. Remember that you wouldn't typically need to add and remove helpers anywhere on the layout, but only at a particular location at the top and bottom of the grade. On my layout, I (plan to) add helpers in Bakersfield yard, and (usually) remove them at the top of the grade. The former has numerous locations where helpers could be added and removed (numerous block boundaries over magnets). Admittedly, DCC makes it easier (i.e., you don't have to stop the GP7s at a particular point), but it costs more. The main advantage of DCC to my mind is speed matching between different units, which currently requires me to modify locomotive mechanisms. Eventually I will upgrade, but until then, I can perform all the activities quoted above. Mark
Why not both at the same time? In my ignorance, I was under the impression that I could ease into DCC by dedicating one of my 4 cabs to it, leaving the other 3 as DC. The DCC cab would then always have full voltage across its blocks; but so what? Mark
Question 1. Has anyone ever gone back to DC after making the commitment of buying DCC and really giving it a try? ----------------------- Yes..I went DCC/Sound back in 2002 and liked it but,eventually tired of DCC/Sound and returned to DC. However.. I have recently bought a MRC Tech 6 which will give me the option to run DCC/Sound equipped locomotives with some CV settings..However,I need not change any existing DC locomotives to DCC because I can simply switch modes from DCC to DC on the Tech 6.This is a win/win for me since I only want 2 DCC/Sound equipped locomotives and I need not fork over mega bucks equipping my DC locomotives to DCC.
Brilliant, I will applaud the DCC technology, but the cost, cant do it now. So, DC worked for me before, and might just have to work for me again considering too many loc's. So, the Brilliant statement is......BLOCK BOUNDRIES, can we discuss some of the established knowledge on this topic. I am probably going to need to know where to put those plastic rail joiners. Thanks ! fatalxsunrider43
Well this has been very enlightening. Ricks post was very helpful and many of you agreed with him about doing both on the same layout. Since my layout is DC and all blocks are controlled with 6 position selectors (of which only 3 are being used). This might be easier than I thought. That is setting up one of the other positions with DCC should be doable. I will take your advice and set up the two systems so that they can only be operated independently (DC or DCC). Now regarding the type of equipment I mentioned using (NCE wireless 5 amp system) I am understanding this to be a good choice as no one has mentioned any problems so far. I am hoping for more opinions and thoughts but so far this has really been helpful. I even appreciate the fellow that thought the information was too DCC preachy. After all this is a hobby of passion for many of us. I don't mind strong opinions. Thanks again all of you. I will do my very best to use the information productively in my decisions.
What? What? What? I'm a TV evangelist? Good maybe I can make some real money, drive a big Cadillac and own a mansion in Beverly Hills. Just send your offerings to UncleRicky. Funny, just toooooooooo funny.wink: JoeW. and of course all tuned in here. NCE is considered to be top of the line. I happen to own MRC Prodigy and for my needs it does the job and does it well. What you will find is most model railroad clubs is/are going to NCE and you will be able to take your train equipment, hand held and operate on their layouts. Have fun!
WARNING! I have seen some references to running DC in some blocks and DCC in other blocks on the same layout. WARNING! If you do this, you run the very real possiblity of having a loco or a car with metal wheels crossing the boundary between a DC section and a DCC section, feeding DC into the DCC command station. Depending on the combination of command station and DC thorttle, this may not cause a problem, but I have heard of some instances of this frying the DCC command station so personally I would not risk it. Lenz has an LT100 Analog protection module to protect against this, or wiring a pair of light bulbs between the DC pack and it's bus wires is also supposed to protect against it. I would not allow DC power and DCC power on may layout at the same time without one of these means to protect them from each other.
Thanks CSX Robert; that's the clarification I was requesting from BarstowRick. Now that you mention the risk, it makes sense. It would have been expensive to find out the hard way! So I guess the way to do it, prior to implementing the additional protective circuitry you allude to, is to detach my DC cab power feeds from the layout when using DCC. MH
You don't understand. I DID lighten up. You should have seen my first post before I edited it!!! By the way, is asking for the DCC advocates to stop the evangelizing too much to ask? I, as probably a lot of others, spent a considerable amount of time investigating DCC. I came to the conclusion it would cost a lot of money and the return, in terms of benefits, did not come close to making it a good decision. DCC is far from the panacea of N scale ills that some like to portray it as. In fact it has some unique problems of its own. For instance you are operating down at the club which has gone DCC. So you are running your train with someone else running behind you. Aw, the joy of DCC! You stop or slow down for a signal but they don't. The next half hour is spent on hands and knees looking for wheelsets, truck pins and/or coupler parts on the floor and friendly relations among club members takes a big hit. And I have seen that happen repeatedly at club open houses or other public showings.
Point is, what you're describing regarding "evangelizing" hardly ever happens. Your are overdramatizing and exaggerating something that maybe happens every 100th thread about DCC. (which, interestingly, people that don't use or care for DCC seem to ALWAYS read, which I don't get) Nobody cares if you don't want to use it....enjoy the hobby however you want. But here's an idea....stay away from DCC topics if it makes you so upset. At some point, when you're in a hole, you gotta stop digging.
