Guest Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 Does anybody have any experience/ knowledge of these controllers? I am happy with DC control that i have but these tech 6 controllers quite interest me just for the odd foray into dcc at the push of a button. I have built in the past a full dcc layout using NCE power cab which is now in its box in the loft and i have no plans on using it again in the near future on my present layout , just fancy the odd dcc loco with sound fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 (edited) The Gaugemaster DCC75 Tech 6 Controller is a rebadged MRC 0001200 Tech 6 Sound Controller 2.0 . It's basically a combination of a standard MRC DC controller (they call them power packs), with the old, discontinued MRC/Gaugemaster "Black Box", built in to one housing. ( Note: Gaugemaster used to sell a rebadged version of the MRC "Black Box" under the product code DCC70 ) It's a dual mode analogue DC and limited DCC controller. It is not so called "sound on DC". It can be used in either..... mode 1 - as a straight forward DC controller, or.... mode 2 - as a limited DCC only controller. In mode 2 (DCC only), only a single DCC decoder equipped loco can be present on the track. All analogue (DC) non-decoder fitted locos must be removed from the powered section(s) of the layout. The only loco address that can be used is #3. So if you have more than one loco with different DCC addresses, they must all have their addresses changed to #3. Therefore if the locos are to be used on another layout controlled by DCC, or if they are to be used with a different DCC system, the addresses will have to be changed back again to more useful, individual addresses. The questions are.... If you already own and use a DC controller, do you really need to buy another one? If you already own a DCC system (the NCE PowerCab you mention), why do you need to spend money on buying another one, just for limited use. Add to that, the DCC capability of the Tech 6 is very limited...far more limited than any normal entry level DCC system. For someone who doesn't already possess a DC controller, or any DCC system......only wants to use a few DCC sound decoder equipped locos, one at a time..... ....and won't be using those sound decoder equipped locos on any DCC controlled layout. Then there might be a case for looking at the Tech 6. Otherwise, these devices appear to be a waste of money for what they offer. . Edited September 21, 2018 by Ron Ron Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Thanks for the reply. The more i have thought about it the more i am against it . I am perfectly happy with DC on my present layout . It was built for DC only , the track laying ,sections and wiring etc , Yes i have a NCE powercab from a previous layout that was built with DCC in mind from the start , certainly wont be lifting track etc so i can go DCC , the main appeal of the Tech 6 to me was to run the odd DCC diesel with sound , not steam , and not have to mess around lifting track and re wiring. The last layout i built was as said digital from the start , large n gauge 3 track mainline continuous run and the NCE powercab was fine but i really didnt find it any better than DC in the long term. Time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Thanks for the reply. The more i have thought about it the more i am against it . I am perfectly happy with DC on my present layout . It was built for DC only , the track laying ,sections and wiring etc , Yes i have a NCE powercab from a previous layout that was built with DCC in mind from the start , certainly wont be lifting track etc so i can go DCC , As has been stated in a number of postings on the subject you do not need to lift track etc to go DCC - just put all the section switches on and connect the dcc system instead of the dc system. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Well...went up the loft over the weekend and got my long unused NCE powercab out , had 2 spare Lenz 6 pin decoders from my n gauge days , i only had one 00 loco with 6 pin socket , a new Bachmann 1f , put the decoder in and with a little bit of rewiring to my layout plugged the nce powercab in and set the loco up ,hey presto happy days. i have left the DC panel in place and put a switch in so i can go from DC to DCC , 35 00 locos ,not going to convert them all ,unless a lotto win is on the cards. Did not have to do too much faffing around under the layout , but the Gaugemaster high frequency track cleaner has had to go ,that i remember from my last layout. So im going on hattons website shortly 21 pin & 8 pin decoder shopping... mm which locos shall i convert? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIK Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Well...went up the loft over the weekend and got my long unused NCE powercab out , had 2 spare Lenz 6 pin decoders from my n gauge days , i only had one 00 loco with 6 pin socket , a new Bachmann 1f , put the decoder in and with a little bit of rewiring to my layout plugged the nce powercab in and set the loco up ,hey presto happy days. i have left the DC panel in place and put a switch in so i can go from DC to DCC , 35 00 locos ,not going to convert them all ,unless a lotto win is on the cards. Did not have to do too much faffing around under the layout , but the Gaugemaster high frequency track cleaner has had to go ,that i remember from my last layout. So im going on hattons website shortly 21 pin & 8 pin decoder shopping... mm which locos shall i convert? Hi, If you were considering buying Hattons decoders you might want to check the topic on RMWeb for possible problems with the recent Hattons decoders (Blue packaging?). Regards Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Cheers for the heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Also check any threads for dcc fitting specific models - some are tight on space so its a case of buying the correctly sized or designed 8 pin decoder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 ......35 00 locos ,not going to convert them all ,unless a lotto win is on the cards. ..... At first glance I thought that read ... 3,500 locos !!!! Crikey! I've some catching up to do. That's a fair few decoders too. Then I realised you actually (or is it probably) meant ... 35x locos (00 gauge). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 lol 3500 locos ,im sure the missis would notice that many. 35 in 00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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