Future Developments

[7013]

DCC and DCC sound have been around for some years now, and despite some great advances DCC decoders appear to lag behind the rest of the digital world when it comes to ground breaking developments, they tend to be tweaks on the existing technology.

Now I confess to knowing very little about these sort of technologies but I had a few moments spare and began to ponder what may (or may not) be possible. 

First thought was inevitably a decoder the same size as a micro SD card which just plugged into a slot on the underside of the body. Secondly I would like to see a more dynamic and easier to set volume control on the lines of a graphic equaliser so that bass, treble etc. Could be easily manipulated. Lastly, new models being fitted with speakers at source, but able to be swapped if the owner wanted to. I am not greedy, those three developments would IMHO be very helpful and move developments on. So what would others wish for?

[dasatcopthorne]

Interesting.

 

All possibilities I'm sure. I like the MicroSD card particularly.

 

However. One thing continues to surprise me with diesel locos is that they are easily capable of pulling very long trains these days but manufacturers continue to allow for speakers inside the loco and not in the tanks facing down and easily removable/changeable.

 

So easy to do after the removal of the blob of metal that usually resides there.

 

Dave

[RAF96]

What would the power handling capabilities of these micro SD card decoders be. You have to cater for both motor current drain and sound amplifier (if applicable), whereas an SD card is only shuffling memory around.

[7013]

RAF96, I know not these figures would be. My idea would not necessarily be a Micro SD card per se but something that worked on the same principle in that it was effectively plug and play into a slot without having to take the body off the loco.

 

[RAF96]

7 hours ago, 7013 said:

RAF96, I know not these figures would be. My idea would not necessarily be a Micro SD card per se but something that worked on the same principle in that it was effectively plug and play into a slot without having to take the body off the loco.

 

 

I’m sure one of the slot car makers uses a similar idea for digital conversion.

[Ron Ron Ron]

I, along with others have been suggesting the SD type slot idea for about 10 years or more.

 

If I remember correctly, it was pointed out by some that an SD sized decoder wouldn't be able to accommodate the wide range of power requirements needed.

I think it was said that a slightly larger bespoke DCC slot would be expensive for the production volumes involved.

 

I don't know how true these objections are, but we mustn't forget why such requests have been made in the first place. Ease of fitting.

 

The practical alternative is to make loco DCC sockets easily accessible, without having to remove bodies.

Bachmann have made some moves towards this, with the access panels on top of their Class 350 & 450 and the Class 90.

I surprised that this approach hasn't been adopted on more D&E models.

Apart from access panels on the roof, what about access from underneath, e.g. in the fuel tanks?

 

Ron