Books and cassets

[robrailltd]

can anyone recommend a book for the complete novice in DCC on how to get started the plainer the english the better ta.

 

and can you use a cassete based type fiddle yard where each train has its own cassete which can be detached in dcc?

[spamcan61]

can anyone recommend a book for the complete novice in DCC on how to get started the plainer the english the better ta.

 

and can you use a cassete based type fiddle yard where each train has its own cassete which can be detached in dcc?

 

Book? try:-

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Command-Control-Aspects-Modelling/dp/0711034990/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307701035&sr=8-1-fkmr0

 

 

The cassette thing sound tricky with DCC, surely the locos on the cassettes will be 'lost' to the system. Maybe a real DCC expert can help with that one

[Brinkly]

I can't recommend a book as such, however I can recommend the Right Track DVD series, disks 8 & 9 from Activity Media.

 

Regards,

 

Nick

[Ron Ron Ron]

How about.......

Books.

 

An excellent book (purchased by many members of this forum), is

 

"ASPECTS OF MODELLING: Digital Command Control - Second Edition" by Ian Morton.

First published early 2007, this new revised edition was released (October 2010).

This book is very good, uses simple language and is written from a British perspective. Ideal for beginners too.

RMweb review 6/10/10 Ian Allen Publishing Amazon Books

Another book released a couple of years ago is...

 

"A Practical Introduction to Digital Command Control for Railway Modellers" by Nigel Burkin

This UK title was released in July 2008.

Also a useful book, but IMHO it isn't as well structured as the Ian Morton title.

 

http://www.crowood.c...8+1+84797+020+6 http://www.amazon.co...86454532&sr=1-2

 

Another good book is "DCC Made Easy: Digital Command Control for Your Model Railroad" by Lionel

This is written from an American perspective and was published in 2003.

 

http://www.amazon.co...86454603&sr=1-5

 

 

DVD's.

There are two "Right Track" DVD's too.

Right Track 8 - An Introduction to DCC

Right Track 9 - Practical Aspects of DCC

 

http://www.model-railway-dvd.co.uk/

 

 

Internet Web Sites.

If it's of any interest to you, Internet Web sites are plentiful. These links are worth following......

 

http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC.htm (...of RMweb fame)

 

http://tonystrains.c...rimer/index.htm (the excellent Tony's Trains site is full of useful info and links - highly recommended)

 

http://www.dccconcepts.com/ (see the DCC info and advice pages)

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/ (n.b. this is a massive site with lots of menus to explore)

CML electronics DCC guide.

 

http://en.wikipedia....Command_Control

 

http://www.dccwiki.com/Main_Page

 

 

Also some manufacturer's web sites have a lot of info:

 

http://www.digital-plus.de/e/index.php - Lenz home site

http://www.lenz.com - Lenz US site (a bit more detail)

http://www.dynamisdcc.com/index.php - About Dynamis and some DCC FAQ's

http://www.digitrax.com/ http://www.ncedcc.com/

 

 

There's quite a lot more out on the web, but I hope that helps for now?

Happy reading.

 

Ron

.

[Crosland]

The cassette thing sound tricky with DCC, surely the locos on the cassettes will be 'lost' to the system. Maybe a real DCC expert can help with that one

Works fine.

 

The system has no knowledge of what locos are on the track, other than what you tell it.

 

Do ensure, however, that the loco speed is set to zero before removing the cassette.

 

Andrew Crosland

[robrailltd]

cheers gentlemen . plentry of reading to do there Ron! and thank you Crosslands regarding the cassettes.

[Crewlisle]

With DCC, cassettes are no problem. I have always used them as a great space saver as I consider fiddle yards are wasted space! I use 14 on the inside of my operating well, each 1450mm long and one forms part of my reversing loop. They are stored on a rack screwed to the underside of the edge of the baseboard. If using them as part of your layout (like me) you have to make sure the fixed ends on the baseboard are secure so your tracks align exactly. On the underside of each end of my cassettes I have recessed a 6mm square nut in an elongated slot to allow movement before tightening the 6mm bolt from the underside of the baseboard. The DCC connection is simplicity itself. I have screwed a female single pin phono plug (available from Maplins) near the end of each cassette and the baseboard connection is a male single pin phono plug on a short length of wire. So all I have to do to change trains is unplug and unbolt it and fit the new one. Because there is only one loco on the cassette there is not more than about 0.75 amps going through the plug.

 

I converted my layout from analogue to DCC four years ago. I wrote an article detailing all the problems I came across, wiring and fitting the decoders to both diesels and steam locos which was published in two parts in October and November 2008 Model Rail with an important letter about the wiring in the January 2009 issue. Some of the books and articles in magazines about DCC made it seem so complicated and you required a degree in electronics to convert! I wrote my article to dispose of some of the myths about DCC. For example, you do not require a switch to change the polarity of the frogs on live frog points- Code 75 probably ; Code 100 not required. I have 32 Peco Code 100 live frog points and the only polarity switch on the layout is for the live diamond.