GoingUnderground Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I was just looking at the NMRA standards tonight and I noticed that Standard 9-1-1 Connectors is shown as being under review. when you look at 9-1-1 it has the following insert in red at the top of the page: Under review. Please contact NMRA S&C Dept. for update. 21MTC and PluX connectors are being modified and/or removed. Does anyone know if 21MTC is finally being withdrawn or is it being given a new lease of life? Also I was surprised to see the reference to PluX as I thought it was supposed to be the greatest thing in DCC connectivity since sliced bread. What's the thinking behind the changes for PluX? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 That's interesting. Thanks for the pointer Keith. As for the PluX, it could be that the data in that NMRA document was superceded by changes to the PluX standards prior to roll out (something like 3 years ago??). IIRC, pin arrangements meant that sizing was slightly modified to allow the PluX12 size to be added. You will notice that the latest S-9.1.1 document (dated 2012) doesn't include the PluX12 at all, except for the following note.... "Note: For special purposes a 12-pin-version with pins 7 to 18 is useful and conforming". As it turns out, rather than "for special purposes", the PluX12 size seems to be the most common size of PluX decoder produced so far. The NMRA document certainly needs an update in this regard and I suspect NEM658 is more up-to-date. Incidentally there is another bit of info buried away, that minutes the changes discussed at the DCC WG meeting, prior to formal adoption. In any event, past experience suggests we might have a long wait before "under review" works its way through; such is the speed of the NMRA process. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Also I was surprised to see the reference to PluX as I thought it was supposed to be the greatest thing in DCC connectivity since sliced bread... Surely PluX is now thoroughly dead and buried. No product to speak of using it, now four? years from announcement. A complete flub. I'd still like to see a decoder edge connector standard like the small data cards for cameras, which could go straight into a slot in the underside... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelcliffe Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Surely PluX is now thoroughly dead and buried. No product to speak of using it, now four? years from announcement. A complete flub. I guess German manufacturers don't count, plenty of PluX fitted locomotives in the lists of Roco, Fleischmann, Tillig, etc... The UK DCC market is usually several years behind what's happening elsewhere. - Nigel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Surely PluX is now thoroughly dead and buried. No product to speak of using it, now four? years from announcement. As Nigel has said, PluX is now commonplace on new models from most of the leading European brands. The rest of Europe (a larger market than the UK) have been gradually switching over, with PluX sockets appearing on most new releases. A couple of manufacturers are still using the Marklin type MTC 21-pin connector on new models and Lilliput (Bachmann) are still using 8 and 21 sockets on their products, which is not surprising as they currently buy in American Soundtraxx decoders as their non-sound offering. Roco, Fleischmann etc, only include 8 pin sockets on older models and re-liveried re-releases. IMHO. one of the reasons that the UK is again way behind, is that of the big two manufacturers.... Bachmann are reluctant as they mostly buy in American decoders (no US DCC company has yet produced any PluX, or even 21-pin decoders, except for export versions). Hornby seem to be ploughing a lonely furrow and are not quite with it, or in step when it comes to DCC. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Interestingly, the new Intermountain N-scale SD40-2s will have a Next18 interface. Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Interestingly, the new Intermountain N-scale SD40-2s will have a Next18 interface. Adrian It's interesting that an American company is adopting European MOROP standards. They usually like to keep plodding on with their tried and trusted. I get the impression Adrian, replacement circuit boards complete with embedded DCC decoders, take a big slice of the market over there? Having said that, as someone with no experience of N Gauge, let alone DCC in N Gauge, it looks like the Next18 standard is a better fit for those smaller scales. Which is obvious I guess, if MOROP adapted it to run alongside PluX, which is better suited to TT, H0 and larger scales. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 It's interesting that an American company is adopting European MOROP standards. They usually like to keep plodding on with their tried and trusted. I get the impression Adrian, replacement circuit boards complete with embedded DCC decoders, take a big slice of the market over there? Having said that, as someone with no experience of N Gauge, let alone DCC in N Gauge, it looks like the Next18 standard is a better fit for those smaller scales. Which is obvious I guess, if MOROP adapted it to run alongside PluX, which is better suited to TT, H0 and larger scales. . Certainly for N-scale diesels the majority take a replacement circuit board (Atlas, Kato, previous Intermountain, current LifeLike/Walthers), while the other options are six-pin (Fox Valley), 8-pin (Precision Craft DCC-ready E7s), or hardwire. Some steam uses 8-pin sockets in the tender. The majority of Atlas units take one of three patterns of circuit boards, while the majority of Kato units take one of two patterns (although for the cowl units - F2/F3/F7/E8/E9/F40PH/P42 - there are variations on the LED placement). I gather that there is a similar situation in HO, although there are more units that can take plug-in decoders (8- or 9-pin), Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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