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Phil Bullock

Phil Bullock

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Hi Chris

 

Welcome back!

 

We converted to DCC 5 years ago and haven't looked back

 

I doubt there is much published that careful use of the search engine on this web site wont answer - we have all made errors and corrected them!

 

Have fun

 

Phil

 

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hornbyandbf3fan

hornbyandbf3fan

Posted
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DCC doesn't mean you need new track, it's just the current is different. However, if the track is very old I'd advise getting some newer stuff, especially if you're getting new locos. if you have any questions regarding DCC, there are lots of experts on here. I can't help you with books I'm afraid, but a lot of magazines do free booklets with the magazine occasionally. also, you could try exhibitions for help, at the bigger ones there are usually people there or answer questions regarding electronics.

 

Will, DCC convert! :)

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Jens Vesterdahl

Jens Vesterdahl

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I can highly recommend Rutger Friberg's book: Digital Command Control - the comprehensive guide to DCC ... if you can get your hand on it. It is the entry book, written by the expert.

I can see it's available-ish on the US Amazon site, but the list price for a new copy is way over the top. Get a used copy and you'll be fine.

 

Yes, a lot has happened since the book was written, but DCC is still DCC, and you'll get a nice intro to the basic concepts and a list of things to consider when choosing a system.

 

... and welcome back to the hobby  :good:

 

Edit: oops, bad search - it's also available on the UK Amazon site. Search for the title.

 

Jens

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Adrian Wintle

Adrian Wintle

Posted
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There are a number of books that have been published covering DCC.

 

Also, although very Digitrax-centric, their Decoder Manual has some useful information in it:

http://www.digitrax.com/static/apps/cms/media/documents/documentation/decodermanual.pdf

 

This also might help

http://www.nmra.org/standards/DCC/index.html

 

Adrian

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Gruffalo

Gruffalo

Posted
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Just an uneducated thought from my little world:

 

Wouldn't it be better to recommend live frogs if going the DCC route? It saves confusion over stay-live functions on decoders and if you are going to buy new points (the most difficult area), I think that would be the best option for you. The wiring isn't difficult, particularly with the new Peco pre-wired links.

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black5f

black5f

Posted
Posted

Depends on scale, gauge and style. By style I mean 7mm short run up and down yes, vs very large garden system needing 30 -40 amp capacity, then £££s, but there is no reason at all that dcc sound chipped locos can't be used on a 12V system with the right programing as I intend to impressively demonstrate to my little group. Smaller scales definitely yes, if only for running quality. Just in my honest opinion.

Anyway , welcome and there will always be someone to help on here.

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Gruffalo

Gruffalo

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Oh, I thought DC was 12v and DCC 16v :banghead:

Just to help clarify things, the Voltage that the layout operates is around 12. With DC, you tend to regulate the voltage up to a maximum around that value although this can include pulse width modulation in some controllers. With DCC, you do supply something between 13 & 18 Volts to the control unit (cab) but the track is often supplied at something less due to the control circuitry.

 

Current is what creates the energy. An analogy in terms of water and your tap for voltage and current is that the supply has a certain pressure (= Voltage) and how much you open the tap regulates the flow (= Current).

 

Old motors such as the Triang XO4 drew in excess of 1 amp current whilst new and much more efficient can motors take half that for the same power output. This is part of the reason why modern locos and controllers can run multiple engines at the same time - they take less current! 

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Crosland

Crosland

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Oh, I thought DC was 12v and DCC 16v :banghead:

Voltages aren't fixed in either case.

 

The difference is that DC is DC and DCC is AC (but not to be confused with the AC mains in your house). The DCC specs recommend different voltage ranges depending on scale, starting with, e.g., N (some people have squeezed DCC into Z scale) at around 12V.

 

Andrew

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Ron Ron Ron

Ron Ron Ron

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........Does anyone know of any comprehensive reading on the subject of DCC, track & locos.

 

Chris, here is a list I posted on the forum a few years ago and updated earlier this year, following a similar request for reading and reference material.

I hope it is of use to you.

 

 

Here's some recommended reading, both books and web sites; plus a plug for some DVD's..

 

Books.

 

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

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

It was first published early 2007 and replaced by a 2nd Edition in August 2010.

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

http://www.ianallanp...d-edition_1.htm

http://www.amazon.co...61182799&sr=1-1

Ian has since followed this title up with....

"DIGITAL COMMAND CONTROL: The Definitive Guide". Published Sept. 2011

http://www.amazon.co...61188769&sr=1-4

http://www.ianallanp...itive-guide.htm

 

Another UK book 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...n=9781847970206

http://www.amazon.co...61188617&sr=1-2

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

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

http://www.amazon.co...1188954&sr=1-7?

 

DVD's.

 

There are some DVD's from the "Right Track" series too.

 

Right Track 8 - An Introduction to DCC

Right Track 9 - Practical Aspects of DCC

Right Track 16 – Developments in DC and DCC

 

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

 

 

Internet Web Sites.

 

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

 

http://www.cmlelectronics.co.uk/

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

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

http://www.dccconcep.../DCCadvice1.htm

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

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

http://www.dccwiki.com/Main_Page

 

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

 

http://www.z21.eu/en - Roco Z21 (one of the latest generation of DCC systems)

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/ - US DCC systems

http://www.ncedcc.com/ - US DCC systems

http://www.esu.eu/en/products/digital-control/ECoS-50200-dcc-system/what-ECoS-can-do/ - ESU ECoS (a state of the art system)

http://www.touchcab.com/products/touchcab.html - Control of your trains and layout from iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

 

 

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

Happy reading.  

Ron

 

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corax67

corax67

Posted
Posted

OMG!!! I think I won't bother!! This all seems far too complicated and by the time I have made decisions based on all the 'reading' I will be too old to care!!

Fear not !!!!!!!!!

 

Lots of scary stuff been posted on here for any railway returnee contemplating DCC - possibly some may be a little advanced for seasoned veterans too.

 

All you need to know about DCC initially is that you can get away with attaching 2 wires to a stack of bits of any off-the-shelf track (I prefer Peco Code 75 but that's just me) pushed together and drop on a DCC fitted loco from amongst the huge range supplied by Bachmann, Hornby, Heljan, et al then dial up loco 03 and turn up the throttle for instant train movement.

 

If you have popped on a sound fitted train then pressing the button marked F1 on your chosen controller will switch the sound on/off (hopefully on) and other function buttons will bring forth many wondrous noises.

 

Diesels manufactured over the last 5 years will, as a general rule, have directional lights fitted as standard - a handy way to work out if they are going to run off the fend of the track when you pull off !

 

"DCC Ready" means there is a socket somewhere inside the loco - part of the fun is guessing where, how to get to it and what decoder to stick in it but that's why we have a DCC section on here.

 

"Hard wiring a decoder" means dig out a side cutter & soldering iron to cut 2 wires & solder in 4 (possibly 6/7 for lights too) but there are loads of guides and YouTube videos and helpful souls here to make that chore less odious too.

 

Converting existing layouts from DC to DCC is simple, building DCC layouts from scratch is just as simple, neither requires a degree in astrophysics just the ability to follow a few basic rules, honest.

 

Lower priced DCC systems do less things than high priced systems - a Bachmann EZ-Control will run several trains and access some sound functions whilst an all singing & dancing ECoS system will tell you what the bloke who assembled the train had for breakfast as well as letting you customise every aspect of your loco's running - it all depends on what YOU want to do and how much fiddling YOU would like to do - it's not compulsory if all you want to do is run a few trains on your layout.

 

 

I have been playing with DCC for over 10 years and I love it for the flexibility and controllability it affords me with my layouts and I would suggest that, rather than reading an encyclopedia worth of material, pop to a railway show or local club and have a look at a DCC layout running first hand - I guarantee you will be hooked.

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Ron Ron Ron

Ron Ron Ron

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....Lower priced DCC systems do less things than high priced systems - a Bachmann EZ-Control will run several trains and access some sound functions whilst an all singing & dancing ECoS system will tell you what the bloke who assembled the train had for breakfast as well as letting you customise every aspect of your loco's running - it all depends on what YOU want to do and how much fiddling YOU would like to do - it's not compulsory if all you want to do is run a few trains on your layout.

I totally agree with that.

To quote that oft repeated DCC slogan, "DCC can be as simple or a complicated as YOU want it to be".

 

 

....rather than reading an encyclopedia worth of material, pop to a railway show or local club and have a look at a DCC layout running first hand - I guarantee you will be hooked.

Good advice.

Incidentally, my list of reading material was meant to be a reasonably comprehensive collection of reference points for anyone who is looking for such stuff.

It wasn't intended as a suggestion to read everything.  :O

 

 

.

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transferman

transferman

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You say 'Go play with a DCC sytem'! Where?

 

I cant afford to fork out hundreds of pounds on a DCC control system on the off chance that it might work for me!!

 

I was also reading about all the complictions with points!

 

Seems to me that there is not a set of points on the market that will work without problems on a DCC system unless one is prepared (or able) to make extensive alterations to the set of points.

 

Chris

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tender

tender

Posted
Posted

 

Seems to me that there is not a set of points on the market that will work without problems on a DCC system unless one is prepared (or able) to make extensive alterations to the set of points.

 

Chris

Peco points will work out of the box without modification on a DCC layout.

Some on here say modifications are required for long term reliability, others have been using them for years without.

 

The choice is yours. If you do decided to modify them it only takes a few minutes as long as you can solder.

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corax67

corax67

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You say 'Go play with a DCC sytem'! Where?

 

 

Where are you based Chris, if we have an idea of area we may be able to suggest a suitable venue for you - if you are close enough you might want to visit :)

 

 

As tender has said, bog standard Peco settrack points are fine out of the box - you can adapt them but don't have to.

 

 

What type of loco's are you thinking of running, short wheelbase shunters or longer steam expresses/multiple units/mainline diesels?

 

Shorter wheelbase loco's such as 0-4-0 or some 0-6-0 MAY cause a point frog short but not necessarily as I run both on my shunting puzzle which has unaltered points on it & doesn't ever short, even during weekend long shows.

 

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Crosland

Crosland

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You say 'Go play with a DCC sytem'! Where?

 

I cant afford to fork out hundreds of pounds on a DCC control system on the off chance that it might work for me!!

 

I was also reading about all the complictions with points!

 

Seems to me that there is not a set of points on the market that will work without problems on a DCC system unless one is prepared (or able) to make extensive alterations to the set of points.

 

Chris

The issues are no different to those for DC control.

 

Traditionally, some people don't care to address them, or get away with it due to the lower currents involved with DC.

 

Andrew

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transferman

transferman

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I will try very hard to ignore the extremely rude & unwarrented coment made by Richard Brown and thank him not to respond to me ever again if this is the best he can offer!!!

 

Thanks to the others for your helpfull comments and advice. It is of course the contradictory advice that is confusing me.You all seem to be happy with using points straight out of the box which is fine.

 

If it proves that mods are required in due course i'm OK with that also.

 

I emailed Peco more than a week ago about their points & suitability with DCC but have not received a response as yet

 

Warley was on my list but unfotunately it will not now happen for me.

 

I live in the Bath area and favour a yard, depot, small station environment for a layout.

 

I have a strong urge to mimic the trackplan of Ventnor Station IOW.

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Andy Y

Andy Y

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Calm down transferman please, you're over-reacting; get in touch with local model shops and see if they can give you hands on advice or get to a reasonably local show and seek opportunities to talk to layout users.

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