Treat me as an idiot if you will, I am considering entering into DCC, I have a Broadway Hudson with sound, an atlas Dash 8-40 with sound and another Broadway SD40-2 with sound. All of which run great on my limited layout in DC mode. Will the Bachman entry DCC allow me to take my three engines and immediately convert them to run on DCC by reprogramming them on a piece of track as if it was straight out of the box ???
Any info is appreciated, why waste money on something that wont work. I do not at this stage need to operate switches etc.
Thanks
Daisy
First off, welcome!
Second, you are not an idiot, not in any way!
Third, those are awesome locomotives! Great buys, hope they give you years and years and years of enjoyment!
Now, off the super happy chirpy note. Unfortunately, the Bachmann DCC system will not suit your needs. The major problem is that Bachmann supports only some 3-4 functions. For sound, you need many more than that, some as many as 13 or 20. You will probably want something with a minimum of 9 or so functions.
Best of luck.
The Bachmann DCC unit is VERY basic. It does not allow programming, but it will run most of the basic functions of a DCC equipped loco. For more on all of this read the DCC clinic that has been running for a while now. I know it’s a lot of reading, but trust me, it’s worth it. Here’s a link;
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=49375
Daisy,
If you are looking for a very basic, no-frills DCC system to “get your feet wet”, the Bachman E-Z Command is a nice unit.
It is true, the Bachmann IS limited so you won’t be able to “program” it in such a way as to take full advantage of a locomoitve’s decoder capabilities. However, if you are just wanting to run trains and see what DCC is like before jumping into it whole hog, the E-Z Command system is an inexpensive alternative. I’ve seen them as cheap as $50.
You’ll be able to run your BLIs on your layout. Contray to Yoshi’s statement, the Bachmann will actually support up to 10 functions. I just purchased a BLI 2-8-2 Mikado and I can perform the following functions on the following function buttons:
F1 - Bell
F2 - Whistle
F3 - Coupler
F5 - Dynamic Braking
F6 - Doppler
F7 - Flange squeak
F8 - Mute
F10 - Lights
(Click on http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=50311 for a more in-depth review of the BLI 2-8-2 using the Bachmann E-Z Command system.)
If you are wanting to do more than the basics, then you’ll need to look at a more sophisticated DCC system. Digitrax makes a starter system is the Zephyr. NCE is coming out (any day now) with their new PowerCab. (I will be upgrading to to this from the Bachmann.)
I’ve had the Bachmann for almost a year now and have been very pleased with it. Limited? Yes. It’s also simple and straight-forward to operate. I knew that before I purchased it. You can operate you layout with just two wires.
Daisy, it really depends on what you want to accomplish with DCC. Simplicity and ease, inexpensive intro into DCC? Go with the Bachmann. Something more sophisticated operation and programming? Digitrax, NCE, or EasyDCC will do the trick.
Tom
How big is your layout, tstage? Did you need a power booster? If so, what brand did you use or are you locked in to Bachmann products?
warhammerdriver,
My layout is 4 x 8. The Bachmann E-Z Command powers it just fine without a power booster and only two wires. I can run 3 locomotives simultaneously and I’ve had no power problems at all.
And, nope, I am not locked into the Bachmann. Actually, I’ll be upgrading to the new NCE PowerCab, which is due out anytime now. I’ll then be able to play with and tweak CV settings. Can’t wait…[:)]
Tom