Building a new layout and have never used DCC before

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
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I’ve been out of the hobby for 10-15 years. I’ve never used DCC before and when I was in the hobby the electrical stuff is where I always lost interest. My brain has never been able to wrap itself around all the wiring and electrical theory.

On my new layout, just a 4x8 to practice getting back into the swing of things, I wanted to use DCC to try to simplify the wiring and because I’d use it on any future, larger layout and I want to get familiar with it. I bought “Basic DCC Wiring for Your Model Railroad” by Mike Polsgrove but I was a bit overwhelmed with information and yet I don’t feel I got enough detail on any individual section to understand it completely. What resources are out there, short of buying more books, that can help a serious electrical beginner truly understand and work with DCC? I’m looking for information on choosing a system, the differences between them, the pieces I’ll need, and the actual wiring itself, which is my biggest hurdle.

Thanks.

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Dave,

There are some items you need to consider:

  • Number of locomotives you will run at the same time - Just you or you and a friend… Figure about .25 amps per locomotive(.35-.50 if they are sound equipped).
  • Expandability - You are talking about ‘growing’ into a larger layout at some point.
  • Computer Interface - Bet you never thought about this one! Being able to program your engines without the endless ‘button pushing’ on a throttle is very nice, and you can save your work to a file on the computer. Also, you can use that interface to operate detectors/clocks/signals.

For a home layout, there are several good starter systems:

  • Digitrax Zephyr Xtra - 3 amps
  • NCE Power Cab - 1.7 amps
  • MRC Prodigy Express - 1.8 amps(IIRC)

Both the Digitrax & NCE systems are built to be expandable with minimum cost. The MRC system expansion can get costly rather fast.

Both Digitrax & NCE can have a computer attached and support the free JMRI software. The computer interface option on the MRC systems is ‘closed’ and is limited to their own software.

NCE & MRC include a hand held throttle - Digitrax has a throttle built into the system case. All can have additional hand held throttles added(wired or wireless).

Now, the next thing to consider is what do folks near your use for DCC? In our area, most everyone uses Digitrax, including the club. 75 miles away, there is a lot of NCE users. Having a throttle that works with most everyone else holds a lot of weight in a buying decision. Being able to get local ‘support’ is not easy when you are the lone man out.

There are other brands available in the US(usually EasyDCC or Lenz) - Both are good systems. Bachmann also has a couple of offerings - but they are very limited. If you get one of their EZ Command sys

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Jim, thanks for the good info. With a 4x8 I’d just be running one or two engines for the foreseeable future but I would like the option to expand as a room-sized layout is a future goal. My local club (I’m not a member yet) uses Digitrax. But I’d only need that if I wanted to take my throttle there, correct? I could take my engine there and run without problems using one of their throttles couldn’t I?

Another thing I would want to consider is accessories. I’d want to control things like turnouts with the DCC. Do the systems you listed support that right out of the box? What about the ability to control layout lighting effects, like street lights or building interiors? Can that be done through a cab? If so, would I need a decoder for each individual light I wanted to control? That would get expensive quick.

Thanks for the info. I feel like I’ve been thrown into the deep end of the DCC pool and I’m just learning how to swim.

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A starter system is all you need for a 4 x 8 layout. But, if you are considering a room sized layout as a future goal, do yourself a favor and purchase a larger DCC system at the outset. Also, give some consideration to a wireless system so that you are not held hostage to a tethered throttle. A command station, a 5 amp booster, and a throttle make up a good DCC system which can handle almost anything short of club layout. A wireless system would include an antenna and wireless base station.

Think long and hard before you equip your turnouts with decoders. That may add an element of complexity and added cost that is not worth it in my opinion. It is often a lot easier to use manual throws on your turnouts or a switch machine like a Tortoise that can be controlled by a toggle switch on the fascia or control panel. While decoder controlled turnouts seem neat, I just considered them cumbersome.

Regarding your feeling that you have been thrown into the deep end of the DCC pool and just learning how to swim, learning the basics of DCC are far easier than you are imagining. Setting up the command station and booster are a snap. It is no more complex that setting up a stereo receiver and a pair of speakers. For wiring, it is a matter of stringing a pair of bus wires under the layout and then bringing up power to the rails with pairs of feeder wires. That’s it.

The more complex elements of DCC are decoder installation and dec

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The MRC Prodigy Express cannot control accessories. I chose NCE and been happy ever since.[8-|]

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Dave,

For some additional reading information to help you get your brain around DCC:

DCC for Beginners - From Tony’s Train Exchange, this primer can either be read online or downloaded onto your computer

DCC Made Easy (Lionel Strange/Kalmbach) - The author has a real knack for explaining complexities into very understandable terms. The books a bit dated now but still a very good resource for understanding DCC.

Dave, with a 4 x 8 you can essentially operate your layout with just two wires - it’s THAT simple. Just hook it up the same exact way you would if you were running it on DC and you’re ready to go.

If you have the resources, a 5-amp system is nice but not necessary. A starter system that is expandable will suit you just fine in your situation. Digitrax and NCE both make two very good ones: The Zephyr Xtra and the Power Cab, respectively.

I’m glad that I bought the NCE Power Cab first rather than their 5-amp PH Pro. The Power Cab is an all-in-one system and I can use at either my bench or my layout to program locomotives. I expanded by buying their 5-amp Smart Booster (SB3a - now, SB5), which is attached to the layout. And I can still use the Power Cab at either my bench or layout. [:D]

Tom

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You’re getting good advice so far.

I returned to the hobby after a 40-year absence. I went with DCC almost from the start, and I immediately turned back into a 8-year-old kid. Yes, it has that kind of transformative power.

DCC can be as complex as you can handle, or almost as simple as a Christmas tree loop. Generally, you add the complexity incrementally, so as your understanding grows, so does your enjoyment and the functionality of your system. So, for example, I’d hold off on running turnouts from the DCC throttle for a while. You can always add it later. Even that can be done incrementally - you can run some turnouts on DCC and some with traditional toggles or pushbuttons, or you can wire your panel controls to the DCC controls and flip your turnouts whichever way you’d like. Neat, huh? For the record, I have 30 or 40 turnouts on my layout, all controlled by toggle switches on fascia panels. I’ve just come across the first one that will be DCC controlled, because of the awkward geometry of the layout, the room, and my somewhat corpulent carcass.

In theory, you can run DCC with just two wires from the base station to the track, but, like DC, this will generally not be reliable. Read up on wiring a track bus with lots of feeders to the track all the way along the layout. Solid trackwork is the key to enjoyable, derailment-free running, and a solid track bus with feeders is the key to enjoyable, stall-free operation.

I’ve got a Lenz System 100, and it has been a solid and reliable unit for 8 years now. It is a 5-amp system out of the box, no booster required, and comes with a tethered throttle. I’ve wired my layout with 8 jacks around the perimeter, and bought a second throttle. I might add a wireless throttle some day, but for now I’m pretty happy with what I’ve got.

Since your club runs Digitrax, though, I would recommend one of their systems for yo

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Welcome back to the hobby.

I’m currently DC, but thinking DCC on a new layout. I understand that the wiring is simpler and a special part is needed if I want a reverse loop. You will need locos with decoders. For a small layout, if you have some favorite locos that you want to convert, check with your local hobby shop and get an estimate. As Mr B mentions, buying locos with DCC and sound already installed is the least cost way to go for new purchases.

Have fun,

Richard

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A novice follow-up question: Are the decoders universal or are they specific to a given manufacture’s control unit?

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Decoders that are NMRA-compliant can be used with any manufacturer’s DCC system. The one exception would be MTH. MTH decoders are optimized to be used with their proprietary DCS system.

And, while MTH locomotives do operate on DCC, they are somewhat limited when used with a DCC system - i.e. accessing certain sound and programming CVs. You also can NOT operate a non-MTH decoder with a MTH DCS system.

Tom

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On your layout, you can keep the wiring systems separate if you want to. That is; use the DCC system for controlling the trains, and use the old DC method for controlling the turnouts, building lights, etc. - OR - everything can be done from the DCC system. Most of us do some kind of mix and match.

Reading and learning about DCC for the first time can get intense. Most books try to cram everything they can into letting you know what DCC is all about. You may want to try this link for some very basic DCC information given in non technical terms. This focuses more about the layout than the locomotives.

http://www.waynes-trains.com/site/dcc/basics.html

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My current layout is a small L shaped switching layout. When I converted it to DCC all I did was add several more track feeders. I have a reverse loop at one end. I hooked up an auto reverser to it and this handles reversing the track automatically. I started out with a tethered throttle and added a wireless throttle later. I use Digitrax so all I had to do was buy a UR91 face plae and a UT4R throttle. I like having wireless. Joe

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I appreciate everyone taking the time to explain things to this noob. I’ll read over all the links that have been posted as I get time. I guess the best thing for me to do would be buy a system and get started. I like to think I’m a quick learner at most things, but I’m also a guy who has to do it himself to really get it. So once I get a system and start playing with it I should pick it up quickly.

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You can buy an auto-reverse unit for a loop, but you don’t have to. You can implement it with a simple DPDT toggle if you wish, but then, you’ve got to flip the switch yourself.

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One other thing; what ever system you get, Google a Yahoo group for it IE I use Digitrax and there is a Yahoo group Digitrax users. These are good places to get info or ask about problems . Joe

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I can’t believe no one has posted these links!!! These are required reading for newcomers into the world of DCC.

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/nswmn2/DCC.htm

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/intro2dcc.htm

There are many many more but these 2 will get you started in no time.

Pete

omhttp://www.wiringfordcc.com/intro2dcc.htm

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Dave,

You’ve had good advice so far. You sound like the same spot I was in the hobby a couple of years ago. I was away from the hobby as DCC was developed so when I came back I was clueless. Further I was always drawn to the modeling side of things, so wiring was always a chore and something I wasn’t really good at. I jumped in though and made the switch. Now I’ve bought in to DCC in a big way and run and program with JMRI and Decoder Pro. I am of an age where even with a 4 year degree I never had or needed a computer class. Computers where these big rack sized things that you communicated with teletype machines. Point being, if I can figure out DCC and JMRI you can do it too.

Come on in the DCC waters are fine.

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Yes, that’s exactly the position I’m in. I’ve always enjoyed the modeling side of the hobby and less the operating side, and wiring/electrical has always been dumbfounding for me. So it’s always been the necessary evil part of the hobby for me. I know DCC will ultimately be fine for me, and in a few years I’ll wonder what I was so worried about. It’s just that getting started is a bit overwhelming with all the different terms, equipment, equations for capacitors and bulbs, amps, volts, and what not.

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Dave!

Dive in! You won’t sink!![(-D]

I was exactly where you are a few years ago. Much of the gobbledygook in the manuals that cover all the aspects of DCC you might never need, and you certainly don’t need to understand it all to get started. (It is not useless information - it just isn’t needed at first).

I have found that DCC has been something that has come one or two steps at a time. I.E. “OK, I changed the address…lets see if I can adjust the sound volume (or whatever)…and then let’s install a decoder…”. The more you do, the easier it gets.

By the way, I vote for the NCE Power Cab. It is expandable and it is a breeze to operate, including doing stuff like adjusting CVs.

Dave

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Sounds like you are making it harder than it really is. Even a complicated DC block cab control wiring system doesn’t require hardly any knowledge of electrical theory. If you are in the “deep end” it is because you want to be, come on over to the shallow side.

You don’t need to understand it to use it. Do you know how a television works or an escalator? If not, does that prevent you from using them? For a 4x8 layout. Hook the two wires from the DCC system to the layout track and run the trains. The only issue would be if you build it with a reversing section. Since you don’t like electrical situations, I would suggest to simply avoid that situation from the git go, and not design a track that has any.

There is a big difference in understanding and using. Your biggest friend for using a DCC system is going to be the users manual that comes with whatever system you decide to buy.

You won’t find that in a book because by the time the book is published the information is out of date. You can