Please share your knowledge - we have just finsihed construction of a 30’ x 40’ building to house an O gauge train layout & collection. We will begin construction of the layout next spring. We want to put command control into the layout, but are not sure what system to use - Llionel TMCC or MTH DCS. We have just several engines at this time that have TMCC/EOB. What are the advantages/drawbacks to either system? We are new to the electronics side of this hobby, and your help would be greatly appreciated.
[#welcome] 097 to the forum !!
I can only reply on TMCC & have had it since it was introduced in the 90s. I’ve never had a problem with it that I couldn’t figure out by checking the forums or some of the help sites. I did run a stripped copper wire around the layout to drop feeder wired on the ground side down to & solder to, that Lionel suggested then. There is a new TMCC 2, Legacy system due out very soon that you may rather wait for . I found that adding a Lionel TPC 300 or 400 to the system enables me to run MTH Proto 2 engines with & utilize the coil couplers & other features. Just having that cab-1 remote gives you the freedom to run & watch trains from any location in the layout room. Below is a link to a very helpful tutorial site, packed with info !! Also, check the Lionel web-site !!
http://www.coilcouplers.com/hirail/news.html
http://www.coilcouplers.com/tmc/tmc.html
Hope this helps !!
Thanks, John
If you follow the procedures outlined re star/paired wiring you can probably use both with no problems. The issues with TMCC revolve around good earth ground for proper RF signal propogation and with DCS it revolves around proper paired wiring (i.e. the runs of hot and nuetral/return wires should be paired and the same length).