I recently bought Bowser, Atlas and Walthers locomotives all equipped with the latest ESU Loksound decoders.
The performance of these decoders in DC mode is outstanding. Even the automatic sound is quite acceptable.
The slow speed performance is exceptionally good, easily matching the best DC only locomotives I’ve run.
I post this for the benefit of any fence sitters wondering whether to keep buying DCC ready. Don’t, go the whole enchilada, you will not be disappointed.
DC aficionados need not comment, we already know your views.
Anyone running DC as a complement to DCC for whatever reason or those not yet sure if DCC is the way to go: yes it is.
the problem with sitting a DC locomotive on tracks powered by DCC is that the DC motor is continuously exposed to the AC voltage of the DCC signal. (yes, it’s less when controlling the DC locomotive and there’s a DC average on the tracks).
the problem is the AC voltage causes a current to flow thru the motor which generates heat. there is airflow when the motor is turning the helps dissipate the heat and there is BEMF when the motor is turning that reduces the voltage and current thru the motor as well.
Operating Dual Mode Decoders (especially sound units) with DC will require more power from the transformer - so while they will work (and work well in many cases) a high quality transformer is necessary.
Actually it generally requires more voltage, but not more "“power” overall. The irony here is that cheap and mid range DC power packs often have poorly regulated power supplies that provide upwards of 16-18 volts under no load or light load applications.
You need about 5-7 volts, but not much in amps, to get the electronics going. So then if you still have 10 volts of headroom you will get a decent top speed and decent speed control.
But I would be willing to bet these new improved decoders, (not being sarcastic), will still not work with my high frequency full voltage pulse width modulated throttles. And, they would likely not do well on my highly filtered and regulated power supplies of only 13.8 volts in terms of acceptable top speeds.
But most importantly, I will never understand those willing to tolerate a hodge-podge of different control systems on a single layout. But, that’s just me.
All engines are going DCC and sound, it is just cheaper that way for the producer and the vendor. Don’t know if the dual mode will go away at some point, proubly not due to statup market.
I’ve been hearing that for years, hasn’t heppened yet and I don’t see it hapenning anytime soon, at least not in N-scale. Everything Atlas and Kato makes is available DC, and even ScaleTrains, one of the newest manufatureres offers everything in DC. As far as dual mode, there is no reason to drop it because it is a purely software function so it doesn’t take any additional hardware.
While this warning is from Rapido Trains regarding possible damage to the locomotive’s decoder, it would be best to heed it for all manufacturers. If the manufacturer warns regarding use of a non-decoder equipped locomotive on DCC, heed that warning as well to avoid damage.
I understood that. You should feel free to repeat the warning about the risk of accidentally powering a DC locomotive with DCC power any opportunity you get. It is a very important warning and not obvious to newcomers to the hobby.
As is the warning about using old powerpacks to power dual mode decoder equipped locomotives. That too isn’t obvious.
I was trying to encourage anyone who might be wondering about how well a dual mode decoder might run in DC mode to go ahead and try it.