what i dcc and decoder, i have seen a lot of trains with this feature, will somone please enlighten me?
DCC stands for Digital Command Control, which is a new (well, actually pretty well established now) method of controlling the trains on your layout. The decoder is the receiver in the locomotive that accepts the commands and controls the train.
Read here for more info:
http://members.home.nl/l.bettonviel/dcc.htm
This site has some pretty basic info on it. It also has some links to the major manufacturers of DCC systems.
DCC is to model trains like radio control is to model airplanes and model cars, except the signals to the trains go through through the rails, not through the air.
The decoder is the receiver, and it goes in the locomotive.
DCC gives you very detailed control of each locomotive, allowing you to tune its performance and to control the lights, and to turn on special lighting functions like a rotating beacon or ditch lights (often included as features in the decoder).
If you add a sound decoder to a loco, you also get the ability to blow the horn, ring the bell, and do a host of locomotive engine sounds, both automatically tied to the throttle setting or random. These settings are highly configurable, making for some very fun features you can control on each and every loco.
And with DCC you can also do more than control locos. You can also use DCC to control other devices like switches/turnouts – or even fun things like unloading equipment or a drawbridge, or crossing gates.
You can also do some of these things without using DCC, but DCC’s quickly becoming the hobby standard and looks to become ever more entrenched in the years ahead, possibly replacing ordinary DC operation eventually.
Who today would even consider model airplanes without radio control? I believe we’re headed to the same place with model trains and DCC.
To add to the excellent responses above, you may have seen model railroads in the past. If it was long ago, chances are very good that the layout was controlled with direct (DC) current. That means that the engines would all go forward or in reverse with the flick of a polarity switch on the controller box with the rotary power knob. In order to get around this problem, more experienced operators cut their track plans into isolated sections, each controlled by a toggle or even another controller. That way, locomotive A could be made to move forward along the rails, while loco B in another gapped section of rails would be induced to reverse down the tracks.
As Joe points out, with DCC, each locomotive has a microchip included that receives digital signals, along with the current and voltage they need, to control the lights, sounds in many cases, and the direction of the locomotive no matter where it is on the trackplan…even a solid track system with no gaps. The gaps are not needed because the brains, the decoders, feed the motors the polarity of power that is required to do what you, the operator, commands the decoder to do through your hand-held throttle. So, instead of reaching for toggles, or following the locomotive and picking up other cabs, you can enjoy the show with a simple input into the throttle by pushing a button and watching the locomotive accelerate like a real train and get up to speed, and continue until you want it to slow or stop. Sound decoders allow you to select bell types in some cases, to select between choices of chuff and steam sounds…and all reasonably realistic.
As some folks say, DCC lets you run trains, while the more labour intensive DC operations means you also have to run the tracks.
i just wanna say, thank you for taking the time to explain this to me, that was very well put from both of you, i appreciate that, i looked at the site and from what i read i had an idea, but this completely clarifys all my questions, lol, ty. very much