Like the ones from the 50’s where Linn Westcott presents various forms of cab control - all in an attempt to allow you to drive your train and allow other people to run theirs at the same time. I’m an electrical engineer and I can follow the wiring diagrams, but holy electrical bill, Batman - talk about MILES of wire, relays, rotary switches, toggle switches - it’s INSANE! DCC is super-simple in comparison - there’s no need to know what’s inside those little black boxes to be able to use it.
And the article on switch machines from the 70’s I just read - the author’s stated intent at the beginning of the article was a SIMPLE switch machine. In the end he has surplus rotary relays, plus an extra deck of contacts, plus a reed relay, plus a resistor, plus TWO power supplies just to operate the switch machines. And the homemade mounting bracket. This is SIMPLE!!! Gimme a Tortoise any day! Of course they weren’t available back then, but there were one or two screw-drive slow motion machines with contacts on the market. And plenty of twin-col types with contacts.
As I just posted to someone over in the “layouts” form. DCC is only difficult if one tries to understand how it works. If people would just leave it at face value one controller with two wires to the track, a decoder in every locomotive, assign it a number and run it. It couldn’t be simpler.
Our operating group was spouting this command control religion long before DCC came along… Never understood why people wanted to futz with DC block control when OnBoard, PMP-112, RailLynx, CTC-xx, Railcommand, and all the rest were out there.
I remember Linn Wescott’s articles. It was far too daunting for me.
Now I’ve switched from block control to DCC and love it. I sent out four locos for retrofit, but I had to repair one of them myself and it was so easy! Next time I’ll do it myself.
The guy at the model shop told me that it would take a couple of months to get the hang of my Digitrax. Ha! There’s nothing to it!
I hesitated far too long. Now that I’ve done it there is only one thing left to do. Rip it all up and start over with a bigger and better layout! that way I can have more than six locos running!
I believe you. The only thing stoppin me from going to DCC right now is cost…my current power packs, my grandfather gave to my dad in the sixties! You may know them, they seem very good. Gree, a box, white lettering…
I’m thankful that technology has come this far.
Matthew
Well, unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints at the present time, I had to go the old fashioned way…
I recycled all the block switches (kept it down to 8) and toggle switches from my previous layout, I had several rolls of 12 gauge wire left over from an electrical job, so theoretically everything is ready for DCC, but in the meantime, we can run our trains and test things out. Cost: $ 0, Time: too much!
Having already wired other people’s layout for DCC, this exercise was not exactly the “fun” part of MRing!
When I tore out all the DC block wiring that I had spent hundreds of hours installing 25 years ago and think of the difficulty of keeping everything working I thought several times about Linn Westcott and those articles. LOL Yes, DCC is the only way to go if you are starting today. Not only is it easier to use, it is so much more realistic. The first night I had DCC decoders in all my newer locos, I lined them all up together on the same track just to prove to myself that it could be done… [:D]
One thing I learned long ago about anything computer-related is that most people go into it saying “I can’t understand this” and as long as they believe that, they can’t understand it.
This is very timely. Just last night I was browsing through Linn Wesctott’s model railroad wiring book. It’s an old book my Dad had that I don’t want to get rid of. I actually learned a lot about wiring crossings!
In any case, at the back of the book, there’s a pretty basic layout, wired for cab control. The wiring looks so out of control, it’s just nuts. Makes me feel like I should be calling the guy from the phone company to come fix it or something.
I’m pretty sure I’ll be going DCC on my next layout. Toggle switches alone aren’t cheap - buy a dozen of those at $4/each, and you’re a third the way to a Digitrax starter setup.
Yes, I remember my older brother’s layout back in Albuquerque, circa 1964…wow… want a jangled mess of wires…but it ran! We had fun with it, but I would not choose to do it that way now. Thank you for DCC!!
I bought DCC a few months back. It took an hour or two to install my first 2 decoders, and to wire up the DCC system. Half an hour later, I pulled out the DC system and never put it back. DCC was so easy to get started with, and even more fun the more I learn about it.
I took my old DC power pack and used one DC channel for my LEDs, and the other for my turntable. The AC power goes to the capacitive discharge circuit for the switch machines. And my entire Lenz DCC system is powered from an ancient Lionel transformer which must be 60 years old at least. So, you can recycle that old DC and even 3-rail AC stuff.
By the way, $4 for a toggle switch is way too much. I get them online for about 65 cents each.
I take from your comments that you dissent. I suppose some people bury their faces in their controls, but I am not one of them, even though I am new to DCC. There is nothing to figure out, except, you are correct, which button to push. We all go through that exercise whenever we drive an unfamiliar vehicle, get a new computer, a new CD player, and so on. And, like the vast majority, we learn with a modicum of effort and time, after which we get to the artistry of the practise. I will pit the artistry in DCC against cab- control and block control any day of the week. This is evident when I place two locomotives back-to-back, and command them to withdraw from each other on the same power district. Have you ever seen that in DC in the same block? [;)]
Agree 100% - it’s not just computer-related stuff either. Ever met someone who can’t make coffee even after several patient explanations and demonstrations of how to do it? I know a few…
Would you reccomend DCC for a small N scale layout that can only run 1 train at a time? It should be cheap, so I’m not doing much, manual switches alone will save me hundreds!
Matthew
If you’ll really only run one train, then DCC’s not necessary. Wire it up to a power pack as one big block and away you go. The catch comes if you want to do more than one, or if you want to use some of the additional functions of DCC, like lighting control.
Given the relatively low cost of a system like the Zephyr (not the only starter DCC system, but the one I have and I love it), might as well invest now and build a system you can expand…which you’ll likely want to.
Highly… Stick with your single power pack for now but yes, do consider DCC… Being able to turn the lights on and off, add flashing ditch lights, beacons, flickering firebox (for steamers) without adding a lot of electronics (other than the decoder) is well worth the effort. To me anyway…
