Am I the only one not converting to DCC? I have over 40 locos and I simply can’t afford it. Why does reading MR magazine make me fell like I’m missing the boat, or that all my equipment is obsolete.?
i dont have it but i only have a 4x8 HO layout, mabie you could sell some locos ( you do have 40 ) on ebay and make enough $$$$ to install it
I have around 10 Loco’s right now, building my first module for my layout, and am going to use DCC.
I have looked over most of the pro’s and con’s. But ya know, it all comes down to one thing. Being able to have fun and move trains around on your layout.
Some prefer DCC, some don’t.
Personally, I like to have “corn field meets” (meeting two trains face to face and still being able to get out of it). heheheheh
Craig
I dont use DCC. I have a 4X8 layout and 2 locomotives. So I just run them one at a time and it seems like more fun to me that way
The majority of modellers don’t use DCC.
The time to change over to DCC is when you are unable to satisfy your yearnings without. I only have 4 cabs and when I have 4 operators there is little room to move, so the biggest benefit of having up to 100 operators at the same time is lost on me. DCC-1 and DCC-2 have little advantage over a DC system augmented with a few electronics. DCC-3 is another matter entirely and can take ‘operations’ to a whole new level. I’m having serious thoughts about it.
If you have ever operated on a DCC layout, particularly a radio DCC layout, you’ll understand why Its as popular as it is. It really frees up an operator to concentrate on running the train or switching or whatever. You don’t have to worry about getting out of your block or flipping switches behind you.
DCC allows people with small layouts to operate two or more engines in close quarters without having to worry about having a zillion small blocks. DCC allows people with large layouts to get out and do walk around without having to string miles of control circuit wiring that you have with conventional DC.
Yes its expensive. But nobody says you have to convert everything at once. If you equip one engine per month, that’s $25 a month, well within most hobby budgets. I have had DCC for 5 years and I probably have a dozen engines still not equipped. Some probably will never be equipped.
With DCC if I want to add another “cab” to run 5 trains at once rather than 4 , I simply buy another throttle and plug it in. If your layout is wired for 4 cabs and you want to add a fifth cab, how easy is that with DC?
Dave H.
I too am a DC’er. The polls I have read show a larger percentage of MRRers still use DC and a CTC (centeralize train control) panel. I have a 5’x12’ layout with 2 mailines and 2 sidings divided into 28 blocks. I don’t run my trains at 200 smph so using the CTC panel is fun not a “labor”. Isn’t a switchman (snake) a part of the prototype we model after?
Its not MR “the magizine” that makes us (the majority) feel this way, it’s the manufactures moving ahead with technology and their need to sell products. MR and other publications suppport their advertisers for the $$.
I enjoy the MRRing hobby even though I use 20th century analog technology rather than converting to the 21st century digital world.
Try DCC. Ask around, I am sure that you will be able to find someone or a club that is running DCC, that will let you try it.
Almost everybody running DCC today, ran DC block control at one time. Once you have tried it, most likely you will decide to sell a quarter or more of your locomotives to get DCC.
Hello.
I’m being very blunt when I tell you that 9 months ago I was very “anti-dcc”. While I’m very mechanically inclined, I have been always intimidated by electronics. I read the articles in MRR and would always conclude with the attitude “nice but don’t really need it”. Earlier this year I went to a model train show and saw a gentleman (in his 50s) doing a dcc demonstration with a Broadway GG1 and a decoder equipped Atlas SD-40 on a small circle of track with one siding. He gave me the DCC throttle. I spent the next HOUR, yes hour, running the locos back and forth, blowing horns, turning the SD’s gyra light on and off, turning the strobe light on and off, all with one simple controller. I was suddenly shocked with something that I’ve never experienced in 2 decades as a modeler: I accidentally collided, the locomotives head on, twice!! I’ve been a modeler 20 years and I was euphoric at how realistic and fun this “DCC thing” that up til that moment I had despised, was! The hooking up is actually quite simple. To all you guys out there that are saying no, please do your research! Go to LITCHFIELD STATION on the web. There is a downloadable STEP BY STEP fully detailed, Illustrated report on how DCC works. Believe me I’m not a pitchman for the manufacturers. But when I can run my engnes wherever I want, blow horns, hear diesel engines, and even have unwanted “cornfield meets”, my excitement just escalates. DC is still dominant but realize that in a few years, DCC will become the norm. I sincerely believe this as it is the up and coming generation that will already know this technology. (Think about it: Who still buys cassete tapes and not CDs? People over 35! [like me] ) Anytime I have a stereo question or a simple computer question, my young nieces and nephews will most often have the answers. Anyway, keep modeling do the research, and have fun!
i’m just building a 4x8 foot layout. i have better things to worry about than DCC in my locomotives. since i’m in HS i have car payments, gas, maybe a cell phone bill to start paying if my parents quit that. also i’m planning on buying a laptop for myself so that will be money that i won’t have for trains. hopefully though i can find a good deal on a computer. since my layout will be small i want to keep it simple since i’m just starting. so no DCC for me. if i could i would tear that section out of MRR, the DCC part.
Hello Hawk,
I was in your position before, except back then it was rumors of "KD Couplers, “Code 83 track”, strange looking black solid state MRC power packs replacing the shiny brass “rheostat” powerpacks, and Circuitron devices. I said “Got better things to do with the money!” These companies just want my money! Man, have things changed but the scenarios are just the same! Don’t worry, you may change your mind in a few years. Just enjoy modeling the way YOU WANT TO! This hobby is FUN, FUN, FUN! There should be absolutely no rift between the DC and DCC crowd! My only point, as I stated before is that technology is improving, becoming more user friendly and getting CHEAPER! Look how fast the prices of DVD equipment have dropped in less than 3 years!. That’s one of the factors that helped change my mind. By the time you’re in your early 20s, chances are that DCC conversions will be very affordable and many DC modelers won’t give it a second thought! A good friend of mine who owns a computer systems company predicts in a few years, cheap but decent DCC decoders will become standard in HO locomotives off the store shelf just as flywheel equipped units became standard in the 80s. Happy rairoading!
When I first got in the hobby, I too had block control and transistorized throttles. Then I joined a club and got some experience with the old Mann-made control system. (anybody remember that???) Converted a few engines, then a few years later, the club went to DCC. I too was facinated with the freedom and realism DCC can give you, but I had to make a choice. Either stay DC and only run at home, or go DCC and not only run with the club, but I could still run at home( on pure DC, with the decoder function turned on for DC).
By this time I had a fleet of 70 engines to fit with decoders! [:0]
So I fashioned a solution. I bought a DCC system (NCE, same as the club), and started converting engines, got proficient installing decoders and found several folks who either couldn’t install decoders or would rather pay to have them installed. So I started doing installs for money, and over the next few years, financed the conversion of all my other engines![:D]
I worked for me![^]
Your mileage may vary[;)]