DCC Questions?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

First off, I have a do not have any DCC engines. I was thinking about getting started. Is there any wiring specifically for a DCC engine or can you run a DCC engine on any layout? Also, when a engine says that it is DCC ready, does that include sound as well or not?

Thanks for answering

2

There are decoders for specific engines, most are DCC ready nowdays which means they come set up with a plug and play plug but no speaker for sound. If you want sound then your going to need to add the speaker and sound decoder yourself. There are some loco’s that will run on DC and DCC but in my experience they only run well on DCC.

3

Hi Spark, welcome to the forum.

There are 2 parts to the DCC equation. The DCC control system, such as a Digitrax Zephyr, MRC Prodigy etc, etc, and the DCC equipped locomotive. A DCC equipped loco has a decoder circuit board installed. This may have sound, like many of the Broadway limited locomotives, or may just be a control decoder for motion and lights. Many DCC decoders will also run on a DC layout, but not all. Some automatically switch, others require the user to manually switch and some do not run on DC at all. If a locomotive is sold as “DCC ready” the implication is that there is a plug and that a decoder can be simply installed. Sometimes it is not as simple as that, and light bulbs need to be replaced or resitors added. Many older DC locomotives that are not DCC ready can be converted to DCC with careful installation. Ask here about specific installation tips as I doubt that there are any locomotives that have not be tried by some member of the forum.

There are many locomotives being sold today with DCC and sound installed at the factory. You can add sound to a locomotive, but this is often not trivial. In addtion to the decoder, you have to find room for a speaker and speaker baffle, as well as provide holes for the sound to escape. I have personally tried 2 sound installations with decent success (an IHC steamer and an Athearn SD9) but would not suggest you try this as a first DCC installation project.