DCC vs DC

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

Hello All
This is my first post. I am getting ready to build my first ever layout and am curious about the major difference between DCC & DC. I would like to keep the layout as simple as possible as far as wiring goes.

Can i run more than one train at a time on a DC setup? I will have one loop with about 3 turnouts. Is a DC setup as easy as connecting 2 wires to the rail and being done with it? Do I have to solder the rails together? I would attach a picture of my layout but im lost as to how to attach it to this post.

2

DC - one controller one train.
DCC - one controller many trains.

For one train the wiring is exactly the same for DC or DCC.

Yes, but that is where the wiring departs from my comment above and gets complicated.

For one train yes. For multiple trains no. DCC is as easy as connecting 2 wires to the rail and being done with it too.

I never solder rails unless working with flex track on a curve. It makes it too hard to change things or fix problems.

3

Dc Controls the track, the more loco’s you want to run the more sections in the track and more controllers req.

DCC controls the loco. most DCC controllers can address at least 10 loco’s and run 2 or 3 at the same time.

Ken.

4

murray382,

[#welcome] to the forum! Good to have you aboard! [:)]

This question get asked a lot here on the forum from first timers. You are smart to look into it before starting your layout.

Check out Tony’s Train Exchange website:

http://www.tonystrains.com

On the web site there is a link called NEW DCC For Beginners!. Click on it. The topic is divided into several sub-headings. You can either read it online or download it as a .pdf file. It’s a very good reference on DCC and It does a great job of explaining all the facets of it. It will fill in some of the questions that you have and probably haven’t thought of yet.

murray382, do come back and visit us often…

Tom

5

If your not using DCC in this day and age your missing out. Big time.

6

It’s the difference between mono and stereo, if that helps. Or, the difference between VHS and DVDs is more accurate. With DCC, you can make individual locomotives do entirely different actions while on the same segment of contiguously powered track. Anyone who says you can do that with DC is feeding you a line.

DCC is freedom, excitement, control, and ease of mind, all rolled into one. Okay, maybe not when you are on that steep learning curve, but afterwards, WOW!!

7

thanks for the info, hey “tstage”…i love the picture of your locomotive!

8

Is DCC the best thing since sliced bread? Well, if I had to give up either DCC or sliced bread forever, I’d buy a bread knife and keep my DCC system. It just makes the whole thing so much more fun!

Yes, you can just run 2 wires to the track. However, you will find that your rails don’t conduct electricity perfectly, and those unsoldered rail joiners will work themselves loose over time. Everyone recommends running a pair of “bus” wires under the track, and connecting the track to the bus wires every few feet. This is true both for DC and for DCC. The larger your layout gets, the more important this becomes.

You will be tempted to ask “What’s the best DCC system for me to get?” Before you do that, please use the “Search” feature of the forums to view previous topics about DCC. The question comes up about once a week.

9

murray382,

Thanks for the encouragement…[:)]

Tom

10

For a newcomer in the hobby and if you can afford it, I would advise you to go for DCC. I am still on DC because I have too many engines to convert and cannot afford the cost but I like the new technology and all its advantages.

Cliff
http://cliffordconceicao3310.fotopic.net/c328807.html

11

Welcome murray382.

After the primer suggested by tstage, the question “Which one do I get ?” will come up.

There is an excellent thread going on right now at http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36389 that is discussing the pro’s and con’s of several of the DCC systems available on the market. After reading the primer, you should tap into this forum clinic.

Again, welcome aboard [:D]

12

murray382,

After re-reading your original post, it looks like no one’s gotten around to answering how to post a picture on the forum for you yet.

The easiest way to do it is to go to a web host (e.g. Railimage.com) and set up a FREE account with them. Once you establish an account, you can then uploaded your pics from your computer and store them on their web site’s server.

In order to post a pic, all you have to do is copy the URL address of the pic in between separately bracketed “img” and “/img” symbols (minus the quotation marks). Here’s an example using A = img and /A = /img, and the address of the pic in my signature: (The first is shown for clarity; the second, using the real URL

[A] + url address + [/A]
or
[A]http://www.railimages.com/albums/tomstage/adl.thumb.jpg[/A]

(murray382, a bracketted img is computer language for “image”. The first img says, “Hey, the following info is an image”; The second /img with the backslash says, “that’s it for the image information”.

Getting the URL for your picture is quite easy. Using my signature pic as an example again, use your mouse to RIGHT click the picture. (The “Element Properties” or the pictures “Image Properties” box will pop up.) You’ll now see the pictures “Location” listed up at the top as the following:

http://www.railimages.com/albums/tomstage/adl.thumb.jpg

(You may have to expand the Element Properties box o the right in order to view the entire pictures URL address.)

Now, use your mouse to highlight the pictures URL or web address, then insert that in either the body of your post or profile page in between the bracketted “img” and “/img” symbols (Again, minus the quotation marks.), as illustrated above.

I’ve probably made it sound complicate murray382, but it’s really not that difficult to do. Give a holler if you need more help with it.

Tom