Hi everbody. This is my first visit and I am looking into powering my model trains using DCC, but find the array of euipment and prices duanting and confusing can enybody help me from the basic ground knowledge upwards
TTFN Colin
here’s a great place to start
http://www.wiringfordcc.com/intro2dcc.htm
basically with DCC you install a decoder in each loco then set your controller to the decoder address to send commands to that train
Read the DCC For Beginners article on Tony’s Train Exchange’s Web site at http://www.tonystrains.com
DCC made easy, from Kalmbach is a good starting book. Basic info on track wiring, DCC as a concept, engine wiring, etc. but I still refer back to it from time to time when I start thinking too deep.
Hi Coil!!! First of all a big welcome to the forum[#welcome] !!! Another good source, to add to the excellent three listed above, is the enet itself. If you do a search for “DCC”, you will find a host of information that will keep you reading for months.
I personally found that Kalmbach books on DCC, and Tony’s ( mentioned above in thread) to be excellent sources, as well as few selected web sites. The next thing you will need to do Colin is to select a manufacturer. There are several excellent controllers out on the market, and it will more than likely come down to “your” personal preference. Lentz, NCE, Digitrax, Atlas, MRC are some of the big names in DCC. Then you will need to decide, do you want to be tethered to the layout with the controller, or , do you want RF, where there are no cables attached to the hand controller, but those are more expensive also. Good luck Colin!!!
Welcome DeeCee!
According to your profile, you are in Scotland! Cool!
Will you be modeling Europeon trains? If so, which brand and scale do you prefer? I’m assuming that Marklin is the most popular for HO scale in Europe.
Cheers!
Litchfield Station has a nice basic DCC intro at http://www.litchfieldstation.com/u/u.html
Antonio, having gorwn up in the UK and still try to visit once a year to see family, I can say that Hornby and the European Bachmann are the most popular in Britain for those modelling British prototypes in OO scale. There are several other manufacturers that make rolling stock, including Peco (the track maker). For N scale in the UK there is a company called Graham Farish. Anyway, for an insight into a different world of Model Railways, jump over to this site and see what is on the market in the British Isles.
Thanks for the information everbody, it gives me a place to start from. Cool Running. Colin