How do you go about getting started in DCC??Too will my old engines I have still work with DCC??Or do I have to make them DCC too??I am new to this and really want the help…
Your old loco’s will run on most systems but not very nicely, you really need to put decoders in them so you have full control. Getting started is very easy, most systems have everything you need and will just plug in and go ( if you have a dcc loco!!)
Here’s a good place to learn all you need http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips/dccprimer/index.htm
Enjoy, this is the right place to ask questions!!
Ken.
I agree with the website that NZRMAC gave you it will give you great info. I use Digitrax on my layout. They have a book called. “The book on DCC” I call it “the Big Red Bible on DCC” you can find it at your LHS or go to Digitrax.com and get your info there. I hope this works for you. Once you have tried DCC you won’t believe the possiblities!!!
TrainsRMe:)
I agree with the website that NZRMAC gave you. It will give you great info on DCC. I use Digitrax on my layout. They have a book called. “The book on DCC” I call it “the Big Red Bible on DCC” you can find it at your LHS or go to Digitrax.com and get your copy there. I hope this works for you. Once you have tried DCC you won’t believe the possiblities!!!
TrainsRMe:)
Your old trains, depending on how ‘old’ they are, are not likely to run worth a darn with a DCC controller powering the rails. They’ll buzz and growl and drive you crazy, even though they might…might…move. I say might because the internal lubricants may have hardened into waxy deposites by now…unless you have taken them apart and cleaned and lubed them?
You must not leave one of your locos to idle on a siding for any length of time with DCC powering the rails. You run a severe risk of burning out your motor. Either move them, and live with the noise, or take them off the track.
You can, if you are handy with electric circuitry, convert most older locos to DCC. All you need is to add a decoder that tells the motor what to do and controls your directional lights. However, you must electrically isolate the motor completely from the loco frame. Only connections to the decoder can provide any electrical current to the motor.
Tex_Sports, I’m doing very much the same thing. I’ve got a half-dozen or so “old friends” which date back to the Eisenhower administration. Most of them are still running as DC locomotives, but I will slowly convert them to DCC. As mentioned above, this will require electrically “isolating” the drive motor, which is as simple as taking it off, putting in a piece of plastic between the frame and the motor, replacing the metal mounting screws with nylon, and maybe shimming something to account for the thickness of the insulating plastic. Wiring is pretty simple for these old machines, because they’ve got only 1 or 2 lights. I’m using Digitrax DH123 decoders, which list for $20 and can be gotten for as low as about $15 if you shop around and buy in quantity. 2 wires go to the pickups, 2 to the motor, and there are 3 for lights. The instructions with the decoder are very clear. For “practice,” I first converted to new engines to DCC. These come with plastic frames, so there is no need to isolate the motor. The job can be done in an hour if you’ve got basic soldering skills.
I’ve been running DCC for less than 2 weeks now. I’m totally hooked, and I can’t imagine ever being happy with DC operations.