I just checked out the on line bonus on this new 5 DCC system. It is very user friendly. Most likely the least expensive of all DCC systems. Little if any wiring required.
Here is the link
http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/006/484naoqq.asp
I hate when they repackage old technology, give it a fancy new name, and pass it off as new technology. My first trainset back in the 1950s had this system and it was already decades old then. Makes me wish I had hadn’t thrown most of it out. I did keep a few pieces.
You may have a potential lawsuit then, ala MTH [:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]
Just watch out for people older than you, they may be able to demonstrate prior art.
–Randy
You didn’t!!! You really used the “A” word!!! [:0]
I’ve found this to be an excellent system out of the box. It does degrade in performance over time though.
I wonder if those of us with the earlier versions can sell them om EBay?
Tom
Most of the time these systems are viewed as a lifetime commitment type of thing. The real problem is, the old ones don’t seem to work as well and the new ones try to do so many things that often they don’t accomplish much of anything.[:D]
I’v found the system to be quite reliable, but like operating any machinery, it starts to break down if the operator is consuming adult beverages. In the case of 5-DCC, the sound system becomes uncontrollable, with random sounds and excessive volume. Cars on passing trains tend to become derailed, and stops and starts are no longer smooth.
It looks good to me, no compadability issues. I tried to get one but it’s on back order.
I’ve looked through the Walthers catalog and can’t find it listed. What page is it on???
Darrell (ROFLMAO) and quiet…for now
I think you have to call them as it’s concidered a “scratch and dent” item.[:p]
Watching the video I was instantly impressed with the sound system portion of the 5 DCC. Took me back to my childhood. [:)]
I do realize that the sound seems to be vastly improved since I was a kid. Could it be because the speaker enclosure has gotten larger?
I am working on developing a 10 DCC system, which unlike 5 DCC, can operate two trains simulatneously. The one bug I haven’t worked out is when the trains are operating in opposite directions, it only works on a very small layout.
I find the steam decoder to be excellent but the diesel sounds are pretty lame.
So if you have five people over for an ops. session, you can upgrade to the 25 DCC system?
That, and the fact that the recording system has improved.
Just an off-the-cuff remark: I’m going to wait about 6 months and see if any of the big online places offer a 5 finger discount on this one. It would certainly be a handy thing to have around. I think some clumsy folks who are all thumbs would have a hard time with this product, though.
Wendy’s is going to offer a promotion on this, by the way. You will find some of the components of 5-DCC in specially-marked bowls of chili.
Back a couple of years ago, when I was running DC, a freind of mine who owned a train store let me borrow his "protoype’ on loan for testing 5-DCC sytyem. It really did work well. Made it so easy to swtich in the yard and the tight indistries. A little tough on the mainline runs. Only real draw back I had was the inability for the system to support sound. After about 30 to 40 minutes, (or 15 to 20 if on the main) it seemed as if the system would overload, go black, and shut down for awhile.
The darnest thing too was no matter how hard I mounted it to the bench work, it always fell to the floor, (all though, it never broke) and only my fiance could re-set the system. Felt bad cause she had to kick it to restart it. [8)]
Only if Fred Johnson is one of the operators.[:D]
For those who don’t understand the reference:
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0056757/
Tom
A electronics whizzard friend of mine designed a similar system an couple of years back and finished it on the last day of March so we could try it out the next day. It had everything one could wish for: it had a water reservoir to produce steam for steam operators, for diesel buffs it belched black smoke and smelled of diesel oil. Pity the EPA got wind of it.