Random thoughts about new products: prefab wiring?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

We need a ready to use DC wiring system. That’s right, I wrote DC, not
DCC. This is not the place to debate the merits of DCC. There is
plenty of life left in DC wiring, and will be for some time to come, if
it can be made easy enough to install. (Isn’t it interesting that
MRC’s first proprietary DCC line was marketed for its ease of wiring,
even though it offered less operating flexibility than other forms of
DCC, in fact less even than some fairly rudimentary DC multi-cab
systems?)

Today’s desire for “plug and play” convenience and quality means the
time has come for a practical, ready to use DC wiring system compatible
with commercial makes of track. The Signal Research firm has done
things along these lines with a sophisticated DC block control system,
but on a lower level of technology and cost I can imagine an entire
commercial line of rotary block switches, pre-equipped with color-coded
wiring leads, going to color-coded terminal strips, with color-coded
wire, attached to a new type of half-live, half-insulated rail joiners,
and pre-wired return-loop materials, all ready to plug into matching
color-coded walk-around memory control outlets (perhaps radio controlled?) and power supplies. In essence I am suggesting that someone do for DC wiring what Woodland Scenics has done for scenery - take accepted practices and materials and repackage and display them in an encouraging and user-friendly manner. Fact is, right now the product line worthy of being called a
DC wiring system is the one Atlas has been marketing for decades.
Wiring for multiple train DC cab control can be made even more simple,
more systematic, and more off-the-shelf than it is. This, together
with DCC and the Signal Research innovations, will help serve the
ultimate goal of making every layout capable of multiple train
operation.
Dave Nelson

2

Its already out there; its called Kato Unitrak.

MRC didn’t come out with its first DCC offering - the Command 2000 - offering ease of wiring (though that is part of the dcc appeal), but ease of use. It was taking advantage of newbie fears that new people were experiencing - a fear of using dcc, since they didn’t understand it. So MRC said their “new” unit was better than slice bread for ease of use.

The problem with your prefab wiring idea is that it would of course increase the cost of items, so the person might as well go to dcc and get a better system with more options. And of course, Kato’s Unitrak is more expensive - one of my pet peeves against it.

For what some guys pay for a Kato Unitrak layout, they could have gone flex track and dcc for the same cost.

3

the Kato line offers some, but not all, of what I was thinking about, and of course Maerklin has offered prefab wiring for years - but those are both proprietary systems and both involve prefab track which is not was I think discussing
I was thinking of something more universal and flexible (and oriented towards a more ambitious layout.
Dave Nelson