I’ve only been lurking in these forums for about a week, looking over some of th info here (very good by the way), but I think I need some opinions suited directly for me.
here’s the deal… I currently have sitting around a few older (3-7 years) athearn deisel loco’s, and some equally aged bachmann deisels. plus all the needed DC power equipment. when I was modeling, DCC was coming up fast, but I was pretty young back then, and on a rather limited budget (saving for a month or two to buy a $55 loco). I’m not on such a limited budget now, but still have a limit… I may not jump into DCC directly, but I am curious. here come the questions…
how much am I looking at to convert my current loco rolling stock to dcc? we are talking 1 athearn dash 9, 1 athearn geep 35, 1 athearn PA 1, two bachmann SD-45’s, and an athear SW-1500?
how easy or difficult is it to add decoders to these older, but not ancient loco’s that dont have any dcc ready type plugs?
how much money am I looking at for the control setup for DCC? i see that alot of systems seem to use a seperate power supply, whats the deal with that? could I use my current power supply, that has outputs for fixed dc, variable DC, and fixed AC? i think I would want a mid range system with some decent features, and good expandability.
if I decide to go DC while building my inventory of DCC suplies needed, how much consideration do I need to take in the layout design and building process… specifically, will I have to change a ton of wiring? just what considerations need to be taken when designing a DC layout that will more than likely be converted to DCC in the not so long run?
last, but not least, this whole sound thing sounds interesting. I understand the general concept, but not the specifics… here’s what I would like to know… suppose I have a sound equipped loco with a function for
You have a lot of questions that someone could write a book about and the answer to most of them is that you’re going to have to research it yourself. There are a lot of different DCC systems out there. The most popular are Digitrax, NCE, Lenz, and Easy DCC.
The system you want to go with will depend on a lot of things. Amount you are willing to pay, ( I just put almost 2 grand into a digitrax super chief system, accessories, and 33 decoders last November) what system you’ll think you will enjoy the most, what system do others in your area use so that you can operate on their systems, special features of a system you want or need, ect…
Decoders aren’t that tough to install as long as your good at soldering. The BB athearn locomotives have to be torn down and the motors insulated from the frame as with a lot of other older locmotives. Just follow the directions that come with the decoder and it will go fairly easy. The easiest way to install a decoder is a plug and play type locomotive but the older ones will have to be torn down and the motors insulated from the frame
The command stations need their own power supplies because a DCC system is not like a conventional power pack. The amperage is a lot higher on a DCC system because it has the ability to run more trains from a single power source than the capabilities of a regular DC pack not to mention the power goes out to the rails in an A/C voltage rather than a D/C voltage that a DC pack puts out.
I’d advise that you start reading up on DCC systems and talk to others that are into DCC in your area and find out what systems and features they like / dislike ect… before making your purchase.
I’d start out by visiting the folks that sell DCC systems like tony’s train exchange or loy’s toy’s at their
excellent… I was afraid that may be the case… no narrowing or easy answers. lol. thanks for the feedback… any other opinions? as far as price range, here’s what I am looking at… for the fower supply/ controller, i dont want to spend more than 250 combined… realistic? if that amount will only get me a bare bones DCC system, I am prob going to wait. as far as decoders go, whatever is good and simple… 2 extra functions each would be nice… ditch lights and such… anycase… I have heard that decoders can be had cheap… how cheap we talking for what i need?
a. count on about $15-20/loco to decoder them, but add to that cost a minimum of $15 to each of them if you want sound. That is for older decoders that are not flying off the shelves due to the Tsunami, Loksound, and other newer competitors. There is not yet a diesel decoder in the Tsunami…if I recall correctly.
b. already answered by Chuck, but difficult is a relative term that depends on your skills, confidence, patience, and resources. Sometimes you might have to actually mill the interior weight or frame in order to get a speaker or decoder shoehorned under the shell. For some of us, that is a show stopper.
c. For a growable system, one that can be added to in terms of capability/capacity, a decent DCC system will cost you near $250, give or take a sale or two. To get a gee-whizz system that will likely outlast you, count on about $400. As for your power supply, you may indeed be able to use it to power the DCC controller, but you will only know the answer to that by specing out each system. You will need at least 16 volts steady rms, and your system will want to draw as much as 5-8 amps for the more expensive gee-whizz ones. Can the power pack you mention provide a steady 5 amps at its posts?
d. Much of the wiring you do for DC will be useful for DCC, although some of the switches/selectors, etc, if you do block control, will be redundant. A short in DC is a short in DCC. Dirty track and poor pickup wheel to rail contact is especially irksome for DCC systems, particularly for sound decoders. So, we tend to overwire between rail section joins to ensure that each rail segment gets top rated power. Accordingly, we have a main bus of heavier gauge wire right off the posts, and many of us use a sub bus from which feeder wires extend up to the rails. Without more detail, Chuck is correct when he suggests that you have to do your homework…no shortcuts into DCC.
As far as compariing the different DCC systems is concerned, go to Tony’s Train Exchange and check out his comparison matrix. While you’re there, also download his “DCC For Beginners” manual, which is in PDF format.
After you decide which system you prefer, check out the other vendors, such as Litchfield Station, Loy’s Toys, etc. and do some price comparisons. Some of these dealers offer free shipping, which can save you a few dollars.
It’s fairly easy to convert the older Athearn locomotives, and there are web sites that have step-by-step instructions on how to do so. Bachmann may be a little more complicated because the frame may need to be disassembled to get to the motor and insulate the brushes from the frame.