Okay I know everyone has opinions and that some of these are going to say I’m an idiot for even thinking about this but…
Is the Bachmann Digital Comander set worth picking up as a starter set for my son and I? I was watching the train set vids on the main site and while it is at the low end of the performance scale thought it might not be a bad way to start. I don’t like the track but we are just starting out.
Thanks Tom
For not much more than the price of the Bachmann, you can get a NCE, Prodigy Advance, or basic Digitrax set-up. The Bachmann does not even begin to compare to any of these systems! Check out the prices at Tony’s or one of the other on-line stores specializing in DCC. My [2c]
You dont want to start out that way. Once the whistle and bell wears off and you begin to explore DCC, that basic cheapie set will only frusterate you.
I agree with the other poster.
That would be like me using a Diamond Reo to take a load to California, only I need 2 weeks to make the trip.
Hi Lou,
I looked up your recomendations but I am little confused. These are just the DCC controllers, I don’t think having just a controller would keep my sons intrest for more than two minuets. I was refering to the train set as a whole: engine, two in this case, couple of cars and track along with a controller.
Tom
You might see two engines, but I bet you one of them will be a dummy, no motor inside. I view dummies as a sound/speaker carrier or a liability against the engine that does have a motor.
I’m happy with the Bachmann. I’ve run 3 trains, one DC, and 2 DCC, on my small layout and been able to manage each engine with no problems.
Most of the people who reply to posts in here are very dedicated model railroaders who are generously sharing their collective expertise which has been aquired with years of experience.
Asking about a starter set will get replies that assume it is step one toward a garage or basement filling mini world, and so their thoughts are colored by that future goal.
It is like going to a custom car show and asking if you should buy a new Yugo.
You can buy a Bachmann train set with DCC on board for $200. It will come with track, cars, a DCC on board engine, and a very primitive and not expandable DCC controller.
If you don’t even know what CVs are, why do you care if the controller can read them back or program them. The majority of people in here pay more for one engine than the cost of that set.
If the bug bites you, and it may, then by the time you are ready to “move up” you will have a much better idea of which brand is best for you. You can then throw the $50 EZ Command away, or sell it on E-Bay.
Personally I think that is better than buying the system that someone else thinks is the best for me, a larger investment, and a lot more to throw away if my future preferences turn out to favor a different brand.
Hi,
Just wanted to mention that Phoebe Vet hit the mark right on. It is honest good un-biased advice. All I can add is to keep reading in this great forum. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience which is second to none.
Take care
Frank
[#ditto] [#ditto] [#ditto]
Go for it…Start out slow if that is your pace…
I personally started with the Atlas DCC controller that has since been discontinued, but I think was a great starter unit. I have since moved up to a Digitrax Super Empire Builder, but I never regret spending a little money upfront to learn the ropes of DCC.
I find it hard to argue in principle with what has been offered to you, but I have had two substantial hobbies in my life, model trains being the most recent. It seems that most of us run into a hobby, almost literally, and it is based on a train show, seeing a commercial, or someone’s careful marketing of a train set at Christmas-time. My other hobby is astronomy, for which I purchased a substantial telescope nealry 20 years ago now. I had had other telescopes, but they were the “train-set” type that rarely exceeded $99.99. Invariably, their appeal wore off in short order due to engineering and materials defects. A quality pair of sunglasses costs much more than $99, and that is before the lenses are shaped to suit your eyes. So, a whole telescope? I don’t think so.
It is the same with train sets, generally, not by any means all the time. I have to say I still enjoyed my cheapo telescopes; they kept me keyed to the hobby, and I did get some nice, if heavily vignetted and astigmatic views of the moon and planets. In that sense, any train set is probably going to help. The difference between my own entry into this hobby and my slow evolution into astronomy was that I learned from the deficiencies in the cheapers scopes that you really do get what you pay for. So, when I encountered the Broadway Limited Imports (BLI) Toronto, Hamilton, & Buffalo J1d Hudson with sound, and saw the horse choking price, I knew that I was going to give this engine a new home. I had gone through the phase of learning as I go, and had learned that a somewhat more serious investment up front would very probably give me a more realistic sense of what the hobby has to offer than those $99 scopes did for my astronomy way back when.
Neither way is wrong. Every way can lead to the same destination. I merely capitalized on learning that could be “generalized” to another hobby, and I am glad that I did