As you may know, I have been looking for a DCC controller for a while. I then realized that Trix is DC and DCC as well as Marklin AC digital.
My hope is that by buying the Trix Mobile Station I could gain access to ALL DCC locos, be it, Trix (obviously) but also Roco, Walthers, Bachman, Kato and Marklin AC digital locos.
So far, am I right? Is the Trix 66950 re truly a universal controller that would allow me to use one day any DCC loco, American, Europan or Japanese, and another day a Marklin loco?.
If it is “NMRA compatable” then it can control any NMRA compatable loco decoder which Walthers, Atlas, Bachmann, Athearn, Intermountain and a bunch of others are. I don’t know whether Trix, Maerklin or Roco are NMRA compatable, if they are there should be an NMRA logo somewhere on the product or packaging or literature.
One thing to be aware of, if you don’t already know, is that Marklin is a 3 rail system - the middle rail is a series of stud contacts in the center of the ties. Which means Marklin engines/cars require their own track system and you cannot run other manufacturers locomotives on their track.
As NP2626 said, Trix is not a very well known or supported system in the U.S., so you may wind up with a system that has no place to get help if you have problems with it.
Trix is basically Marklin made for the 2-rail users as opposed to Marklin’s 3-rail sytem, but I wouldn’t really call it a “Universal” system just because it supports the Marklin and other protocols. ESU LokSound products are equivalent, with both brands made in Germany (at least designed in Germany; perhaps actually made in China).
I just bought a Marklin MS2 controller for both AC and DCC trains. It is serviced by a Marklin dealer in Toronto (where I live) so that any problems will be looked after.
Ummm, no, this is not a correct statement. NCE will not operate a DC loco, and that is certainly name brand. A from what I read in these forums, those systems that will operate a DC loco don’t actually do a good job of it.
I apologize for this incorrect information! Although I have never tried it, not needing to as I still have a DC power pack as throttle two on my layout, instructions in my operators manual for my Digitrax Zephyr tell me that I can run DC equipment by putting address 00 in the controller and the Zephyr will operate a DC Locomotive. I assumed since this is an offering Digitrax has, that most other DCC equipment would offer the same. Like I said, I have never tried it and although I still have a DC throttle on my layout, I operate DCC far and away most of the time.
I guess I should never assume anything as when I have it has always come back to bite me in the posterior!
My Lenz system will “operate” a DC loco, but very poorly. It’s speed is very limited, and it produces that annoying buzz. If you depend on DCC autoreversers, DC locomotives won’t make it out of the loop.
Rdgk1se3019, When did Digitrax drop ‘Zero Stretching’ support? Their current website still lists support even on the Super Chief Xtra system… I agree that it never works very good on any system I have used. However, it is a good marketing tool to sell ‘on the fence’ modelers who are concerned about converting their vast fleets of older DC engines to DCC. Jim
By the way, it is a good idea to never assume with DCC. You can Google almost anything ifyou have the patience to do some reading and you get links to keep.
The motor can get quite hot when not turning and the DCC is still applied to the rails. The last i knew, three systems can run a DC loco. MRC had a 2k that would but very limited. Same with the Bachmann EZ Commad.
All systems will tell you what will or will not run. A few people have issues reading instructions which is usually the main issue. That is just the way it is.
Not correct. All current Digitrax systems support address 00 for DC locos.
NCE is the one who changed. In the beginning, they DID support running a DC loco, but you had to build a seperate throttle and connect it to the serial port of the command station (which also meant you couldn’t use the computer interface AND run a DC loco at the same time. Since no one was using the feature (hmm, wonder why…) they just did away with it in later firmware updates.
No, it’s not the ideal way to ruin a loco. SOme make more noise than others, and a coreless motor would be quickly destroyed. Speed is never as good as you get running on straight DC. Bit those severe pulses can come in handy at times - I once had a Bowser PRR T1 that someone had built and then was packed away for 15 years or so, never run. On the 2.5 amp DC power pack (or so MRC labeled it), it would just trip the breaker. I put it on the DCC layout and used the Zephyr (original) with address 00 and eventually it got moving. Some laps in both directions and it finally loosened up and was breaking in enough that it would not run on the DC power pack for a full break in. On address 00 it did not buzz, those big heavy motors are pretty solid - the loosely assembled (only the power clips hold them together) Athearn Blue Box motors - THOSE buzz loudly.
I am not sure if this point was touched upon above, but what happens if I simply put a DC loco on a DCC layout WITHOUT assigning anything to it?
With Marklin the analogue loco runs but slower and you have no control at all.
Would the DC loco do the same thing on a DCC layout?
I ask this because if the answer is “yes”, then one could do on a DCC platform what I do on a Marklin platform: I let the analogue loco (which I cannot control) run wild, and I have another loco, a digital one (that I can control) follow it. So I then have two locos running at the same time on the same track.
It’s actually quite fun.
To end the play, I simply stop the digital loc and then shut off the power (or simply shut off the power).
Short answer is no. DC loco will just sit there. Not a good idea to let DC engines sit on a DCC powered layout for an extended period of time, smoke could result.
Thank you for the super fast rewsponse, Floridaflyer. I guess I will simply have to run DCC locos OR DC locos and not hope to run them together safely.
You CAN set one DCC loco running, then select another one and control it while the first one runs freely. At any time, you can select back and forth between multiple moving locos to gain control of them.
Only way to do that is to have a DCC system that has 00 capabilities. You would have to assign 00 to the DC loco, let it run and then leave 00 and address your DCC loco. The DC loco would run free until you reaquired it by using 00. with out assigning 00 to the DC loco it won’t move.