DON'T Overlook These KEY Details! | Beginner TIPS For DCC Model Railways

[@davidmathie9512]

Very well explained and no bias .Have used DCC for several years ,Started basic and gradually getting more out of more sophisticated systems .As you say its not difficult and is as expensive as you want or need .

[@IronHorseRailways]

@davidmathie9512 glad you enjoyed it mate

[@CliveWherrell-qz2ui]

Good one Craig. I started getting into the hobby when I hit retirement age 3 years ago with dc but have migrated to dcc, with a combination of railmaster and e-link to kick off but then moved onto hm7000. Just about to convert my layout to dcc only for running trains but I'm going to stay with dc for points and signals, as I like flicking switches! As you so rightly said it's whatever suits each of us as individuals. If we were all the same it would be a boring world! I'm on course to finish boarding out my loft and insulating it to have a fair sized loft railway for me to escape to but I will leave a dc layout with the older trains for the grandchildren to tinker with.. Thanks for the heads up about the older trains not liking dcc conversion, you've saved me money! Keep up the great work.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@CliveWherrell-qz2ui some can be converted. Just be cautious as I said :)

[@chriswatson-blake8700]

Very helpful as usual, building my first layout since the 1970s and going to give DCC ago best wishes Chris

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@chriswatson-blake8700 welcome back mate, enjoy it! It's not difficult :)

[@neilharbott8394]

My grandfathers DC system had 2 panels - about 30 switches each - to control power to the isolated sections. You could run 1 train on the upper section, and another on the lower loop - everything else needed to be in an isolated section (turned off). To transfer a train from upper to lower, you had to set both power controllers to similar output, so the train didn't "jump" when it crossed the district isolator. Both districts had power distribution boards, with so many wires it could give you a headache trying to figure out what went where. It worked and it was a marvel of electrical engineering, and had he lived another 30 years, maybe he'd have simplified everything and switched to DCC and two-wires!!

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@neilharbott8394 I'm sure he had fun with it, and that is the most important thing of all :)

[@squipperragpacker2868]

I use the ACE-2 DCC Controller and can easily have all my 7 engine's running at the same time which is nice to watch

[@colinoldham7947]

Great video buddy. Have a cracking week!

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@colinoldham7947 cheers Col

[@WayneAtkinson89]

Good video that pal 👍👍 I used to use JMRI with an Arduino and iPad/iPhone but I couldn’t be arsed with the pissing about with having the iPad and laptop taking space up. Use a power cab now and it’s much easier

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@WayneAtkinson89 same mate, I still use jmri for complex stuff, but the ease of use with powercab combined with the AEGIS upgrade has made life much easier!

[@ElaineJones-w5e]

Excellent vid Craig really enjoyed it 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@ChobertonJunction]

Nice one Craig, I went DCC upon my return to the hobby it was a no brainer really for me. Like the way you explained it all simple enough for even me to understand lol. After seeing this video I will also now be looking into the Aegis systems they look like the next natural step for your truly.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@ChobertonJunction Aegis is great mate :)

[@hamshackleton]

Aegis has built-in short and overload protection AND does away with the wires from the controller, so you can wander around the room and still play trains!

[@Jaherick]

I use a Hornby Elite with hm7000 and dongle. It does what I want and had no problems. As always you make it as simple or complicated as you want.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@Jaherick HM7k is lovely for what it is :)

[@glenshielrailway5696]

I much prefer a DC layout. I just love the old school methods of flicking switches to control isolation tracks, changing which track goes live, flipping points and signals. It gives a much larger sense of control over the layout as a whole. But when it comes to controlling the trains, being able to bring one loco to another and with the press of a few buttons they now double-head, controlling their lights and sounds, DCC takes the prize every time. A great compromise is to use DCC for the trains but still have an old school switch board for your points and signals. However if you start to go down the automation rabbit hole, which I recently have, DCC and automation just take the layout to an entirely new level. Once you see a massive layout running itself with zero user input there's no going back. You can jump in and take over at any time, of course. Ironically to have true full automation you have to learn all about block detection, which is just like making those old school isolation tracks. We've gone full circle! Cheers. Mike.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@glenshielrailway5696 pushing buttons is great, you can even get lever switches for your points too :) for DCC and DC!

[@richardswiderski4985]

Greatvideo Craig I use Hornby Elite and 2 Selects as walkabouts and they work great and I can see the buttons I can also use my Hornby HM app.Dcc is fantastic. It can be cheap or dear depending on what you want or require. I also had a NCE but did not like it as much as the Elite Selects 😕

[@IronHorseRailways]

@richardswiderski4985 like I said mate, lots of useful things out there, find the one that suits!

[@LiveSteamNick]

Top lad!!! Hope to see ya soon! For the record I use a trusty Gaugemaster DS for DC Originally I had a Fleischmann Twin Center, a Rocco Z21 and now have settled on an ESU Ecos for DCC . (Childsplay) I also have a Kato blue DC controller for a quick play with a new loco on dc. So much choice,,it’s a great hobby indeed!

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@LiveSteamNick best of both worlds our Nick! Hopefully catch you soon!

[@trainswithnickyt]

I've opted for a touchscreen operated dcc system and it actually suits my situation, I did look at the Powercab route, but being tethered wasn't a option, (not least because I need to be able to easily use it with multiple layouts, ) but investing in Aegis etc wasn't in my budget. The touchscreen route is certainly not for everyone for the reasons you mentioned, if tactile feedback was important to me then the NCE is probably one of the best options for that. All I will say is that I have a system that was brand new for less than £100, (minus my phone, but a cheap tablet can be had for around £30 that would do the same job,) so for those that say DCC is too expensive, well, it doesn't have to be.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@trainswithnickyt I loved the screen thing for years, but as I've progressed my needs and wants have also changed, I find now powercab easier for most things - the only thing I miss is having all my functions available in one go..

[@peteredwards2857]

A very good video explaining the differences of the hobby. I use a Nce Powercab and its brilliant so easy to use and to alter cv's. I would recommend it.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@peteredwards2857 me too funnily enough hehe

[@murdochm4847]

Nice one Bud. And I say that even though the layout I am building now will be DC and not DCC.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@murdochm4847 enjoy it either way mate :)

[@OOGaugeJourney]

Great video, ive decided to go DCC and have ordered the Powercab DCC starter set last night.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@OOGaugeJourney enjoy :)

[@Nicey1-ep6gs]

Hi Craig great video, great advice for new starters. Not started the hobby long - started with TT120 which when I joined my local railway club that was an interesting conversation. My route to using decoders was adding HM7000 decoders and using the Bluetooth on them - I upgraded my DC train set by buying the HM7080 adaptor (£7.95) which used the P9000 transformer included with the train set. Downloaded the Hm7000 app and sound for the loco. I use my tablet which I already had as the controller. Is it DCC ? , sort of. But I have a sound and lights and can change the CVs easily.

[@IronHorseRailways]

It's kind of dcc yes :) so long as you enjoy it, that's the main thing!

[@mickedgeleyparkstation5391]

Great video Craig,well explained for anyone starting out in the hobby.👍

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@mickedgeleyparkstation5391 cheers matey 👍

I've got a Hornby Elite and two selects (all collected cheaply secondhand) so I can have four controls with the elite and two walkabouts. There's some limitations but it works well for me. DCC is brilliant for my liited space as I was able to elimiate spurs and isolation tracks and still run more locos on the limited tracks. So you can have muliple locos stored in a siding and shuffle them around as part of operations, rather than putting them on the track one at a time. Been converting old locos (I usually fit 8 pin sockets so I can easily convert back to DC if needed using those headers, or jumper wires), and am currently experimenting with comparing keep alive to adding extra pickups and doing both. As I have a shelf layout, I don't really want to be looking at a touch screen. While the Hornby controllers are a bit basic, they are tactile, unlikt touchscreen throttles.

[@IronHorseRailways]

Dcc for life lol

[@stephendavies6949]

Hi again, Craig. A clear and straightforward guide to DCC: Mythbuster Iron Horse! At one point, you mentioned discussing Hornby's decoders etc "later". I assumed this meant the HM7000 system. Since you didn't in this video, does it mean there will be a Part 2, as I would very much like you to present that in the same style as you have in this video. Thanks very much.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@stephendavies6949 there will be a part two if demand is there mate yes :)

[@anthknill]

Great video as always Craig. All the best Anth Knill 👍

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@anthknill cheers budd

[@Teesbrough]

Thanks for the helpful debunking. I had sworn to stick to analogue so I could still run the very few locos I’ve kept from childhood half a Century and more ago. But I’ve now acquired such a fleet, with many crying out for sound, I’ll transition to DCC when I can. Te 1990s mobile phone retro look of the NCE is totally off-putting though. So I might dabble with Hornby HM7000 instead until I can find a system that looks the part for today’s gadgetry.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@Teesbrough slow and steady wins wins race mate

[@ThatGuyKal]

I had the standard Hornby Select controller but I wasn't happy, and tbh I found the "pro" DCC controllers to be a bit lacking in UX. I ended up writing my own software to communicate with DCC-EX running off an Arduino.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@ThatGuyKal thats another way to do it!

[@DarrenLewarne]

This is the way ❤ (DCC ex rules!, I use mardecs and dccnext for points from Nico at arcamora)

[@DJ_K666]

Regarding JMRI, it runs nicely on a Raspberry Pi and the Sprog should just plug into it. We were operating our layout at Warley 2022 that way. You do need a touch screen though. But as you say, once you've got all that together you might as well buy a Powercab or a Prodigy or its successor.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@DJ_K666 keep doing what makes sense I guess mate :)

[@hamshackleton]

Catch you at 7pm on the Monday club.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@hamshackleton you will sir

[@jdenm8]

JMRI is Java, so it'll run on anything that can run the full Java Runtime Environment. That includes MacOS (to some peoples' chagrin) and Linux. I've managed my DCC-EX control station over Wi-Fi from JMRI running on my Steam Deck, which is a consolised PC (kinda like a Nintendo Switch) that runs a modified version of Arch Linux.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@jdenm8 that's true!

[@neilharbott8394]

Would you believe 45 years since the fledgling Hornby Zero-1 was released - you could run 16 locomotives and 99 accessories on it!!!!

[@IronHorseRailways]

@neilharbott8394 yeah, but wow a world apart from what we have now!

[@Avondaleandhalshawmoor]

Ow do Craig....I'm just in the middle of going over to dcc, at first i thought it was exactly that....problematic and I needed frog juicers etc etc....looked very daunting. But it's no complicated than dc and having all the isolation sections that I have installed for DC. Luckily bar a few all my locos are dcc ready so will only need to add the correct decoder. I'll also be using the gaugemaster prodigy advance 2 system. Is it worth having a cut out/trip system just before power reaches the track? Cheers lloyd

[@IronHorseRailways]

@Avondaleandhalshawmoor yes mate, always worth having it! Whip one of these in line, easy to do, and will save you headache later. Plus it kinda works like a switch too, for track power if you like, as it can be addressed :) www.dccconcepts.com/product/intelligent-dcc-circuit-breaker/

[@Avondaleandhalshawmoor]

@IronHorseRailways fantastic pal cheers!....don't fancy blowing dcc system if I have any hiccups when I come to power it up....much appreciated mate

[@PeachyTT120]

I’m always confused by the “DC is cheaper/easier” statement…. As you say, it only has legs if you’ve got one loco on a simple loop.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@PeachyTT120 exactly mate

[@glennscotttrains7513]

Very interesting video had made me think about doing dcc but for the moment cost is the issue for me, on local model railway shops, my local one is unless I've looked on the Website they say they said item in stock before I go any further my local model railway is about 5.3 miles away, so like I was saying when on there Website looked at said it I want to so got a family member go to said model shop because I don't drive also disabled and stuck on my bed at the because my disability is playing up, so family member got there to find out it wasn't in stock and they said they hadn't a chance to up data the online site but this not the first time with them saying about a year ago same family when to said model shop for an item and looked on the website before he went got the same answer sorry haven't up data the website well not be using them again and before say I'd there any other no there not. So from now I will be using shops like sawyer model, Rails of Sheffield and T.M.C, can't trust my local one.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@glennscotttrains7513 that's a shame about the local mate 😕

[@andyfriarsjunc]

I went DCC in thr early 2000s. I would never go back to DC. In fact, im now so use to DCC, that when i operate a DC layout i get confused and cant do it.

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@andyfriarsjunc hah you've gone too far mate!

[@andyfriarsjunc]

@IronHorseRailways yup DCC voice control

[@williamvanalen9414]

My trains will run like nutters, at least they will match there owner 😅

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@williamvanalen9414 hah! Brilliant!