Model Railroad for Beginners - From Loop to Layout - Sidebar - DC or DCC?

[@MaartenOtto]

I dumped DCC recently and went for DINAMO. This is a system designed by a Dutch company and it allows you to run DC and DCC trains on the same layout simultaniousley. It functions by setting a route for the train and the system will apply DC or DCC onto that piece of track. It is fully controlled by a computer (I have even seen it running on a Raspberry Pi). It also allows for DC locomotives to have the lights on whilst staying still. It is a bit of a steep learning curve and the initial start up is pretty expansive, but it will give you the same and even more benefits as DCC without any decoder needed. The biggest plus is that polarisation is a thing of the past.

[@sort187]

I decided that since I have both DC and DCC locomotives, and I didn't really want to change everything over (pocketbook limits), I decided to go with the best of BOTH worlds..... I found something called an MRC Tech 6. I can switch between DC and DCC at the push of a button. So, depending on what I want to run, I can have either digital or analog equipment on the tracks. Granted, I'm still using blocks to power track sections, but with the Tech 6, I can get the sounds and functions from my DCC locomotives without actually having a dedicated DCC system.

[@zas5892]

Wow yeah man that helped me quite a bit and I don't even have a train set yet so I will subscribe

[@donmartin9567]

In my view, these days, DC is great for beginners who only want to run a single train and have no reversing loops. The other thing to think about is that the power goes directly from the track to the motor with DC. DCC, on the other hand, has all sorts of advantages. But in this case the track provides BOTH power and signalling. The controller "reads" the signal from the track, then takes the AC power from the track and converts it to DC which it feeds to the motor. However, the motor is STILL a DC motor. And, while people complain about the cost of DCC, there are a number of systems out there at different price points. But the bigger thing to think about with respect to DCC cost is how much you are spending on your total layout. As people get more involved in their Model Railroads, the cost of their DCC (regardless of how expensive it was) pales in comparison to the cost of everything else! So, don't compromise on this part of the system.

[@n-scaleunionpacificevansto6569]

John, thanks for this excellent explanation of DC and DCC. I use NCE DCC, and am very happy with it, but your ESU system looks fantastic. Like you, I also use Kato Unitrack on my layout. ...Roy

[@tigernga218]

We are starting with DC++. Just have the arduino controller for now but plan on building a throttle next.

[@NitroStarGT]

Great series! Somebody please answer these questions that I haven't found in comments and/or missed in the vids: 1. How is he switching the turnouts? 2. Was this really unhooking the DC controller and hook up the DCC Controller with no other wiring mods?

[@JCsRiptrack]

In this case, I am still throwing the switches manually, but they can be controlled via DCC by using a specialized controller. With the Kato Unitrack turnouts, digitrax makes specialized controllers: www.digitrax.com/tsd/KB784/ds51k1-stationary-decoder-installation/

[@NitroStarGT]

@@JCsRiptrack Wow! Your video speed and quick movements really are a trick to the eyes! I have to slow the vid down to 1/4 speed to barely see you move the switches LOL. Great looking fun! I'm looking at the new DCC Concepts switch panels but I guess I would be spending money twice on Kato switches and then modding them to use the Cobalt iP Digital Turnout Motors?? Maybe there's a way to use some of the already pricey Kato switch"s electrical parts to do this. I was wanting g to go the ECEpower cab route instead of Digitrax

[@kamala2111]

Good vid nice to see series back......I run DCC

[@WhiteWulfe]

DCC is what I plan on going with when I finally get a shelf layout started. Hadn't heard about those systems, but boy do I like the look of those controllers...

[@Death_From_Below]

NICE for me, that is what the club uses.

[@PaulSmith-pl7fo]

Hi John. I'm in the early stages of setting up my layout. I have decided to go DCC and bought a Digitrax starter set. I knew the basics you went through, but your description explained the basic differences very well.

[@tainopr4356]

Hello John, thanks for the video. It was very informative & insightful. I have a Digitrax Zephyr Express. I also use NMRI to help program the decoders on my engines.

[@patrickhawes5007]

Thanks John. I am currently DC but will eventually switch over. I also use Kato unitrack and so far it looks like it will be a fairly easy transition. My layout is modular so I can move it from the garage to the next empty bedroom that becomes available. That’s most likely when I go DCC. Cheers 🍻

[@JoeG-firehousewhiskey]

Awesome information, the Piko system looks like a good deal!

[@chazco]

currently running DC but have built a DCC++ system and now need to install decoders in locos. Great video

[@JCsRiptrack]

Cool, thanks. I'm curious about the DCC++ systems out there, but electronics aren't my forte. :)

[@solimar1554]

Love the ESU Cab Control! Only drawback I've had so far was a work around to get NCE Switch-8's to work with it. Took some research, but it works nicely. ESU's instructions could be better though. The ESU site has a bulletin board where questions can be asked.

[@JCsRiptrack]

Thanks for the info!

[@DeathByFishing]

I use a Prodigy Express. Works great and is very easy to use.

[@DinsdalePiranha67]

I have only ever run my layouts on DC, and given that most of them only ever had one train running on them it was fine. But with that said, I'm contemplating a switch to DCC in the future, and that's mostly because I can add sound. Hearing the chug of a diesel-electric's prime mover, along with the horn and the bell, instead of the whir of an electric motor adds a lot to the layout's realism.

[@PaulSmith-pl7fo]

You can still have sound on a DC loco with a sound decoder, but DCC allows you to use more functions.

[@DinsdalePiranha67]

@@PaulSmith-pl7fo I guess what I could have said is I could have the diesel locomotive sounds coming from the loco itself. I remember one of my Tyco HO sets from when I was a kid had a diesel horn hidden in a billboard. The sound wasn't entirely realistic - nor was the billboard. :)

[@killuadre9176]

Same here but I have so much DC stuff and didn’t want to put decoders in all of them. What I ended up doing was getting the Kato Sound Box for sound. Quite happy and you might want to look into that as another choice.

[@HHExpress]

I'm still using DC (analog) I have to many locs which cannot be converted. However I'm controling my track with the use of an arduino and raspberry pi (still building it)

[@IMRROcom]

nice work

[@bugsbunny9332]

yes another one!

[@elleryparsons5766]

Hey John I look at it This way if you do your homework it Shouldn’t Matter Talk to Other Model Railroaders in Clubs or Friends That is Deeply involved Shouldn’t Be a No Brainer.

[@sudoggie]

Looks like a nice system--I like the wireless controller. However, it does not seem to be available from Piko any longer. Has it been discontinued already?

[@JCsRiptrack]

It may have. However, it is the same as the ESU Cab Control system, since they're the ones that made it in the first place and PIko licensed it. So the product is still available, but from the original manufacturer.

[@sudoggie]

@@JCsRiptrack Are you able to use a PC to add an additional control layer to your Piko/ESU system?

[@JCsRiptrack]

I believe so. I haven't done it yet, but it has ethernet/internet connectivity, and works with LocoNet as well.

[@denisebasile3813]

I use DC but I have a engine that makes with DC

[@piedmontrailfan81]

I want to know if a dcc train can run on Bachmann ez track? I use ho scale though

[@JamesSmith-zv9nw]

Hi there, it all depends on the controller. If you are using a dc controller then it depends on if the decoder in the loco is set up for it. If you have a dcc controller that’s correctly wired up then yes. It doesn’t matter what type of track.

[@piedmontrailfan81]

@@JamesSmith-zv9nw Thank you so much!

[@savannahhirano]

To expand on James’ answer... As James mentioned, it depends on the controller. However if you are using EZ-Track with the Bachmann EZ-Command then yes, it works right out of the box. If the controller is any DC controller, you’ll only have to upgrade that. From 2000 up to 2014 I got into the hobby, and built a layout with my grandfather using Bachmann EZ-Track along with DC, sometime before 2010 we switched to DCC with Bachmann’s EZ-Command... We’d built a layout using 2000ft of track using EZ-Track. He passed away in 2014, so I hadn’t touched the hobby again until the past few months, I set up a small oval with EZ-Track and EZ-Command... however I switched to NCE for DCC. As I wanted to test things while still getting the materials together to build the new layout, all I had to do was buy a set of Atlas rail-joiners that have the wires soldered on to them and attach the wires to NCE, and I can confirm that NCE works great with EZ-Track from Bachmann.

[@elleryparsons5766]

You should Be Able to.no Reason why you Can’t.

[@twiztedmowers2]

Dcc and use the esu wifi controller.

[@sunj375]

i started on dcc..went to dc..as easier and cheaper

[@crr311sux5]

Unusual.

[@25mfd]

i also went backwards so to speak... i bought the first run of the NCE system, about the time athearn came out with their very first run of the MP15AC (however long ago that was)... left the hobby for a long time just got back in a few years ago and forgot how to even run the system... then i saw the prices of DCC locos and saw how "techy" DCC was getting and i said i'm out... time traveled back to 1982 and now am running full blown DC using the MRC tech 7 ampac 760... found a few DC locos over the past year highest i paid was 152, cheapest i paid was 99bucks all atheran genesis locos to, i can live with that