I could be happy with ONE DCC loco and a DCC wireless throttle (although I am thankful to have a few more). I run N scale only on club layouts, and I must say my Kato SD80MAC's are the best locos and most powerful. If I could only have one, that would be it.... There is no comparison between DC and DCC. Harold
I admit DCC cost can be daunting. I am about halfway through installing the decoders in my fleet of 44 locomotives. However, that number may go down as I judge the quality of the loco and whether or not is is worthy, or should be put on the white-elephant table at the next train show. Also, I admit that buying new locomotives was dampened by the thought of getting a decoder for it as well. But Atlas solved that Still, I wonder how many loco's I would own now if I didn't go DCC. I mean I can only have so many on a 10 x 10 layout and can only run so many at my club. Oh well, I do enjoy DCC and not have to worry about pushing block switches. Also when I have guests over, or my sons's friends want to run. I can still take over their locomotive, without them knowing it and do an emergency stop as well.
A.J., Good points in your response. I can speak for myself in that "less equals more" in the DCC world. I find myself wanting (read= "needing" ) fewer locos, as I am happier to run the ones I have on DCC. This is not to say that it is not w/o expense.... I have a Digitrax Chief II system and 2 DT300R throttles.... (I certainly am NOT bragging, as I have no permanent home layout to use them on) however, one of my missions is to show everyone how "fun" DCC can be! It might sound corny, but if I had never tried DCC on our club layout, I'd probably still be content with DC layouts and somebody else running my trains.... With DCC, especially on a club or public layout, you are out front with the people running your own trains and performing acts that can never occur on DC (analog), such as bi-directional meets on the same track. That is quite a rush.... However, I must point out, DCC can be deadly at a show if you pay TOO much attention to the audience instead of the trains Harold
I too, am sold on DCC. I am a member at my local club. They run a smaller 25x25' layout on a Digitrax Super Chief. Wow. All I can say is wow. The first time I saw a bi-directional meet, 2 locos switching the yard in different directions, and consisting 3 different locos, I was about floored. I was amazed how easy it is tp program a decoder, select a loco, and just go. I love the Digitrax unit, and most especially, the DT400 Radio throttle. Way too cool. I am prolly not going to go for a Chief on my 17x9' n layout, but a Super Empire Builder set would fit the bill nicely. The problem is decoders. What works best in locos, PNP, or mill/install yourself? I am no prodigy with soldering. I have many locos that accept PNP, but that is just too danged pricey. Even thru Tony's, my 4 SD40-2's would take up 4 months worth of train budget to convert, not to mention 6 SD80/90MACs. My personal favorites. One question however, how do you install DCC into a LL Geep 20?? PNP available? IS this a mill the frame, and solder job?
I too am a non-DCC operator. I belong to a club here in Grand Junction, and we're just about all non-DCC here. I don't see anything wrong with DCC, and from what I've heard & read it must be nice to operate. However, unless & until I get a more-or-less "permanent" N scale layout, I'll stay all-DC (for now). Ain't ruling it out down the road, though....... BTW, I model the late 1980s, and have no steam. I may farm out the decoder installation when that time comes (two LL GP20s, one LL GP18, one LL SW1200, and one each Atlas RSD4 and GP7).
I too am a DCC holdout (is this starting to sound like an AA meeting? ) I'm not going to get into DCC at this time due to the following: *I'm thinking this gives you a whole new set of "challenges" to think about, and my modelling has enough of them to deal with already. *We already run a show layout where we have meets between opposing trains on DC, and with a dispatcher routing power as well as switches the crew have no need to flip block switches. The most common issue we have with those meets is an operator occasionally running past the end of his block and shorting on the points at the far end of the siding, my guess is that DCC would not solve this problem (you would still short trying to run through a swich set against you) maybe we should introduce random drug tests instead? *I have a bunch of Athearn loco's which appear to be substantially less capable than plug & play. *We tend to run loco consists that reasonably match each other anyhow, so consisting is somewhat irrelevant. *It's not just me, my trains mainly run as part of a group and I have no home layout (yet!). *Given that we're doing OK without it, and it would give us even more work to do, the cost then puts the lid on it... On the other hand this may not always be the case. The biggest advantages I can see are: *Thanks to Atlas I now own some pre-chipped loco's. *I like the idea of controllable lighting, and even sound (we can however get/build pretty good lighting rigs for most loco setups to work from DC, just not controllably) *The existing layout is set up to take DCC by just plugging in a DCC output to one cab and routing all of the blocks to that cab, so we could convert easily if we did decide to go for it. For the moment though, the disadvantages, (cost, not "needing" it and potential complexity) outweigh the advantages for us. All the best.
The longer you wait the more costly it gets as you have more engines to add decoders to. That is the biggest issue for many. Also the younger you are - for many - the easier it is to jump into new waters - especially electronics. On the other hand, as you procrastinate, better entry level units are coming out, with far more options than before - the Zephyr from Digitrax comes to mind.
