DCC Control

[Robin Orchard]

Does anyone know of a really simple guide to DCC that a 70+ year old technophobe would be able to get their head around? Rob Orchard

[MickT]

Does anyone know of a really simple guide to DCC that a 70+ year old technophobe would be able to get their head around? Rob Orchard

As a fellow 70+year old technophobe, my advice would be to remove one of the C's, connect a Gaugemaster Combi or similar to your track using two wires, one for each rail, sit back and enjoy yourself..................

Mick

[Tom Haythornthwaite]

As a 56 year old who largely understands DC wiring but prefers the simplicity of DCC wiring - and the ability to 'drive the train, not the track', I would recommend the DCC Wiki, especially its 'Getting Started' section.

https://dccwiki.com/

Of course I respect Mick's point of view!

[Graeme Dunbar]

What are you looking for in a guide? Or, what are you plans?

It is easy to get side-tracked into researching clever features that may never be used when what is wanted is a basic "starter set" with a well written instruction manual.

As a general introduction the little Peco guide is quite a good start. https://www.pecopublications.co.uk/SYH17.html

Even if the eventual plans are more ambitious it might be advisable to begin with a starter set and then sell it or the unwanted parts of it as you expand. If help is available then a good way is to gain experience with another modeller's equipment and then base your system on that - assuming the other modeller has similar needs and is not going to encourage to buy all sorts of stuff that you do not need.

Often, DCC is presented as a system for controlling absolutely everything on a layout, with many trains moving simultaneously with sound and computer control. Unfortunately a number of sources of information highlight these additional features for completeness, making it seem a lot more complicated than it can be. It is equally suitable for controlling just the locomotives on a layout, where  while there may be several locomotives present, only one is moving at a time. An example might be a loco yard or "steam gala" type affair, or alternatively one train running round and round while another is shunting in the sidings. Even the most basic of setups should be capable of that.

[Hobby]

the simplicity of DCC wiring

Please... DC wiring is not complicated... From what I've seen most DCC layouts have more wire and soldered joints than most DC layouts! With both you need to take things logically, but it is a myth, especially for simple narrow gauge layouts, that DC wiring is more complicated than DCC, different, yes, but not more complicated.

Whether you use DCC is a personal choice based on what you want from your layout, you are controlling the loco just as much with a DC controller as you are with a DCC controller.

Personally I'd rather spend my money on more locos than more chips, hence my choice.

(Prefer the W myself, Mick! ;) )

[andy1878]

To try to answer the OPs question.

Have a look at https://www.digitrains.co.uk/dcc-guide/wiringthelayout.aspx

Its entirely up to the owner now His or Her railway is powered.

I learnt many years ago the the more track feeds there are the less likely locos will stall. I have rule that every length of rail (no matter how short) gets a dropper to a feed wire DCC or DC and point frogs / blades are switched. (No frog juicers on DCC*)

Wiring a reasonably complex layout is likely to be easier in DCC but only because there are likely less sections, as they are not needed for Loco isolation. That is until you want to sectionalise track to facilitate Train on Track indication.

NB I chose the Digitrains guide because I thought it was the clearest of the first three results of a google search 'simple DCC guide' I have no connection with Digitrains other than as a satisfied customer.

HTH

Andrew

* I am of the school that disagrees with using a fault condition to rectify its self, so avoid doing so whenever possible.

[Graeme Dunbar]

Andrew's mention of "frog juicers" is an example of how some people can get carried away with gadgets and widgets that are rarely needed, where instead as he says, good design (applicable equally to DC) is what is really needed. It seems that for some, DCC rather than model railways becomes the hobby. Designing, or not designing the layout and operating it  such that shorts occur routinely, and relying on a technological fix is not the best way to go. Running through trailing points set the wrong way is a common error which can happen when it is not so much "drive the train, not the track" but "drive the train as if it were a car on the road".

Regarding "droppers" and "bus bars", again it is something that can be applied equally to DC as DCC. In both cases it is mainly for reliability of electrical connection. However in DC the traditional method is either to solder the rail joiners to the rails or solder short lengths of wire between adjoining rails. Using bus bars actually reduces the number of solder joints to each rail as there need only be one per rail length rather than at both ends. Consequently the soldered joint can be anywhere convenient along the rail length.

Of course many people do not solder and rely on the rail joiners and it works fine on both DC and DCC layouts. In a smallish home layout, in a room that is clean and relatively stable in temperature (i.e. not a loft or a shed) it can be satisfactory, but it is not an infrequent sight at exhibitions to see operators set up armed with a multimeter and a pair of pliers going round checking rail joints. It becomes another matter on large DCC layouts with the DCC supplying many locos simultaneously, with sound, lighting, controlling points and other accessories etc. and so a bus bar system to carry the extra current is highly desirable.

[MickT]

Posting deleted - danger of thread drift!

Mick

[Dave Cooper]

Hi Robin - let's start with the basics :

1. Do you want to be able to control more than one train at the same time ? I can't (it's a matter of concentration). The only way I may be able to do it is (a) if one of the them is running on a closed loop under fixed or, semi-automatic, power settings or, (b) a mate joins me for a combined running session.

2. Do you want train lights to remain "on" whilst at rest and switch ends when reversing ? (Do you even run trains in the dark ?).

DCC /Computer Control /Arduino etc will all help with this.....If you have a small layout with just one or two locos, you could experiment with DCC at fairly low cost. However, if you have a large existing collection, the 'business case' for changing from DC to DCC would need to be justified quite carefully (££££££s !!).

Warning : Model Railways can get very expensive ! (Look before you leap).

Merry Christmas,
Dave