Model Railroading > NCE Decoder

I was told by someone that went to the NMRA National that NCE has a new decoder.
This decoder was able to run (for a few inches)over a piece of tape covering the rails,
In other words,it had a an internal memory that allowed it to run over bad or dirty track.
IF this is true,can I get more information?


Uncle Joe-Seffner,fl.

Not aware of NCE doing this but TCS has released this product and it is getting rave reviews.

Bruce

http://www.tcsdcc.com/

TCS has it.

KG

TCS - Train Control Systems, its called 'keep alive".

I was told wrong.Nevertheless thanks to all.
Has anyone tried them?

UJ

Uncle-Joe NCE has announced a new decoder line which has a "Hold Over" circuit as part of the decoder. Part numbers have been provided to the dealers with the first ones due in the late fall 2012.

TCS has had theirs for awhile and they work well.

Tony R.

Lenz has had something similar for a couple years, under the marketing name "USP" - they basically use a large capacitor to hold enough charge to keep things moving along over dead spots in the track. I'm honestly surprised that the other decoder manufacturers haven't followed along sooner, unless they were waiting for a patent to expire or some such. Obviously an engine can't receive new throttle commands while it's in a dead spot, but at least it will keep moving and won't glitch when the decoder resets.

I am glad NCE is doing this, especially since I use the NCE system. I have found that just a momentary interup can cause the decoder to cough and misfire and even die for a minute. I find it mostly in a large switching yard where the point on a switch get a little dirty. A non sound decoder will keep trucking, but a sound decoder will gasp and wheeze and maybe come to a stop.

I am curious to hear from modelers who wear hearing aides like I do. I find the sound decoders a little bit irritating to my hearing aides, to the point that I often take them out during an op session which doesn't set well with the dispatcher.

Bob

Bob Miller
Kansas City, KS

NDHolmes:

Indeed the commands won't reach the decoder until the other manufacturers follow Ring Engineering's design and go from decoder code down the rail to "Radio" signals from handheld to control unit in the locomotive. (not a DCC Decoder).

No loss of power or command signal.

It's the next logical step in model train control and it will be interesting to see who jumps in next. (NCE, Digitrax)

Tony R.

atsfmodeler Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am glad NCE is doing this, especially since I
> use the NCE system. I have found that just a
> momentary interup can cause the decoder to cough
> and misfire and even die for a minute. I find it
> mostly in a large switching yard where the point
> on a switch get a little dirty. A non sound
> decoder will keep trucking, but a sound decoder
> will gasp and wheeze and maybe come to a stop.
>
> I am curious to hear from modelers who wear
> hearing aides like I do. I find the sound
> decoders a little bit irritating to my hearing
> aides, to the point that I often take them out
> during an op session which doesn't set well with
> the dispatcher.
>
> Bob

Hi Bob
I'm 21, and been wearing Hearing aids in both ears for most of my life. My input on sound decoders is that I love them BUT! the volume must be at a lower setting. I have a layout in a finish attic so louder sound tends to bounce around a lot. I tend to like the sound decoders at a lower volume, to me it sounds more real and clearer. With the sound lower I can hear the engine come and go, I seen people with the volume on high and it feels like the thing sitting right next to me when it really on the other side of the room. Med, volume seems to work really well when the layout is in a big room or in open spaces. Sometimes a friend brings his loco over to run and when he turns it on, the thing so loud I have to yell over it to turn the stupid thing down and usually the hearing aids are squealing at the same time. I love the sounds but sometimes it nice to turn the sound off and run stuff around.

Maybe the next session you could ask everybody to turn things down as a test to see if it better for you and if they like it better
Jim

I will give it a try at the next session. Thanks for the idea.

Bob

Bob Miller
Kansas City, KS