Model Railroading > who runs without dcc?

i'm curious, how many others out there model railroad without dcc? i have a pretty large n-scale layout that is NOT dcc. it was easy to wire as it is all one block.

although i can only run 1 train at a time, the layout has never been boring........

66

I do -- I belong to the K.I.S.S.school of thought! HO about 12 ft x 25 ft around the walls with a peninsula. Some blocks can be isolated.

Bruce

I hate saying it, but if you do KISS method, in this day and age...that means you’re running DCC, because it’s simpler and easier than DC for almost everything. What makes it harder is the learning curve of the system you choose. I prefer NCE, I think most people who have trouble with DCC are Digitrax users.
Cheers,
Nick

Posted from iPhone

No DCC here. Too many older locomotives and I really don't want to be programming trains. The electrical end of model railroading is my least favorite part (and skill).

TJY

icancmp193 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No DCC here. Too many older locomotives and I
> really don't want to be programming trains. The
> electrical end of model railroading is my least
> favorite part (and skill).
>
> TJY

same thing with me. i have been collecting n-scale locomotives since the late 80's. there is NO way i want to install new electrical components into all of my locomotives. the k.i.s.s. method has worked great for me.....

66

Same thing with me. Too old now to teach a dog new tricks ! DC works just fine for me.

I have been DC up to now, just moved. My previous layout was L shaped 47x23 single track continuous run with several passing sidings and couple of branch lines. The wiring for me is fun and easy. But since moving I am still in design and engineering phase of the new layout and one of my considerations is the switch to DCC control. Still don't care for sound too much but the stay alive options and signaling options are enticing. I am a long way off from running anything though.

RE: K.I.S.S.

IF I were starting in model railroading today, I might consider DCC. BUT, I started in the early 1950s with a Lionel 027 set (that I still have) and switched to HO in the mid-60s. Electronics are not my thing! i understand DC and two wires. I do not have to worry about CVs, programming tracks, NCE vs. Digitrax, etc. That works for me. I understand that many folks today enjoy all the bells and whistles (pun fully intended!) that DCC allows/provides and more power to them! To each his own!

Bruce



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/18 12:31 by BCutter.

AC is even easier. Don't have to worry about which wire goes where.

I am also an OLD dog. But I did learn a few new tricks with DCC 20 years ago at about age 60. DCC can be a LOT easier to wire a layout, especially a relatively small home layout. However, my most recent DCC escapade was to help rebuild a very big club layout with Digitrax DCC. It has about 3000 feet of main line track and another 3000 feet of yard track. It requires a command station and 8 boosters. See www.bmrr.org Needless to say, it was not simple. But it does add a lot of realism and forces the MR engineer to watch signals or suffer the consequences. More realism, of course. Even with this system, however, I still keep it simple. I use the throttle, whistle, headlight and bell in a prototypical way, which can be done on the simplest of controllers (including your smart phone). I don't need a couple hundred functions that are standard fare on most new locomotives these days. A lot of the problem of learning how to use DCC (especially Digitrax) is the not-so-user-friendly handbooks and instructions. I have heard that NCE is a far more user-friendly system. In my younger days, I even managed to convert 3 brass steam engines (1965 vintage) to can motors and DCC. It took me about 4 years to get up the guts to try it, but it wasn't as difficult as I had imagined. One thing I have learned is that unless you try, you don't learn a damned thing. :-)

I stated with this system. After beating my head agenst it for about a year,
I took to a vendor. He said it was bad from the MFG. I keep it as a BAD
example.
My new system worked from the get go...........Swede........Albany,Or.......

Another non-DCC user here as well. Obviously don't need it on my 4x8 pike...

^Proud member of the K.I.S.S Club.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/18 14:16 by bodkin6071.

DC since 1965. The learning curve for DC is not complicated.

I run DCC and have run on both NCE and Digitrax, and I really don't think there is that many more problems with Digitrax. Its the old Ford, Chevy or Dodge. I still have a lot of DC locomotives not sure I will ever get them converted or they can just be display items. It isn't that tough to learn DCC just matters what you want out of the hobby or operating. Just have an enjoyable time that is why its a hobby.

About 50 engines that would have to be converted. so I am still running DC. Plus, all of my units are diesel and I am just not impressed with the quality of sound in diesels. it just does not sound like the real thing. If I had all steam, I would be more inclined to go DCC + sound.

Both. DCC for my own layout, to the extent that it exists, and DC for public facing projects that run for a month at a time.

bodkin6071 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Another non-DCC user here as well. Obviously don't
> need it on my 4x8 pike...
>

I am in this boat, too... 4x10 table layouts like mine do not need DCC or sound...

Posted from Android

DCC for better low speed control and multi engine moves,

Ed Stewart
Jacksonville, FL

This old dog builds small layouts and only needs to run one loco at a time - no need for the added expense and complication of DCC.

I also run DC on my layout. Would love to go to DCC but the cost to modify all my engines would be to much money. I have bought some DCC equipped engines but still have to many to modify (over 100). In my late 70s and I am somewhat buffaloed by DCC. So like many others I guess I'll keep moving trains along one at a time.