Barry's DCS O Gauge Companion Vol 2

Yes it is good

Dave,

 

Thanks for the unsolicited kind words - I couldn't have said it better myself!!  

 

For those interested, the book is available from MTH at the following link:

 

http://www.mthtrains.com/content/60-1279

Barry has a wealth of information both at his figure tips and in his book. It is a shame that MTH does not provide a royality to him and have it included with the sale of each of their DCS hardware. He also provides a lot of time on the forum helping folks to the extent that I normally do not comment on this forum except when he goes on vacation in January.

i don't know barry but i do know publishing and i know there ain't any money in it.  the mth royalty should be something pretty hefty:  the DCS revolution would not be happening without that book, and without his presence here on OGR.   just read the back threads on this forum:  there would be more confused and disillusioned mth customers out there (myself included) than mth could deal with.  instead we're happy and enjoying our mth dcs stuff .    what's that worth?

 

-dave

I,too, have and enjoy Barry's books! My question: are they compatible with the iPad? rrfan

are they compatible with the iPad?

Either edition of the eBook will work fine on the iPad with any app that can open a password-protected PDF, such as GoodReader or Files Pro.

Barry is there any other place to get the book besides the mth site

amazon.com has it

http://www.amazon.com/DCS-Gaug...330042365&sr=8-1

Is the book an upgrade from the original, or separate purchase, either way- gotta have it!

Is the book an upgrade from the original, or separate purchase, either way

The 2nd edition includes everything in the 1st edition, plus 47 more pages and 15 or so more illustrations.

gotta have it!

I agree completely!

 

 

 

Thank you Barry!

 

I've some reading to do this weekend as I go along with this new book.

Because it's just not that complicated and seems to be very stable

Coal,

My question to Barry is why NOT expand your insight beyond MTH and market yourself into a Lionel book for TMCC and Legacy owners? 

I've been asked  this many times. While I mostly agree with Chris's statement above...

Because it's just not that complicated

...I still believe that Legacy deserves a much better treatment it than it currently enjoys. While Chris may not consider Legacy to be "complicated", from his perspective, I'm certain  that many who lack Chris' level of Legacy expertise might disagree. However, I'm not the person who can, by myself, give it such a treatment.

 

While I know something about Legacy and have participated as a Legacy beta tester (by invitation), I haven't got what I believe is the necessary depth of knowledge that's required to write a Legacy book that's at least as effective in its treatment of the subject  as is The DCS O Gauge Companion's treatment of DCS.

 

I've casually asked one or two friends whom I consider to be Legacy experts if they'd be interested in a collaborative effort on a Legacy book, however, so far there have been no takers.

Barry,

   I like Coals name for your Book the DCS Bible, great name and deserving of the title.

I will refer to it in that manner from now on while I participate on the OGR forum.

I am another person who believes you should write a TMCC/Legacy book, might even invest in the Lionel engines if you brought out a TMCC/Legacy book.  Of course I would want to control the Lionel engines with my DCS, and with your talent for directional wording, I would probably add some new Lionel engines to my layout. 

PCRR/Dave

Barry,

How about a Kindle edition - would that be difficult to do?

Thx!

 

Alex

Alex,

How about a Kindle edition - would that be difficult to do?

Yes, it would be quite difficult to do properly.

 

Actually, I've down some experimenting and I have converted the book to a Kindle edition. Doing so was easy. Unfortunately, the resulting document was a mess.

 

There's a problem translating the book's table-driven content into to Kindle format, since Kindle format pretty much means no format at all except for paragraph breaks. All of the tables get awfully messed up during the conversion.

 

What would have to be done is either reformat the tables to some other content delivery method or convert each table to a jpeg "picture", since jpegs translate fine into Kindle format. Either way, it's a much bigger job than I am inclined to do at the present time. While I could pay Amazon to do it, the cost involved would have to be offset by future sales of a Kindle edition.

 

When I write a 3rd edition (contingent upon new hardware and a new DCS release), the current material will be greatly revised and I'll take into account the requirements for a future Kindle edition.

Alex,

   Now sir that is a great idea, a builder could keep his kindle right with him as he builts his layout and reference it without worring about messing up the pages of his paper book.  Alex I like the way you think man.  The RR Tracks engineering plans could be referenced on the kindle at the same time, Oh ya serious engineering tools, great idea.

This will keep Barry busy reformating his 3rd addition!

Would have to steal my wifes Kindle or break down and purchase one of my own, for the 3rd addition. 

PCRR/Dave

Alex,

 

You can sort of do that right now using an iPad, or smart phone, app. I keep a copy of the 2nd edition on my iPhone using two different apps.

 

Both the Files Pro and Goodreader apps can open password protected pdf files. Each app costs only a few dollars. Files Pro has a free version, Files, that has some limitations that Files Pro does not, however, it also works.

(Thanks, Dave!)

 

 

Barry, I understand - maybe in the futrue...

 

Actually, I do have my laptop close by with "The DCS Bible" on it; it's just that the Kindle is handier. I don't have any other devices, and the Kindle Fire itself was a retirement present. (Much better than a watch!)

 

Alex

Alex,

 

Is the Kindle able to read pdfs? If so, and it can handle passwords, you should be able to load a copy of the book not it.

The Kindle DX does permit the display of PDFs.  I have my approach charts on that device as a backup to my iPad so I do not have any charts in the cockpit. I think the index and how to go to a location would be the issue  for Barry's book.

I have the DCS book on my Nook and Nook Color and it works really well...  The nooks can read PDF files...  I just store it in the Document folder on the microSD card...  something to consider...

 

Barry: Your book is an excellent tool, the information is AWESOME, thank you for this priceless book.