DCC for 3 rail observation

DCC is still the only open source system  available as far as I know.   All the others are proprietary it seems.   This means that DCC components from different mfg can work together - with some exceptions.

Also DCC decoders and systems have advanced a lot in 15 years.

So my advice is to research some of the systems. 

And probably it would be worth looking into the major 3 rail systems such as MTH DCS and the current Lionel system.     Note that you cannot get decoders for the MTH system without buying their locomotives as of the last information I have.     In other words the only way to use DCS is to buy locomotives and controllers only from MTH.    I don't know about Lionel but I think it is the same with theirs.

MTH sells ProtoSounds 3 upgrade kits for both Steam and Diesel locos.  3rd Rail sells the ERR line of Lionel TMCC upgrade kits. The MTH controllers can control Mike's DCS as well as TMCC.  There is also some level of compatibility with DCC but I am not familiar with how that works.   j

Considering I have and like the older stuff I am going to try dcc when I can start on my final layout. I may be able to borrow a digitrax system, buy a couple decoders and see how it works.

Guitarmike posted:

Considering I have and like the older stuff I am going to try dcc when I can start on my final layout. I may be able to borrow a digitrax system, buy a couple decoders and see how it works.

Be prepared to get hooked.

I'm still a couple of years away from moving and building a larger layout, and have spent the time constructing buildings and tuning up my tunnel, rock, and mountain creating skills.  But on father's day, Nassau ran their 20% discount sale , and I decided to wait no longer. I converted my existing 4 x 10 layout to 3 rail dcc, and purchased an MTH UP NW-2 switcher with PS3, which does dcc as well.   (It can run DCC, DCS, or conventional by just placing it on the track. )

I can easily swap my layout back into conventional mode, but have never done it.  I may be done with conventional.  

Now I'm constantly on the lookout  for any nice looking steam engines that I can convert to dcc. 

you can get a 4 amp digitrax 465 and sound bug. for around 90 dollars at the discount houses

Mjcat,

I was hooked in the 1990's when I put decoders in 20 o scale interurbans.

I won't be buying anything soon (famous last words, I know), we have not made the final decision on moving yet. If we stay I will be looking for something in spring.

My brother got into N gauge last year, and thus I got introduced to DCC and was really amazed at what they could do.  So I took the jump and put an ESU LokSound L in a Lionel 0-6-0 Dockside that was too small for any other upgrade (Even the LokSound L was too big and required some modding to make fit.  I've been told a LokSound V4.0 is enough to run that locomotive which would fit no problem.).  I mainly went with LokSound as they have so many sound files, which you can customize with your own sounds if wanted, and the L decoder handles 3 amps.  ESU even markets them as an O gauge decoder.  I like that they can run DCC, DC, and AC.  Anyway, once installed I love it.  So my layout will be switchable between DCC and TMCC/Legacy.  Any locomotive I buy without command will get a LokSound decoder in them for DCC.  I have at least 1/2 a dozen Protosound 1 locomotives just to start already.  And this will allow me to buy any new locomotive and be able to run it.  All Lionel in Legacy, and all MTH in DCC as PS-3 is DCC compatible.  And I run it all on 3 rail track.

I just started out with Airwire, which technically is made for G scale and battery power, but I got it to work off rectified 3 rail track power.

Airwire is a radio control system that allows you to use dcc using a handheld conroller and their own decoder, so you don't have to rewire your layout if you want to run dcc and keep your Legacy system intact. I can't say dcs will work on the same layout, as I don't have it.

Airwire will work with any manufacturers' dcc sound decoder, and I use tsunami 2. I like the results, but there are some things that need to be considered.

First, and most importantly, rectified and filtered DC can give you higher voltage than the a.c. you are rectifying. I set my track power to 15 vac, and the dc going to the decoder is about 18 vdc. Check the dc output with your meter before hooking it to your decoder, as 22 vdc is the absolute maximum the decoder will tolerate.

Second, the throttle on an Airwire controller is notched, ie 14, 24, or 128 fixed speed steps, rather than the smooth transition you get with Legacy. This is great for diesels, as real diesel throttles are also notched, but it makes it harder to prototypicaly start up a steam engine.

Finally, the sound quality is great with tsunami, but the right size and resolution of the speaker is critical for good volume.

Just got a second Airwire and Sondtraxx 2 for my birthday, and I put it in my Williams Camelback. It now has the proper single stage air pump, whistle, bell, and chuff.

It was difficult to cram all of the components into the small tender, and the speaker is smaller than I would like, but the sound is acceptable.

Unlike Lionel Legacy, even if only one loco is selected, the features program on all you other engines. I discovered this when my K4 made the wrong sounds. You can change the decoder frequency, but I haven't tried that yet.

DCC is great, but as I see it, if Legacy is like driving a car with automatic transmission, DCC is like driving a stick shift.

Trainman2 posted:

Unlike Lionel Legacy, even if only one loco is selected, the features program on all you other engines. I discovered this when my K4 made the wrong sounds. You can change the decoder frequency, but I haven't tried that yet.

Never heard about changing the frequency, that's not how DCC works.  As for programming more then one locomotive, that depends on how you do it.  If you are programming on the main and have more then locomotive with the same DCC ID, you could be programming more then one.  Also, some command systems program per the selected locomotive, or program all, depending on how you enter the program mode.  This is in case you have several locomotives you need to program the same way all at once.  If you use a programming track you won't have this issue.

sinclair posted:

Trainman2 posted:

Unlike Lionel Legacy, even if only one loco is selected, the features program on all you other engines. I discovered this when my K4 made the wrong sounds. You can change the decoder frequency, but I haven't tried that yet.

Never heard about changing the frequency, that's not how DCC works.  As for programming more then one locomotive, that depends on how you do it.  If you are programming on the main and have more then locomotive with the same DCC ID, you could be programming more then one.  Also, some command systems program per the selected locomotive, or program all, depending on how you enter the program mode.  This is in case you have several locomotives you need to program the same way all at once.  If you use a programming track you won't have this issue.

The frequency is for the Airwire decoder. See my above post about that. Airwire has a series of frequencies to select from. It even has a frequency to run Stanton's S cab. 

Airwire is used to allow battery operation with DCC, and operates via wireless remote, not through the rails as with conventional DCC.

Ah, I don't know of Airwire as I have zero interest in running my trains with batteries.  I had just guessed it was another brand of typical style decoders I hadn't come across yet.