Just gathering equipment for a new Fn3 layout.  I have two Bachmann Spectrum Connies, a Spectrum 2 Truck Shay, a 1:20.3 BigH 2-6-0 Mogul, a Spectrum 0-4-0 Porter, and a 1:20.3 BigH Davenport Diesel and I am looking to equip them all with DCC, Sound, and Synced Pulsed Smoke units (diesel excluded).   Of course the old budget is a governing factor but I do want a quality system, and there's no sense paying twice to achieve this, so any suggestions would be appreciated.   Also, is anyone with the MRC, Prodigy Advanced DCC control system?

As far as I know, only Zimo offers a pulsed smoke system. Massoth might, I'm not sure, but I know Zimo does. ESU decoders have a function for turning a smoke generator on and off, but if there is to be a pulse it would have to be generated some other way than from the decoder, I think. The new QSI titan decoders--which have been promised for over a year and have yet to appear--are supposed to have some sort of capacity to drive a smoke generator, it's not clear what.

Massoth, as far as I know, were the ones who first created a pulsed smoke unit that integrates nicely with either their own decoders or any decoder with a susi interface. I would suggest you go to the Massoth website and read the online manual in the download centre so you get a feel for all the capability of the unit. As lownote says, Zimo also has decoders that are capable of driving generic smoke units and syncing the smoke with the sound.

Keith

I would look at Massoth, NCE, and Zimo for large scale dcc remote control. MRC IMO is better for smaller scales.
Alan

I would never consider MRC.

For lower end products you can compare LGB MTS, PIKO, NCE alhtought if you need 10A the price savings are not that dramatic. What is $400 for a one time investement if you end up with compromises?

Massoth is about 1985-1990 technology and is OK, but even if I would be partial to ZIMO the upcoming MX10 (April) and the MX32 knock even my socks off.

Jaug:

You should visit Massoth's website and find out for yourself what Massoth has to offer; you will not find any 1985-1990 technology; you will not find any gizmos, gadgets, or flavor-of-the-day items either; you will find pure, unadulterated, state-of-the-art DCC products.

You should also visit Zimo's website and find out what they have to offer.


Mohammed
http://www.allaboutlgb.com

Thank you all for the info, back to the net for more research.

I'm going to disagree on the MRC comment. The MRC wireless is a great solution for a garden railway, especially if you get a base unit and then place the wireless adapter in an optimal position for coverage. I run a Prodigy Advance with an 8 amp booster, and while I would agree that more voltage at the track may be nice with some of the high speed diesel consists, if you're running realistic narrow guage, 14 volts is actually fine. I have a down scaled Connie with a Loksound XL decoder and Aristo smoke generator and it runs great. MRC is just releasing (see my post in the DCC Forum) a 10 amp Prodigy Elite which I think will finally put to bed the idea that MRC is only good for smaller scales.

Incidentally, the MRC 1818 and MRC 1819 decoders are an amazing deal and let you add a 5 amp decoder with sound to any locomotive for about $70. You don't get a cam option and do need to find 4 ohm speakers, but they provide plenty of volume and a good range of chuff and whistle sounds. On the high end, you can't beat the Loksound XL if you are willing to invest the time learning how to tune it for you particular locomotive.

Welcome to LS/DCC and just jump in and get started. Any mistakes can be re-sold on eBay for a small loss, so don't over analyze, just do it.

Peter.

One other observation. You list some 2 axle locomotives in your rooster. My experience is that running them under DCC over switches can be a problem. The momentary interruption of the power feed tends to initiate the sound start up sequence. There are "stay alive" options that others will explain, but I made the decision to have a minimum of 4 axles with pickup. So I passed on the Davenport but do have an LGB Porter with a tender that is bashed from a Hartland mini gondola and has two ball bearing pickup wheels installed.

Well, other decoders will not restart on momentary interruptions, since they carry on board caps to avoid this. MRC stuff is ok, but not in the league of the others, it's cost effective but limited. The quality of construction is not at the same level either.

It can work well for some, and not for others. Do still, in these days, get what you pay for, mostly.

You just need to go over the features and pros and cons of each system.

I have not had good reliable experiences with MRC decoders in high current situations.

They have been making more capable decoders lately, but nothing near the sophistication of the Massoth, ESU, QSI, Zimo decoders.

I'm not aware of any MRC decoder than can directly drive the heating element and fan like the above can either.

Regards, Greg

Concerning 2 axle locos and DCC, I have had issues even with analog power and all my 2 axle engines have a wired tender with power pickups, or a trailing car with power pickups.

I do not like having an engine getting a power loss when pulling cars as it creates gear strain on analog layouts.

I agree with Greg, you get what you pay for however if you are planning on running them full time look at the higher end motor and sound decodes from Zimo or even the (promised for ever) QSI Titan (if you are willing to wait). Now the MRC (I believe it is the 1907 or 1908) seems to be very good for a basic, nice sound unit along with an NCE motor decoder and ou can have both for about $80 total. You need to watch the voltage setting if using the MRC so if you are concerned add one of their diode drop units for about $8. Now the only time this probably will not work is if you go to Greg's place and run stuff on his high voltage, high current system (designed to weld car parts back together - sorry Greg, I just could not resist this!). One thing about the Bachmann systems is that they do not require a ton of current to run them and the NCE D408 works very well. Now Phoenix has great sound and is very customizable but it too comes at a price. As far as the pulsed smoke I would have to defer to the other experts here. My last suggestion is to put the most $ in the engines you will want to run the most.

The newer Bachmann do need more current, esp. the Thomas, James and Percy.

First off, hello to all of you. I have been reading your posts and am amazed at how much knowledge there is here! I am a total newbie to LGB and although I've had toy trains all my life I've never been into G-scale until now. I am planning on building a garden layout around my back yard pond this year and one of the things I've been trying to figure out is how to add sound to my non-sound equipped LGB mogul. I am pretty handy with technical/mechanical stuff, but I don't have a clue where to begin with this. Where is a good place to start researching all of these sound options? Is this something I should just farm out to a local hobby shop or can a somewhat handy person like myself do it? Thanks for any suggestions / input, I appreciate any guidance!

Dan, figures that their thomas line would draw more current than their K27! Only Bachmann could do that! :-)

Conrail,
As far as doing it yourself, if you trace a circuit, cut and strip wires, solder them, follow basic directions and can physcially work with small items, then it should not be a problem for you. You will find plenty of help at these two sites:

Greg's page : http://www.elmassian.com/
George's page : http://www.girr.org/girr/index.html

Both are great resources in addition to the wonderful stuff you can find by searching the forums here.
Welcome aboard!

Conrail,
When I got into Garden Railroading I knew that we had to have 1) a garden, 2) a train, 3) some tracks and 4) something to power and run them. Beyond that, not very much! This forum and people like Greg and George have made life SO much easier (plus all of the others you see here on this forum). Basically this forum is the Google verison for trains except we ussually have a live translator and walking knowledge base on at all times (just check out the number of posts from Greg if you don't believe me! - we figure he has an Borg Train implant).

Bob,
Thanks for the kind words. We need to get together again.