Posted By lownote on 01/03/2009 5:14 AM
DCC is very confusing. It's clear enough how it works in principle, but every manufacturer seems to give its products different fancy names, and the HO stuff isn't appropriate for large scale, and it's hard to know which is which. .
I'm currently using track power with remote control. I have some locos running Aristo's 75 mhz. train engineer, and some running QSI/airwire. I can see the advantages/appeal of DCC with what the QSI airwire system can do, and I've been thinking about going to full-on DCC.
So first, can I convert to DCC and continue to use the Airwire throttle? It wasn't cheap. Airwire makes, it seems, all the components needed for DCC. If I want to keep the Airwire throttle do I have to use airwire's command station/boosters etc.? Are they any good?
Second, the real advantage of converting to full DCC, for me, would be the ability to easily do reversing loops and switches. I've been thinking about making a wye or a loop for a while now, but want it to be automatic and to be honest I don't really entirely understand how to wire/control a reversing loop for automatic operation. We invite a lot of neighbor kids to ruin on our layout and I'd want something that was basically invisible. Controlling switches with a wireless throttle would be cool too.
Third, we have a lot of buildings and cars lit with leds via track power. Would going to DCC interfere with that? I don't think so but I want to make sure.
Thanks!
With any control system there are two parts, the signal and the power.
Airwire and Gwire sends the DCC signal over the air GWire can take the power from either the track or internal batteries while Airwire perfers batters. Track powered DCC sends the signal and power over the rails. There are also hybrid approaches that combine parts of each.
The AirWire throttle is actually a command station for sending the signal over the air. You can have it converted to work with several common track powered DCC systems. This conversion is a software replacement.
The reverse loop modules are easy to install, you isolate the loop at each end and connect the two track wires to one end of the reverse loop module and the other end of the module connects to the track.
Lights for buildings and cars may be a problem depending on your circuit but it is easily fixed. If your lights have a circuit to limit the voltage or current then you do nothing. If you are using raw track power then it may be that the lights work best at the common lower voltage used. DCC uses full track voltage all the time. If the lights are too bright simply place a diode on one lead and the voltage to the lights will be reduced by 1/2.
In selecting a DCC system select the one thaqt is the easiest for you to use.
Hope that helps
Stan Ames
http://www.tttrains.com/largescale/
DCC is very confusing. It's clear enough how it works in principle, but every manufacturer seems to give its products different fancy names, and the HO stuff isn't appropriate for large scale, and it's hard to know which is which. .
I'm currently using track power with remote control. I have some locos running Aristo's 75 mhz. train engineer, and some running QSI/airwire. I can see the advantages/appeal of DCC with what the QSI airwire system can do, and I've been thinking about going to full-on DCC.
So first, can I convert to DCC and continue to use the Airwire throttle? It wasn't cheap. Airwire makes, it seems, all the components needed for DCC. If I want to keep the Airwire throttle do I have to use airwire's command station/boosters etc.? Are they any good?
Second, the real advantage of converting to full DCC, for me, would be the ability to easily do reversing loops and switches. I've been thinking about making a wye or a loop for a while now, but want it to be automatic and to be honest I don't really entirely understand how to wire/control a reversing loop for automatic operation. We invite a lot of neighbor kids to ruin on our layout and I'd want something that was basically invisible. Controlling switches with a wireless throttle would be cool too.
Third, we have a lot of buildings and cars lit with leds via track power. Would going to DCC interfere with that? I don't think so but I want to make sure.
Thanks!
With any control system there are two parts, the signal and the power.
Airwire and Gwire sends the DCC signal over the air GWire can take the power from either the track or internal batteries while Airwire perfers batters. Track powered DCC sends the signal and power over the rails. There are also hybrid approaches that combine parts of each.
The AirWire throttle is actually a command station for sending the signal over the air. You can have it converted to work with several common track powered DCC systems. This conversion is a software replacement.
The reverse loop modules are easy to install, you isolate the loop at each end and connect the two track wires to one end of the reverse loop module and the other end of the module connects to the track.
Lights for buildings and cars may be a problem depending on your circuit but it is easily fixed. If your lights have a circuit to limit the voltage or current then you do nothing. If you are using raw track power then it may be that the lights work best at the common lower voltage used. DCC uses full track voltage all the time. If the lights are too bright simply place a diode on one lead and the voltage to the lights will be reduced by 1/2.
In selecting a DCC system select the one thaqt is the easiest for you to use.
Hope that helps
Stan Ames
http://www.tttrains.com/largescale/