# Experience invited: Pros and Cons of DCC



## Chops (Dec 6, 2018)

I am on the fence about doing one of my layouts in DCC. I've read through many of the posts in this forum, but remain undecided. Please jot down you thoughts regarding the pros and cons of DCC. Thanks. :dunno:


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## gregc (Apr 25, 2015)

what are the issues that make you undecided?


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

The only thing negative about DCC that I have ever seen is the initial start-up cost, and if you are familiar with building circuits around Arduinos then you can eliminate a big part of that. Basically if you have any sort of layout where more than one train might run on the same track then DCC will be of benefit. If you have single trains running on individual loops of track then it may not be worth the effort.


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## Chops (Dec 6, 2018)

gregc said:


> what are the issues that make you undecided?


Failure rates, mostly. I have heard both "my stuff has been running fine for the last ten years" to "there are numerous complaints about reliability."


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## gregc (Apr 25, 2015)

Chops said:


> Failure rates, mostly.


i haven't heard or read that DCC systems are prone to failure. The electronics has built in over-current protection that make it more reliable despite abuse.

they certainly have more features which can be confusing for some, resulting in unexpected behaviors when attempting to change. But factory resets typically restore sanity.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

There is no downside to DCC. Yes, you can buy
very expensive DCC controllers but there are also
less costly units on the market.

I have been running my HO DCC layout for several
years now and the only 'failure' of any part of it
was an old Mantua loco that I was converting. The
old motor drew too much current and burned up
It's decoder. It was replaced on warranty, however,
by Digitrax. I replaced the motor also. I suspect
that most of the 'reliability' complaints have been
caused by poor track and loco maintenance. Both
must be kept clean for proper electrical continuity.
But you must do the same for DC.

DCC is easy to wire. You have one 2 wire bus to which
track drops are attached every 6 feet or so. You
can run 2, 3 or more trains on that track each
individually controlled. You need only one controller
whereas with DC you need a power pack for EACH
train on your tracks. Plus you would need a panel
of switches to control the isolated blocks. All that
means a rats nest of wiring. Yes, and these DC parts
also cost a lot of $. 

DCC is easy to use. If you can operate a TV remote
you can operate a large layout with 3, 4 or more
trains just by pushing buttons and turning the speed
control.

The way it works: 
Each loco has an address, a 2 or 4
digit number. Most use the road number
on the loco. You select the loco you want by
the address and push a button. Set it's speed
then, as it runs, you can 'call up' the next loco and
get it going. Then you can start a switcher and have
it moving cars about under your control. 

Another fascinating DCC feature. You can have a single
track main with passing sidings. Train A is going
clockwise while train B is running counter clockwise
on the same track. You cannot do that with DC.

Further, you can add a wired or wireless remote
DCC controller that
you use close to where you are switching, or just
sit back with it in your hand and watch the trains
go by.

You may have read about the need to adjust CVs
to accomplish this or that. Some do enjoy fine
turning their locos but, in most cases, your
locos will run fine right out of the box. 

Don


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

gregc said:


> i haven't heard or read that DCC systems are prone to failure. The electronics has built in over-current protection that make it more reliable despite abuse.
> 
> they certainly have more features which can be confusing for some, resulting in unexpected behaviors when attempting to change. But factory resets typically restore sanity.


I agree. I don't know of any significant reliability problems with the systems themselves, nor have I heard or read about any. Sure, you get a bad decoder once in a while, but that's not a significant issue. Certainly not enough to recommend against maki g the move.

There are some minor quibbles with track cleanliness, but again nothing big. 

And, as others have said, the initial buy in cost can be mitigated, even without building your own. Buy an expandable starter set and gradually add to it.

For my money, you can't beat DCC, especially if you want to operate multiple locomotives simultaneously.


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

DCC is a robust, enduring, and well-established operating system across manufacturers. I have read of the odd problem with a throttle, but it's not like suddenly six guys pipe up and report a dead knob or a burned out display on their X-Throttles. People drop stuff, a storm makes a surge and they burn something inside that is left powered and plugged in, or encoder knobs simply wear out. Some find, only after complaining that they have a dead throttle, that there's an internal battery that needs changing every few years...or months. Just like cameras. Tethers break at the jack from being yanked. That sort of thing. I have heard of almost no system failures from the command units.


Also, service is really very good in the industry, and repairs or upgrades (yes, they do offer them, including in firmware) are done inside of a few weeks at most. I have two throttles so that I can always run a train.


I would urge you to purchase a system that meets your current and reasonably foreseeable needs (newbies tend to want more locomotives, or to begin to consist them, and that means more power, as an example of how things grow). Look for a good price, and then read the manual thoroughly. Look for online videos as you are waiting for deliver. Follow the instructions on connecting the system to your layout and powering up, and then learn how to programme decoders so that they make their host locomotives behave just as you'd like them to.


I have been using DCC since 2005. My Digitrax Super Empire Builder hasn't met a decoder yet that it can't spank out on the main.


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## Chops (Dec 6, 2018)

Useful information, helps to clarify. My DCC ambitions are fairly modest, a used Bachmann Command Control to run three, possibly four trains on an overlapping double oval on a 4x8.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Chops

My 10 DCC HO locos run on that same Bachmann
EZ controller as you have for several years. I'm not
one to fiddle around with fine tuning my decoders
so I'm a happy traveler with Bachmann EZ DCC.

It's easy to wire, and easy to operate. And it's
less costly.

Don


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

Which EZ controller? If it's the $85 EZ-Command introduced about 15 years ago, it will run two or even three modern DCC locomotives, but it can't programme decoders fully. That's a huge miss in my experience and in my preferences.

I think the Dynamis, or whatever the newest and most powerful item Bachmann sells, is the more capable system, but I have never researched it. 

You would/should look for at least two full amps in your system's delivery capability....seriously....and you must ensure it will programme all CV's in all decoders. This is important because you are likely to want to set the CV's 2, 3, and 4 for initial start voltage, inertia, and momentum respectively. Locos that jerk into motion and stop on a dime are decidedly toylike, and once you appreciate all the detailing, sounds, and capabilities of the decoder, you are going to want to enhance your operating experience having the loco accelerate more naturally, and to glide to a stop...not stop on a dime.


My layout, and I know I'm fortunate, is around the wall in a 9' X 18' space. It comprises a folded loop with 5" elevation change by the time of the overpass, which is a truss bridge. I run 10' or longer coal drags behind a Y6b or a Pennsy J1. Coal drags aren't lifted easily. They're lifted noisily with thousands of tons of trailing tonnage resisting the locomotive's acceleration. This takes time, and it's what I like to see. So, my CV3 setting is almost mid-range for the decoders and my trains will take about a full minute to accelerate fully. That's much to fast for realism, but it's a damned sight better, in my opinion, that accelerating to 40 mph inside of 300 scale feet.


I know I'm getting into personal preferences here, and everybody must find and establish protocols for their own enjoyment. It's a wide hobby. My real object is to ensure you understand that decoders are capable of providing a lot of variance in locomotive enjoyment, but you have to learn what that means, and you must have available the capacity to effect those changes...to alter the CV's necessary to maximize your enjoyment. 

Don't cheap out on your train control. It's as bad as having iffy tracks that derail every five minutes, or that are dirty and make your trains stall and start incessantly.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Actually, as a former owner of a Dynamis system, I can honestly say that it is one I cannot recommend. I bought one for my son, thinking he would enjoy the graphic user interface better than a digital readout.

Nope. The thing was a nightmare to operate, requiring several button presses to accomplish things other controllers do with a single keystroke. It's IR, not RF, so there are blind spots if you follow your train with a controller. Programming a CV is also much harder than it has to be. My big gripe is that it's not expandable. The basic set comes with a single handset. If you want to add more, or power boosters, or any other accessory, you require a $400 upgrade to handle them... and that's before you buy the additional throttles, receivers, etc.

We sold it and bought an MRC Prodigy Express2 instead.


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## Againtrains (Mar 6, 2016)

*Back in the 70's*

Ok, back in the 70's I bought a controller for my HO layout. Spent over $45.00 for it and all it had was some brake functions, and slow down functions. So at cost wise today DCC units are not that bad price wise. Yes when I first got back into Model Trains I was just using DC... But it is more fun with the DCC, sound or no sound. I use MRC prodigy and it works good. Down sides to using DCC, Locomotives cost more.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Againtrains said:


> Ok, back in the 70's I bought a controller for my HO layout. Spent over $45.00 for it and all it had was some brake functions, and slow down functions. So at cost wise today DCC units are not that bad price wise. Yes when I first got back into Model Trains I was just using DC... But it is more fun with the DCC, sound or no sound. I use MRC prodigy and it works good. Down sides to using DCC, Locomotives cost more.


If you buy "DCC ready" and install your own decoder, the price difference is about $15 for a basic decoder.


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## Againtrains (Mar 6, 2016)

CTValleyRR said:


> If you buy "DCC ready" and install your own decoder, the price difference is about $15 for a basic decoder.



The problem is for me, my left hand shakes a touch at times and doing the decoder install in N scale is a not for me thing. I will pay to have it done the right way.:laugh:


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## MatroxD (Jan 19, 2018)

Hmmmnnn.. I'm trying to think for me, the main plus of DCC, as the are so many positives as I think back to DC. One of the main things, that i didn't realize when i switched over, was how it actually made things that seemed more complex, actually simpler for me. 

One great and basic example is that I have one plug, for everything, because one controller is used for everything. Not that you have to go that route, but for me, it's less complex. There are decoders built into, as I found out, almost everything(if you want to search it out), so it's just a giving a number and remembering it, and then adjusting it. 

A con, is yes, it's more expensive to buy an intro DCC system than, even a couple transformers, but you really can't compare the two, as the feature set is like night and day. On one, you have control yes, but not fine control. On the other, it still amazes me how you can get these things to run not only smooth, but how much variation in how they run, if you wish. And that's just locomotives. 

I would say, as I advised someone a couple days ago: iit depends on how much you like to tinker, have control over, are willing to fix(I'm talking about more advanced) , if need be, think your going to be in the hobby for a while, DCC for sure. 

I kind of didn't go into detail, as there is so much difference between the two honestly.

Sent from my Note 8


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