DCC Impulses: More of the Basics Getting to know DCC! Reader Feedback
About our DCC columnist
(click here)
Here’s what you need to do to get going with DCC!
W
ell, here we are in the second month of this column. Glad to have you back!
Bruce Petrarca is a wellknown expert on all things DCC. Click here to learn more about Bruce.
You may have seen a sound-equipped loco like the gorgeous Blackstone HOn3 C-19 shown in Figure 1 at a store or on someone’s layout. You may have purchased one and brought it home and been disappointed in the operation or sound control with DC. So now, you are thinking of converting to DCC.
you what they have done in DCC (and which person actually did it). Yes, you can do this by phone and email for distant dealers!
Future columns will elaborate on some of them!
Choose a dealer Many folks start their DCC trek talking to lots of friends or posting questions on an Internet chat group. They ask about systems, locos, manufacturers, etc. While these are good questions, I suggest folks work from the opposite direction and find a dealer knowledgeable in DCC who is easy to communicate with. Yes, this may very well be a real search. Have them show
Why do this? Several reasons. Would you buy a new car based on the suggestion of a friend? How about a recommendation from someone you have never met but who told you about it over the Internet? Wouldn’t you want to test drive the car first? Well, DCC isn’t as large an investment, dollarwise, but you still want to be happy with its performance in your hand!
At this juncture it is easy to get overwhelmed by the choices out there. I came to DCC with little model railroading background, but lots of electronics and computer experience. That may have been an advantage. I wasn’t tied to the DC ideas like: track polarity dictates loco direction or the need for block switches, etc. In this column, I’m going to hit on a few of the points to get you started. Page 43 • Issue 11-11• Nov 2011
DCC Impulses column, page 1
Figure 1: Blackstone HOn3 C-19 is typical of current generation of sound-equipped locos designed to run on DC and DCC. Photo courtesy Blackstone.
Tell a friend ...
Contents
Index
◀ ▶