Post by retiredalex on Feb 15, 2017 11:05:41 GMT -5
I bought a DCC system several years ago and equipped and bought locos with decoders. I only have one engine with sound. Everything works to my satisfaction and I had an enjoyable time at it for a couple of years. Then decoders began getting more and more sophisticated and more expensive. They began doing a lot of things I wasn't interested in. I then discovered that I was more interested in bringing older locomotives back to working order and for the most part the older locos draw too much current for a decoder to handle without letting the magic smoke escape, not to mention they were not made with enough room to install a decoder without quite a bit of machining work which I am not equipped to do.
So everything sits on the shelf. About once every two months I'll set it up and run my locos around the track to keep them loosened up and then stow it all away again. I read on several forums the questions that people ask and I have no idea what they are talking about. If you want an engine that performs exactly like the real one - go out and buy a real one. To me DCC, in it's basic form, is fun but when you have to have an electronics engineering degree to make all the bells and whistles work, it is no longer fun.
Now don't get me wrong. I am not putting down DCC, I am saying it is just not the be all and end all for me.
I have a community college certificate in Electronics Operation Technology that I got back in the 1970s, but as it was just a hobby at the time so I didn't keep up with advancements in the field, moved on to a new hobby, I became a Professional Wrestler for 6 years with my brother-in-law.
I am now just coming up for 70 years old, the eye sight is going, my fingers don't work like they used to and some days I can't remember what I did five minutes ago. Too old to learn new tricks.
Just my thoughts.
So everything sits on the shelf. About once every two months I'll set it up and run my locos around the track to keep them loosened up and then stow it all away again. I read on several forums the questions that people ask and I have no idea what they are talking about. If you want an engine that performs exactly like the real one - go out and buy a real one. To me DCC, in it's basic form, is fun but when you have to have an electronics engineering degree to make all the bells and whistles work, it is no longer fun.
Now don't get me wrong. I am not putting down DCC, I am saying it is just not the be all and end all for me.
I have a community college certificate in Electronics Operation Technology that I got back in the 1970s, but as it was just a hobby at the time so I didn't keep up with advancements in the field, moved on to a new hobby, I became a Professional Wrestler for 6 years with my brother-in-law.
I am now just coming up for 70 years old, the eye sight is going, my fingers don't work like they used to and some days I can't remember what I did five minutes ago. Too old to learn new tricks.
Just my thoughts.
