Large Scale Central

DCC address

Electronics DCC
#21

Most clubs use NCE or Digitrax, and often it was a Ford vs. Chevy argument.

They are really the logical choices for a large club, but I am recently surprised to learn of the long address limitation in Digitrax. I’m sure it was done to avoid confusion.

My advice is always go long addresses only, keeps confusion away, although you still have to “reserve” the addresses that consists use.

I prefer NCE over Digitrax, there is more information in the display, the NCE is bright sunlight readable, etc.

Greg

#22

Greg, yea I prefer to go with the long address. I use the dirt simple controller, because its cheap and so am I.

Oh, and its bright sunlight readable too.

But that is my confusion Greg. Most of the club members, in that club, prefer NCE. So I wonder why the club uses Digitrax. Unless its a case of the other clubs are using Dgitrax and they want to be able to set up with other clubs at events.

#23

Aren’t those displays LEDs? Even running really bright, cannot compare to a monochrome LCD.

That is not a wireless throttle, so why would it be in the sunlight? An outdoor HO layout.

Not trying to start an argument, but let’s keep to apples to apples here.

You can get cheap, dumb wired controllers from NCE too… (yuck in both cases).

Greg

#24

Nope, its numbers printed in white on black plastic. The only LED is the status LED that is off, green or red.

I know you are talking Large scale, and I am talking HO. So its not really apples to apples, but there have been set ups of HO outside, usually under one of then white fabric tents. And it can get bright under one of them on a severe clear day. No, not really direct sunlight, but bright enough to make the Digitrax controller with the LCD difficult to read.

As for yuck. That’s a personal opinion. I understand for a techie, a dirt simple controller is, well, too simple. But for me, its plenty to just run trains. That’s where I really don’t like Digitrax. The menus on the big controller don’t always make sense. When I am firing up the railroad at the beginning of the day. I select track power, and then press the plus sign and the track power should come on. But it never does on the first 2 or 3 tries. So I power off the Digitrax, power it back on and try again. Eventually the thing gets the point, and pressing the plus sign does power up the track.

#25

Now I see, twisty little knobs to set the address. Actually that’s not bad for people that want it simple and foolproof.

Greg