DCC decoders: what should I use?


Smudge617 said:
Yeah, Christmas train running round the tree is a must.
Isn't their a LHS near you ?
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Only one that actually does sell anything hobby wise. I was actually going to think about asking any of their staff for their input for DCC decoders, but since I’m still yet to learn how to drive a car, let alone own one, (not to mention the lack of bus stops in my area which is actually desert.) transport is limited for me. Henceforth why I looked up online for a form out of curiosity, seeing if I could get any input and advice from people like you. (Though I will say one thing, I might look at that store to see if there is any model snow from woodland scenics.)
 
Tankengine389 said:
Only one that actually does sell anything hobby wise. I was actually going to think about asking any of their staff for their input for DCC decoders, but since I’m still yet to learn how to drive a car, let alone own one, (not to mention the lack of bus stops in my area which is actually desert.) transport is limited for me. Henceforth why I looked up online for a form out of curiosity, seeing if I could get any input and advice from people like you. (Though I will say one thing, I might look at that store to see if there is any model snow from woodland scenics.)
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I think the US favours Alibaba and Amazon for online shopping as KB said, but not being able to get around by bus or car is a real pain.

But you can still run Thomas on DC. for the time being, I'm assuming it still has the blanking plate fitted and you have a DC controller?
 
Smudge617 said:
I think the US favours Alibaba and Amazon for online shopping as KB said, but not being able to get around by bus or car is a real pain.

But you can still run Thomas on DC. for the time being, I'm assuming it still has the blanking plate fitted and you have a DC controller?
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Well as a matter of fact, I planned on ordering the decoder from Amazon so it could arrive on time. Just need to know which one would be the best one to choose for the task of having smoke and lights.
 
Tankengine389 said:
Well as a matter of fact, I planned on ordering the decoder from Amazon so it could arrive on time. Just need to know which one would be the best one to choose for the task of having smoke and lights.
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I'm assuming you have a 8 pin socket so a 4 function decoder would be sufficient to run lights and a smoke generator,

As your new to DCC I would suggest you read the link below, (page 3 section 70 and 75) which gives the overall NMRA standard DCC wiring for DCC decoders and what they do.
 
Smudge617 said:
I'm assuming you have a 8 pin socket so a 4 function decoder would be sufficient to run lights and a smoke generator,

As your new to DCC I would suggest you read the link below, (page 3 section 70 and 75) which gives the overall NMRA standard DCC wiring for DCC decoders and what they do.
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With what you said, I guess the SDH166D from Digitrax, or another by them might do the job.
 
Tankengine389 said:
With what you said, I guess the SDH166D from Digitrax, or another by them might do the job.
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Yes, that would work nicely, but that's a sound decoder, you said you weren't interested in sound, you could also look at the Digitrax DN136D
(3 function) or the Lenz 10231-02 decoder (4 function).

But please do a stall test, you can easily burn out a decoder if the amps are higher than the rating on the decoder.
if you don't know how, this vid explains how and why.
 
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It is a shame that you are having trouble getting the MX600R. These are exceptionally good value for money even now they are 25% dearer here in the UK. Might be worth trying to find an Austrian or German supplier (they are made in Austria). They are so popular that they are often out of stock.
 
Smudge617 said:
I always do a stall test first, and then measure how much space there is for a decoder, then look around for a decoder to fit those spec's, I have Digitrax, Zimo, Gaugemaster and Lokpilot, but mostly Laisdcc, which is one of the cheapest, but runs my lights and smoke generator on my OO scale with no problem,
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Are you saying you do not use the Laisdcc to run your motor?
 
beiland said:
Are you saying you do not use the Laisdcc to run your motor?
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No it runs the motor too, as well as the lights and smoke generator, I meant the Laisdcc decoders as a cheap alternative and not generally well thought of, but they still manage to do the job of more well known decoders. I'll be honest I don't fiddle too much with CV's, (that is a learning curve I'm still on) initially I'll only change CV's, to enable 2 or 4 digit addressing.

I'm no expert, and I'm sure some will disagree for various reasons, but straight out the box, I can find little difference between the major brands and the cheaper LaisDCC, even crawl speeds were just as good.
 
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