DCC locos

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burnie
GNSR D40 4-4-0
Posts: 227
Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2017 11:47 pm

DCC locos

Post by burnie »

I am new back to the model scene and am I tad confused , simple question, I am not digital I have a gaugemaster model D control unit, can I use a loco with DCC fitted, or will it not work on what I guess is just an analogue power supply?
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Atlantic 3279
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
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Re: DCC locos

Post by Atlantic 3279 »

I think the answer is that a lot of DCC fitted locos will run on proper electricity, but you may have to turn up the juice to an annoying level to wake up the little digital nuisance inside the loco. Some may only run in one direction on a normal power supply. The good news is that even if a blanking plug for the DCC socket in the loco is not available, two pieces of bent wire in the correct 4 holes will bridge the contacts and allow the loco to run normally with the chip removed. You may have a more awkward situation if the chip has been DIY fitted, hard wired in, to a "not DCC friendly" loco.
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Nova
GER D14 4-4-0 'Claud Hamilton'
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Re: DCC locos

Post by Nova »

burnie wrote: Sun May 07, 2017 3:25 pm I am new back to the model scene and am I tad confused , simple question, I am not digital I have a gaugemaster model D control unit, can I use a loco with DCC fitted, or will it not work on what I guess is just an analogue power supply?

To my understanding, as someone intending to make the step towards DCC whilst I still have a small number of locos. yes they will run on DCC, in fact the NMRA (an american set of standards which have been adopted over here for DCC) states that they must to be compliant. however as atlantic has stated there are sometimes issues with the loco only going one direction or the wrong direction(however I've never had this issue using mine or other members DCC fitted stock at the local club) but this is often down to something in the CVs (settings for the decoder) dictating whether or not the modeler wants it to work on DC.

if you're curious about any specifics on DCC I'd recommend you start here
http://www.dccwiki.com/Introduction_to_DCC

an exerpt from that article even states the following:
Can I use a DCC Decoder Equipped Locomotive on an Analog layout
Yes, with one provision: Analog mode must be enabled in the decoder.

Most modellers will configure the decoder to ‘’’NMRA Digital Only’’’ for a very good reason: If the track signals get distorted, the decoder may think it is on analog power, and switch over to analog mode. Since DCC puts full voltage on the track at all times, the locomotive immediately accelerates to full speed, becoming a runaway. To avoid that, analog mode must be disabled.
Atlantic 3279 wrote: Sun May 07, 2017 5:11 pm I think the answer is that a lot of DCC fitted locos will run on proper electricity, but you may have to turn up the juice to an annoying level to wake up the little digital nuisance inside the loco.
in my experience that only happens with DCC sound fitted locos, having used locos fitted with non-sound chips on DC power the amount of additional voltage required to get the loco going is next to none.
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burnie
GNSR D40 4-4-0
Posts: 227
Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2017 11:47 pm

Re: DCC locos

Post by burnie »

Thanks for the replies, didn't want to purchase something then find I can't use it.
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