Why are DCC systems so crappy?

[DKS]

...over-exaggeration...

Is there under-exaggeration?

Irregardless...

[PAL_Houston]

A-10's aren't the best looking aircraft around either, but if I were Air Force, I'd be honored to fly the Warthog.

Digitrax....the Warthog of the DCC world!

...and if you are a grunt facing enemy armor, the A-10 was probably the prettiest site you'd ever hope to see (with the exception of your Mom and your girlfriend.)

--- I agree with Peteski and many others that Digitrax manuals are the worst written POS technical documents I've ever had the experience to read.  However,

...that just means that you've lead a charmed existence dealing with first-rate documentation.  There are far worse tech manuals, even for basic consumer items that everyone buys.  Have you ever tried to make sense of the technical manual for your phone, or the computer on your car?

[Philip H]

...that just means that you've lead a charmed existence dealing with first-rate documentation.  There are far worse tech manuals, even for basic consumer items that everyone buys.  Have you ever tried to make sense of the technical manual for your phone, or the computer on your car?

That's so true.

[peteski]

Is there under-exaggeration?

Irregardless...

Irregardless, I was being facetious David - maybe I should have used a smiley to reinforce the fact that I was trying to be funny. 

[peteski]

...and if you are a grunt facing enemy armor, the A-10 was probably the prettiest site you'd ever hope to see (with the exception of your Mom and your girlfriend.)

Yeah, but we aren't fighting a war here. Or are we?!   

[robert3985]

...that just means that you've lead a charmed existence dealing with first-rate documentation.  There are far worse tech manuals, even for basic consumer items that everyone buys.  Have you ever tried to make sense of the technical manual for your phone, or the computer on your car?

(1) I don't have a smart phone and I have yet to read the manual for my dumb phone.  (2) Both my vehicles are 1994 models which I bought new (1994 Chevy 3/4 ton 4wd Suburban & 1994 Honda Accord EX) and don't have computers in their dashes.  I spend my money on camera equipment, mountain bikes, firearms, model railroading, and my grandkids.  It's amazing what you can buy if your cars have been paid for for 17 years. 

...we aren't fighting a war here. Or are we?!

Nah...the war's over.  Digitrax won.   

[Mike C]

(1) I don't have a smart phone and I have yet to read the manual for my dumb phone.  (2) Both my vehicles are 1994 models which I bought new (1994 Chevy 3/4 ton 4wd Suburban & 1994 Honda Accord EX) and don't have computers in their dashes.  I spend my money on camera equipment, mountain bikes, firearms, model railroading, and my grandkids.  It's amazing what you can buy if your cars have been paid for for 17 years. 

Ain't that the truth ! My car is 20 and looks and runs like new. I have an OLD LG cell it only makes and recieves calls , no need for that other stuff ! 

[Ike the BN Freak]

Yeah, but we aren't fighting a war here. Or are we?!   

Even if we were, rumors I see are that the A-10 is going to last one more year, talk of killing it off after the FY15 budget.

[John]

Even if we were, rumors I see are that the A-10 is going to last one more year, talk of killing it off after the FY15 budget.

I just cant see doing tank busting with an F35 .. but I think you will see drones take over a lot of those missions ..

[C855B]

Suddenly swerving back to topic... LOOK OUT! ... ...

From my recent life as a systems integrator, I prefer the Digitrax. Yes, the UI sucks a big one. But when you get down to the "black box" level, there are more bits that work well at the integration level, including 3rd-party support (Tam Valley, for instance) for the LocoNet protocol that takes the command load for points motors, etc., off of the main bus. Yes, I have my own quibbles with some aspects including limitations imposed by 20-year-old microcontroller designs, but it's a solid system once you get past the lousy throttles.

So I'm firmly in the Digitrax + JMRI camp. Treat the Digitrax stuff as black boxes handling the low-level dirtywork of converting digital control to MRR operation, and let JMRI + smartphone of your choice to handle the supervisory logic and give you better options for UI.

To that end, I have been collecting "discarded" iPhones to use with WiThrottle. The Apple loons upgrade pretty blindly, and older iPhones (3's and some 4's) are worth very little. iPhone 3's are near-throwaways now ($20-30 on eBay) since they're network-specific and not worth jailbreaking. Also, similarly, if you know somebody who has a Sprint iPhone4, well, they can't be converted to any other network, so if they jump ship they get to buy a new phone. You don't need a cell account to use an old iPhone with WiThrottle, or, frankly, most any other app not associated with telephony. The phone basically becomes an iPod Touch, and retains all its WiFi functionality.

[davefoxx]

To that end, I have been collecting "discarded" iPhones to use with WiThrottle. The Apple loons upgrade pretty blindly, and older iPhones (3's and some 4's) are worth very little. iPhone 3's are near-throwaways now ($20-30 on eBay) since they're network-specific and not worth jailbreaking. Also, similarly, if you know somebody who has a Sprint iPhone4, well, they can't be converted to any other network, so if they jump ship they get to buy a new phone. You don't need a cell account to use an old iPhone with WiThrottle, or, frankly, most any other app not associated with telephony. The phone basically becomes an iPod Touch, and retains all its WiFi functionality.

Great information, Mike!  Good to know.

DFF

[John]

So I'm firmly in the Digitrax + JMRI camp. Treat the Digitrax stuff as black boxes handling the low-level dirtywork of converting digital control to MRR operation, and let JMRI + smartphone of your choice to handle the supervisory logic and give you better options for UI.

Me too .. none of the other systems are as integrated ans Digitrax ..

[railnerd]

I'm fairly in the "whatever DCC system you like is what you like"— life is to short to argue.  I'm an NCE guy myself, but also play with C/MRI and Loconet for detection and signaling.

All that said there is a crazy new guy building embedded Linux-based WiFi equipped sound decoders— they won't fit in N Scale, but looks like they might work for HO.

http://www.layout-ioe.com

Here is a PCB image of his smaller Loco-Node decoder:



Oh yeah, he has "dead-rail" versions as well which can charge from the track, but will otherwise run off a Lithium Polymer battery.

The guts look to be based on the ARM9, which was very popular in "less smart" phones a few years ago.

-Dave

P.S.: He's using MESH networking and also plans on using proximity to drive signals.

[TiVoPrince]

Every
DCC system ever sold would not total one days iPhone production.  MicroSD cards outnumber decoders on a thousands to one scale. Industry standards and user acceptance by voting with dollars means so very much. Scale (volume) is important and model trains are so far from the bright source of electronic development that it may take a million or more years for light to actually arrive.

We have been blessed with passionate developers who have blazed trails for us to follow, or not. It remains our choice. Choices are good. DCC is a commitment that should be thouroughly researched and made to suit your own taste in a fractured/fragmented market with a wide variety of features and benefits.

I made choices to suit myself. What works for me may not work for you. I will celebrate whatever choice you make. If you want the systems to develop and advance, bring more users, that is what will expand the market. Whining and crying about the percieved 'faults' of systems keeps users from commiting and the maket remains small with little advancement...

[eric220]

Another thought to consider is what other operators are using. In my Gandy Dancing group, everyone who runs DCC uses Digitrax. Everyone is used to the Digitrax way of doing things, and we can share throttles. It wouldn't make any sense for anyone in the group to go with something else.