I've had this announcement sent to me from Bachmann...


"Next18 Press release, 20/1/16:

The recently unveiled engineering prototypes for the forthcoming Graham Farish N Scale Castle Class 4-6-0 locomotives included the news that these new models will be fitted with Next18 DCC Decoder sockets. This is a new development in the British outline N scale ready to run market.

Next18 DCC decoders and sockets benefit from a compact, user friendly interface. They have improved functionality, enabling the easier use of additional lighting and sound features compared to 6 pin decoders traditionally found in N scale models. When using 6 pin decoders auxiliary outputs such as loudspeakers etc. have to be soldered  to the decoder via wire leads , however with Next18 such outputs are connected to the main locomotive PCB so there is no risk of damage to the decoder when adding such features to your model. The decoder is mounted above the circuit board in a similar manner to a 21 pin interface, which reduces the overall length required for DCC fitment. The size advantages of this interface enables locomotives to be equipped with DCC that would have previously been impossible

This connector is already a popular choice in Europe and is available from the major decoder manufacturers."

I assume these decoder sockets can still be fitted with a blanking plug to run on DC - Please tell me this is true!!

I think there already a thread on this called 'New DCC Standard" or similar.

Regards,

John P

Correct there is a discussion about this and other new standards, you can find it HERE.


Paul