hI
I have nearly completed layout board and soon ready to lay track? now
I have very little knowledge of electrcal circuits and after reading ,about the complications of isolating so many sections of a a DC  layout,i have been looking at DCC,(which Iwould prefer)to see what would be the level of electrical knowledge required in comparision to DC.Not an easy question to ask and certainly not an easy question to answer!
Ignore prices (sorry about that) would it be easier for the average? man to tackle DC or DCC with of
course suggested literature to read which I hope could be recomended by the NGF? 
I lay the  whole future of my great grand childrens model rail system at your feet ,not to mention my standing with them.
THANK YOU good night and god be with you!
Don
I

Hello Don,

This seems to be one of the best sites for many people on the forum - happy reading!!
http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/

I suppose it boils down to personal choice really.

I only started model railwaying in April last year and decided that DCC was the only way I wanted to go,the first thing I bought before any track was an NCE Powercab controller.

My electrickery knowledge is not up to much but to me DCC seems so easy to wire up,a red wire and a black wire running round under the board and a feed from them to the track rails above every so often,it's not complicated at all and if you're just starting you won't have a backlog of locos that need converting,which is what seems to put a lot of people off.

The thought of all the wiring involved for a DC layout helped my decision to go DCC.

No need to have isolating sections,the track is live all over all the time and locos are individually controlled.

Plenty of helpful people on this forum if you get stuck.

Allan

Thank you for reply Alan it seems that you were in the same
situation as I am in now, this has helped a lot .
Thanks again
Don

Peco in conjunction with Railway Modeller do some very useful booklets on wiring DC and an Introduction to DCC. You should be able to get them and more titles in the same range from your local model shop. They cost about a £1 or less each.

Brian Lambert is good, but for a novice (like me), I did find at first a bit confusing but the basics are there. You are likely to read all sorts about DCC that maybe a bit scary, such having to hack your points to "modify them for DCC use". No you don't as others on this forum will agree with. I run DCC and I've not modified any of my point work and all works fine. Good track laying and using the right type of points is all you need to worry about.

If you're building for the young ones I think I would lean towards DCC because you will be able to have several hand held controller which will enable each to drive their own loco. I dare say the DC boys will say they can do the same, I don't know. It is possible to have your locos running DCC while your points are DC.

Electrics, whether DC or DCC, are not dark arts and can mastered. Start small, build your confidence and you will surprise yourself.

And at the end of the day you always have if you get stuck.

Jack

Thank you Jack for your encouraging  letter,it is so helpful to have this type of reply when
some times you don't even have the knowledge to ask sensible questions'but as you say,
start small build carefuly
Good advice!
Thanks again
Don

For me really when i had to choose it was down to what i wanted from my layout. if you have loads of locos dcc can become expensive in terms of decoders and converting old stock. i chose DCC cus i want lights in the trains and coaches, the ability to cross multpul lines without the need for loads of track insulators etc.

It's recommended to run in new locos on DC first,to this end I bought the cheapest starter set I could,this gave me something to play with,but more importantly gave me a DC controller for running locos in.

Probably work out cheaper though if just a controller and transformer is purchased.

Allan

Many of the older N gauge locos need a bit of work to fit a decoder, which could be a problem for anyone without detailed electrical knowledge or skills in "train surgery".  This isn't a problem if you're happy to stick with locos that have the 6-pin socket (usually shown on manufacturers' websites).  Or there are several companies who will install decoders for you. 

It doesn't matter which system you choose there are still rules to follow when wiring up the layout and both need section brakes to prevent short circuits.

Whether to use DC or DCC is a personal choice depending on the complexity of you layout and how many trains you wish to run at any one time.

DC wiring is not difficult if you follow the simple rules and plan carefully. DCC is not as simple as it sometimes seems at first sight.  As others have said there is plenty of information aimed at beginners available for both systems and older locomotives are not easy to modify.

Points cause the most problems even with DCC and it is important to choose your track system carefully as some manufacturers track is simpler to wire up.

For me the is only one system to use and that is DC, but then I had several layouts before DCC was even thought of.

If you get the chance, go to a local exhibition (even a small one) and speak to the exhibitors, and look at the way they run their layouts. I am sure there will be some pro-DC and some pro-DCC, just as here, but seeing it in action may help you come to a decision for the type of layout you have in mind.

I use DC primarily for N Gauge and will continue to do so, but I've been using DCC in 00 and H0 for 6 years or so now. Both have their merits, and each is better suited to different uses. The only people that I agree with are the ones who will say "try them for yourself before settling one one or the other", those are the ones who aren't showing any bias towards one system or the other, and that is the best advice that can be offered when choosing between them. If you do go the DCC route however, I will say avoid buying a cheap trainset system and/or cheapy decoders. They become too limiting too fast and don't offer the full capabilities of what DCC has the potential to offer.

Simpler wiring for DCC is a complete misconception. Electrofrogs still need polarity switching and require isolating and slips still need changeover switches whether on DC or DCC control. Two circuits and a goods yard needs 2 or 3 track feeds in total for DC where DCC needs a feed to every siding as well as a couple on each circuit, so it can be argued that DCC in this instance is the harder to wire. Neither is harder to wire than the other, they just use slightly difference principles, and can both be made as simple or as complex as the user wishes.

Quote from: Zunnan on March 01, 2012, 12:00:39 PM
Simpler wiring for DCC is a complete misconception. Electrofrogs still need polarity switching and require isolating and slips still need changeover switches whether on DC or DCC control. Two circuits and a goods yard needs 2 or 3 track feeds in total for DC where DCC needs a feed to every siding as well as a couple on each circuit, so it can be argued that DCC in this instance is the harder to wire

Peco ones do, but you choose to use Peco track knowing that trade off. Kato and Fleischmann electrofrog just work without magic wiring. Kato #4 and Fleischmann can be set not to power route so just power all tracks. Similarly in Z scale it just works for this reason (although if you think N decoder fitting is fun.. oh boy...)

You dig the hole by choosing Peco pointwork. I still happen to like Peco pointwork but it's a trade-off and nothing to do with DC or DCC complexity. It's down to the old style design of their trackwork.