psipsy

I got a DCC controller and a couple decoders. I'm finding differences already. For example, DCC is actually an AC signal in the 5KHz to 10KHz range, so older DC locomotives don't natively work. I can get them to work by setting the controller to "0000", but then it just becomes a pulsating DC signal modulated by a frequency, which can be heard from the motor itself. On the flip side, I can use DCC-enabled engines on a strictly DC track. I just have to be careful to not put more than 16V on the rails otherwise I run the risk of damaging the decoders.

Some of the older engines can be made to be DCC compatible with slight modification and soldering in the appropriate wiring harness. This includes isolating the motor from the electrical pickup. In DCC, the decoder takes power from the rails and is told how much to give to the motor and in what direction. A few other engines will likely not get the DCC treatment, as the motor draws too much current. One of the oldest ones has a stall current of 2.5A, which is beyond what most decoders can handle. I'd have to put a whole new motor in that one.

As for actual performance, I'm seeing the decoder-equipped engines have much better slow speed performance and response. That helps a lot because it's not good for the engine to suddenly yank on the rest of the train while doing a burnout on the tracks.

Filed under "great minds think alike": I found videos online of people who used a similar Sony action camera on a custom-built or modified railroad car. One of them was recent, another was about several months before I made mine, and another was years ago. What makes some of the others all the more impressive is they made it for their N-scale layouts.

Anyway, here's mine.