.

[Jordan or Plymouth Mad]

.

 

[Neil]

Have you factored in import duty to your bargain comparison. I can't remember the exact details, and I think that a percentage of parcels may sneak under the radar, but I seem to remember that there's lots of nasty percentages and a PO collection fee that might bump the price up to a not so bargain level.

 

[Simon Dunkley]

Have you factored in import duty to your bargain comparison. I can't remember the exact details, and I think that a percentage of parcels may sneak under the radar, but I seem to remember that there's lots of nasty percentages and a PO collection fee that might bump the price up to a not so bargain level.

There is a handling fee, plus import duty, plus VAT on the lot of it. In theory, they don't usually bother with items under $200, as an act of international "understanding" (I think they understand that it costs more to collect than it is literally worth) but at the moment there is a quiet little trade war going on between the EU and the USA over steel subsidies.

Best thing to do is to ignore the dollar sign, and think of the amount asked as the amount you will eventually pay in pounds - it will probably end up as 95% of this, so this is a worst-case calculation.

I know all this from buying things from over there recently: I was somewhat shocked at the final price of the "bargain".

 

[Phill Dyson]

Hi Jordan  :wave:,

I was interested to see you are considering the Bachmann E-Z, I have thought about it too, I believe a 5amp booster/power supply is available for this one, which could make it a possibility for budget 0 gauge ?.............then again I could well be totally wrong  ...........If you do go down the DCC route I will be very interested in your take on this minefield  :scratch:  :-\

Phill 

 

[28ten]

Hi Jordan  :wave:,

I was interested to see you are considering the Bachmann E-Z, I have thought about it too, I believe a 5amp booster/power supply is available for this one, which could make it a possibility for budget 0 gauge ?.............then again I could well be totally wrong  ...........If you do go down the DCC route I will be very interested in your take on this minefield  :scratch:  :-\

Phill 

From what I have heard about Bachmann E-Z its best avoided
this thread might help http://www.westernthunder.co.uk/simpleforum/index.php/topic,407.0.html

 

[Phill Dyson]

Cheers Cynric & Jordan :wave:.........back to the drawing board for me  ;D, I Knew the Dynamis had issues but I didn't realise the E-Z  has too  :scratch:

Phill  :wave:

 

[Rob Pulham]

I have a Dynamis, that I use for my 4mm stuff and it will quite happily let you run three locos at a time (you do need more eyes than we are currently equiped with though ;D).

Perceived faults with it that I can highlight are:

It only does 2 digit addressing (I am sure it advertises 4 but I have never got it to accept more than two)

The base unit has a plug on the bottom with exposed pins and if you have the misfortune to sit it down on some etches as I did, you short the unit out :vista: :vista:. To be fair to Bachmann they replaced the unit for ?12, in fact I have used their spares dept a couple of times and find them very responsive and reasonably priced.

On the positive side the wireless unit is quite comfortable for using in your hand and because I have my layout (for this read 2 ovals of track not even pinned down) in a small is room I don't really have the issue of not being able to see the infra-red sensor. I have to confess when I first got it I spent ages trying to find a short when all the locos stopped when it was actually that I had the handset pointing away from the receiver :-[

 

[Simon Dunkley]

My question was more about it's compatibility. I take it that it should work with anything else NMRA-spec ? But what about the Amp rating? Is 1 Amp enough for all these functions plus an O scale motor or two??
The Soundtraxx/Tsunami website only lists 1 Amp and 0.75 Amp (presumably HO and N scale respectively?) and the page about Atlas O scale isn't very helpful at present:-
http://www.soundtraxx.com/choose/step3.php?t=o&s=Atlas

If you have the loco, and an ammeter, then you can wire up the meter in series to a piece of track, and test the loco's stall current.
So, one wire from the ammeter (or multimeter) is connected to a controller terminal, and the other to one rail. The other rail is connected directly to the controller.
Put loco on track and hold it there. Put 12V on, push the loco down until it stalls. The amps reading is the minimum your decoder should be rated at: you probably need one slightly higher than this.

You could use the module to power the sound only and not bother with the motor supply, using a higher rated basic module to control the loco, but that way you would lose the cost savings.

I strongly suspect that the decoder is not rated highly enough for your loco, but have you tried asking Atlas directly, or on some of the US forums, such as Big Blue (DCC forum)?

 

[Simon Dunkley]

To return to your original question:

Secondly, as yet I have no other DCC kit, and no idea of what to get  either. Can I buy this first and whatever I eventually get will be compatible (and I'm thinking better than Hornby Select or Bachmann EZDCC here!).

Yes, whatever you buy will be compatible with whichever DCC system you purchase - including Select and EZDCC, although as you say, best to go better than those as the Hornby is not fully compliant with the NMRA specs as far as I understand it, and the EZDCC is very basic - too basic, except for use with simple trainsets.

To re-iterate the discussion on the DCC thread, which Cynric has pointed us to, when you come to buy a DCC system you need to try them all if possible, and see how comfortable you feel with them. They all have slightly different philosophies when it comes to how they think users want to use them, and you need to choose the one that suits you: do not be put off by local dealers who only carry a limited range telling you the ones they don't sell aren't any good (as happened to a friend), because their choices will be coloured by their own preferences for the control systems - this applies to other users, too. You would be better off not buying based on price, but on how comfortable you feel with your chosen system. Believe me, I know - I bought one which was fine until I tried something different, and then I regretted it, sold the original (hardly used, but at a loss) and bought the one I should have bought to begin with.

Power wise, you will probably need a 5 amp system straight off, especially if you want to have locos standing in sidings with the sound ticking over and lights on. For a single loco powered up, then 3A or maybe even 2A might be possible, but the total cost of buying low power and then upgrading would be higher. When you look at the prices, remember to add on the cost of a 5A transformer.

I am afraid you will need to start saving up, though - it will probably cost you about ?400 for a decent system, plus the cost of the 0 gauge sound decoders. I think it is a good investment, and would rather have 6 locos with DCC sound than 12 locos without it, for example.

 

[28ten]

I am afraid you will need to start saving up, though - it will probably cost you about ?400 for a decent system, plus the cost of the 0 gauge sound decoders. I think it is a good investment, and would rather have 6 locos with DCC sound than 12 locos without it, for example.

Thats pretty much the sort of figure I came up with. I am always wary if cheap systems as it invariably ends up being a case of buying cheap and buying twice.

 

[Simon Dunkley]

One further question, Jordan.

I presume you have emailed Soundtraxx [email:2iprttre]support@soundtraxx.com[/email:2iprttre] to ask if this product is suitable for Atlas 0 scale?

My guess, to be frank, is that it won't be, but they would know if anyone would.

 

[28ten]

On the plus side, ?400 is still less than one JLTRT loco + motor etc .... :scratch: ;D

I think that if you intend to have a running layout, ?400 on a top quality, reliable and robust control system, is not too bad. I have been 'ebaying' old dvd's, cd's and tools to raise the funds and its surprising how much money you can make by having a clear out  8)

 

[Simon Dunkley]

Actually as their page for Atlas is still 'pending' I didn't, since first posting this in a burst of enthusiasm I've since done a bit more investigating; I should imagine the answer is "no" anyway, or else it would've said...

Not necessarily: there may not be one blanket solution - there frequently isn't - and they probably haven't finished everything yet.
A polite email should solicit a response.

 

[John D]

they don't usually bother with items under $200,

  Ah! if only this was so.....received  3  boxcars (HO) from the States last week .......total value $42 .....VAT ?4.69......Royal Mail  'handling fee'  ?8 .....'nice' to be a victim of a trade war 

 

[iploffy]

I dont know much about DCC but my thoughts are anything with a computer in it will go wrong at sometime in its life time and when it does its going to be expensive any one want a fried chip to go with there Fish.

Ian