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Aegis21 posted:Hi All,
Just so I am understanding what was posted.
1) DCC is not compatible with either the Lionel systems or the MTH systems.
Correct, no how, no way. TMCC/Legacy and DCS can run on the same tracks at the same time, DCC is out of that picture.
2) I have heard/read that on MTH engines there is a switch to change from DCS to DCC, is that correct?
Yes and no. PS/3 boards have DCC capability. However, new Railking stuff does not come with the switch, but you can either open it and remove the DCS/DCC jumper or add a switch while you're in there if you want to be able to switch. Premier products still have the DCS/DCC switch.
I do like to tinker with electronics and have been intrigued with the open format of DCC. One because it is open source and has NMRA standards there is a lot of information on how it works. I have been playing around with a home made DCC++ system using an arduino and powering up a spare old universal motor from a lionel Berkshire 736 post war unit. It was made to run on AC, however universal motors can run on DC which is the output of a mobile DCC decoder. I have had really good success with this set up, which for me was very low cost to put together. Old power supply was used as well as an arduino that I had waiting for a good use to be found. Having said that, I cannot find much information on how the propriety systems work. Legacy and DCS
There's actually a lot of information on how both TMCC/Legacy and DCS work, much of it is posted here in the forum. Note that this is not a read a couple of paragraphs and understand all the in's and out's of each system, there's obviously a lot more than that to either system. Also, the TMCC/Legacy system is a published standard, so you can actually develop 3rd party products that interface to and augment the operations using that system. DCS is still proprietary, though several people have "peeled back the onion" to expose many of the operating details.
From everyone's reply they are definitely not compatible which is a huge shame. This sounds like the old VHS vs Beta video tape format wars from the 70's or was it 80's Anyrate they had their proprietary formats and each had their pluses and finally VHS won out. Only to be out done by DVD then Blue ray DVD now blockbuster is gone and it is all streaming and on demand. So is this what is happening to model railroading? Is MTH and Lionel at war with each other and DCC?
Let's just say that they decided to go their own way, the exact reasons are the source of endless discussions.
FWIW, this happened to model railroading around twenty years ago, Lionel developed TMCC in the mid 90's, and MTH released DCS in 2000.
Anyway this is what I face as someone re-entering the hobby. Even if I did not have old equipment to use, the question of which manufacturer I choose sounds like will be my beta or VHS quandary.
Yep, only in this case, both systems survived, so many of us simply run both, problem solved.
on another note I have not seen Trainman2's post just the part that gunrunnerJohn posted. Not sure why that is???
I suspect he deleted it.
