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Hi guys. I'm getting ready to buy some Ross switches as construction begins on the layout. I'm looking for some experiences on the DZ1000. I've never had nice swtiches like this with command control capabilities so I was hoping the OGR forum could tell me where this plan falls short. The speed of the throw and the clack isn't really of concern to me. The sound of the trains and the mills on the layout will probably drown that out.

My plan is to mount the machines under the table and connect them to some daisy chained MTH AIU's. Then I would like to use three tablets placed along the table (it's a long layout with a north, middle, and south yard) to control the switches with the DCS app. It seems too simple. Am I missing something for that part?

There are a lot of switches so I think toggles will end up crowding the layout. There are, however, two places that I would like to have the option to use a toggle switch mounted at the layout. Can I have my cake and eat it too? Can I use the AIU with the app on the tablet while also being wired to the toggle?

My other question is about the AIU. Do the accessory terminals work for switches too? The manual reads like that but I wanted to make sure.

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The DZ-1000 is a very reliable switch machine.  I'm using the DZ-2500's as they're TMCC compatible directly, but they're a lot more "finicky" than the DZ-1000.  You can indeed parallel controls to the switches and have a control right at the switch location and another on a panel, or connected to the MTH AIU if desired.

You can connect up to 10 switches to an AIU, the accessory terminals have different behavior and will not work well for switches.

Gotcha. It sounds like you have had better luck with the 2500s than the people I found through the search function. I found a couple newer replies saying the 2500s had come a long way and just required some patience to get working well. But that was it. They didn't have much detail.

Given the trackplan and my experience level, I'm going to start with the DZ1000.

I saw your reply about the Micromark machines. They were enticing because of their simplicity. I wasn't sure if they could be hooked up to an AIU or anything though.

The DZ-1000 are quite reliable, I think you'll have no problem with those.  The only objection I have is they're quite a bit larger than the DZ-2500, occasionally that's an issue.  However, the DZ-1000 has the little manual switch lever on top so you can change the switch position with no power on the switch machine, the DZ-2500 can only be switched under power.  Not a problem once I get the layout wired, but right now it's a bit of a PITA as I just want to roll something over the tracks as a test and I have to carry a transformer around to momentarily power the switch to change positions.

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