Model Railway Forum

Viscount wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 9:43 am DCC would be too costly and difficult with the locos I've got. My interest is therefore to stick with DC but to consider if I can have independent control over just one or even a few locos. This would mean radio control and rechargeable batteries. Batteries could recharge off the same supply that gets fed to the track in theory. If I get anywhere, I will post on this forum to update.

Radio control IME will be even more difficult as the battery aside you need space for the equivalent of two dcc decoders, one being the rc receiver and the other a voltage booster so you can use a smaller battery than a 12v one. I have a radio controlled Heljan 26 chassis for track cleaning purposes through an inaccessible tunnel due to the access being to the rear of the layout and the layout is now hard up against a wall. A complete strip down of the chassis would be needed to fit the rc parts within the chassis so as its purely for layout maintenance they are simply stuck on top in a manner that clears the "loading gauge" through the tunnel. Its also not cheap, a suitable rc receiver alone costing around £30 while many dcc decoders cost far less. What locos do you have that are "too difficult" to DCC?

Many old Wrenn and Triang. Also, I have now (and for a long time) had the DC all wired up and working well having built PWM controllers to get better loco response. I accept entirely that radio will be more costly on a per loco basis than DCC but I'm only looking to do a couple.

Viscount wrote: ↑Mon Feb 11, 2019 10:19 pm Many old Wrenn and Triang. Also, I have now (and for a long time) had the DC all wired up and working well having built PWM controllers to get better loco response. I accept entirely that radio will be more costly on a per loco basis than DCC but I'm only looking to do a couple.

I'm in a similar position, too many locos to make it sensible and many of those too old for easy conversion to DCC anyway. I started in N 45 yrs ago so am stuck with DC, not that it's such a disadvantage.

Many old locos are quite easy to dcc - in the case of most Triang / Triang-Hornby models it is simply a case of isolating both brushes (one already is) with a piece of sleeving and hard wiring a decoder - the issue is that those motors draw a fair amount of current and have a high stall voltage so care is needed in selecting a decoder with appropriate rating and the same would apply for any radio control operation.

I think the benefit of radio over DCC in my case is that DC and Radio can co-exist more easily than DC and DCC with DCC tending to be more an "all or nothing" situation. I am planning to radio control a single loco at the moment so that it can drive into tunnels to try to rescue a stuck train or give a push to a struggling train trying to climb an incline. I do take the point however that the current draw and stall current issue with older locos impacts both radio and DCC in the same way.

Dont make your inclines so steep and clean your track often........ O,, and the pick ups.........

Glad to report that the project is a success. I now have a Hornby class 37 under radio control complete with working headlights and taillights. Still got digital outputs available so planning on building a sound unit. Was able to fit miniature socket and switch so battery can be charged in loco. Used Micron radio control parts; very pleased with quality and tech support.

Well done. Sorry that some kept pushing DCC. I like my DC layout and have no intention of changing even though many of my locos are DCC Ready. Enjoy your radio controlled loco and your DC layout.

Thanks. I'm going to tackle a yard shunter next and try to make the coupling radio controlled to allow flexibility when shunting!

Walkingthedog wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2019 7:52 pm Well done. Sorry that some kept pushing DCC. I like my DC layout and have no intention of changing even though many of my locos are DCC Ready. Enjoy your radio controlled loco and your DC layout.

Yes... its an irritating habit of many DCC modellers that its the solution to all problems, and thus try and push it on others.

What DCC can do is great, but it doesn't mean doing it in DC or anything else is impossible.