mf5117, thanks for the details.  I shall heed your warning.  I once took my spinning reel apart to repair it, but it never quite recovered from the operation.   

 When I installed my first DCC decoder, the difference between that & my Bachmann DCC onboard locos was obvious:  sudden starts, accelerations & stops with frequent uncouplings vs. gradual starts, smooth acceleration & gradual stops with few uncouplings. 

My locomotives with sound had it installed at the factory.  Intermountains' master volume can be changed manually with the included wand, but BLI locomotives must have volume adjusted by programming.  My Heavy Mikado's sound is so loud that it vibrates in the tender, despite my lining the inside of the tender with electrical tape.

Much more could be done with DCC.  I wonder what other features members would like.  DC had some interesting features that might be brought to DCC.  I think it was Lionel that had a way of requiring the steam locomotive to stop periodically for water.  A passenger train would stop briefly at a depot & then resume its trip.

mf5117, thanks for your contribution.  My widest curves are also 22", & I run my 4-8-4 on them.  How did you adust the drive wheels?

 In recording 3 episodes of Trains & Locomotives, I've noticed that RFDTV is remarkable in having only about 3-4 minutes of commercials during an hour.  The History Channels' Extreme Trains was more typical in having at least 12 minutes of commericals.

 Thanks, Rusty.  I followed advice by some on this forum to add weight to the leading trucks.

Thanks, Jim, for explaining the feasibility of a correlation between the activity of my 4-8-4 affecting my F7A.  Why the A unit is affected but seemingly not the B unit, both DCC with sound, is another piece of the puzzle.

Tim, thanks again for the link to Litchfield Station.  I just ordered a Digitrax Zephyr from them, because they have the lowest price.

 Recently, the F7A unit of my Intermountain F7A-B DCC with sound consist began losing electrical contact.  I cleaned the underside of lint & fuzz, but that didn't seem to help.

Meanwhile, last night, I tired of my Bachmann 4-8-4 continually derailing at the same turnout.  I'd twice added weight to the front truck.  Sometimes, it would run a dozen laps before derailing, but lately, it has derailed after 1 or 2.  So, I retired it to the train yard.

I had both trains on the same oval of track.  The F7A-B never derails on the turnout.  Without the 4-8-4, the F7A resumed normal running.  I tried it again tonight, & it ran fine.  With 5 amps of power, it can't be that I had too many trains running.  Is there a possible connection between the presence or absence of the 4-8-4 & the F7A's operation?

Rusty, I am going by what Jim Banner replied to me:
Re: Digitrax Zephyr, Decoder Pro, and sound decoders
« Reply #28 on: May 19, 2009, 11:08:33 AM »   
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Quote from: WGL on May 19, 2009, 01:30:06 AM
... if I wanted to use my Bachmann 5 amp booster with a Digitrax Zephyr, I'd have to create a second power district insulated from the first ...

That would be true only if you wanted to use the output of your booster and the output of the Zephyr at the same time.  Then you would have a total of 7.5 amps available to your layout, 5 amps in one power district and 2.5 amps in the other. **

But if you want to connect your booster and a Zephyr the same way as you do with the E-Z Command (output of the command station to the input of the booster, output of the booster to all the trackage) then you would have the same 5 amps available as you would with your E-Z Command setup.

** Note: For technical reasons, you may not be able to use both outputs at the same time, even if you set up two power districts.  Some boosters are designed in such a way that you cannot use more than one of them on a layout.  The MRC Power Station 8 is such a booster.  The jury is still out on the E-Z Command booster.

I researched Digitrax's website, & they discourage one from connecting a booster to the Zephyr, instead of using separate power districts to avoid a short stopping they entire layout.  I want to avoid separate power districts.

Thanks, Bob, for your evidence that the Zephyr's 2.5 amps can run 4 locos with sound.  My Intermountain F7A-B both have sound, because I could not get a powered B unit without sound.

 Yes, manufacturers keep finding more ways to make an expensive hobby even more costly.  Once we have invested a lot into the hobby, however, we need to find ways to keep up our interest.  Many hobbyists have lost interest & stored or sold their equipment.  My brother-in-law modelled a layout 20+ years ago, put it away when it was done, & went on to other hobbies.  A local MD started the hobby but is not currently active.

DCC programming has many possibilities that shouldn't cost much.  I would like DCC to let me record the HO miles each locomotive has traveled.  I'd like to be able to send a train on a trip of a specified distance in HO miles & have it either stop or signal that the trip was completed.

 As a boy, I had an electric baseball game.  Someone said baseball is a game of statistics.  I enjoyed meticulously compiling teams' & players' statistics.

 The history of the hobby contains many ingenious features & accessories, like a milk car with a man coming out of it carrying milk cans, a barrel loader, a crossing signal that rings a bell, or a mail car that snags a mail sack from a trackside pole.  They added details to model railroading.

Running Bear, how did you connect your Bachmann 5 amp booster to your Zephyr?  I have the Bachmann booster & may get the Zephyr, but I'm not sure that its 2.5 amps is enough for my layout.  The Bachmann booster connects from EZ Command's To Track output into its DCC input via a cord with the same size plugs on each end.

Bill

Tim, thanks for explaining how the command station works with multiple boosters, each having its own power district.

jward, thanks for telling why you like the Zephyr.  The ability to have 3 throttles to control 3 locomotives seems a good alternative to EZ Command's having a button for each loco.  I e-mailed NCE & just received this reply:

I currently have an EZ Command DCC system with a Bachmann 5 amp booster.  I am considering advancing to a system that would enable me to program my locomotives.  Could I connect my booster to an NCE PowerCab?

  William,

I'm sorry, but no. The Power Cab is a stand alone system and the upgrade path is for the Smart Booster.

Larry Larsen
NCE Customer Service

Since the booster must be connected to the command station, I doubt that I could use my Bachmann booster with any other brand.

  Thanks, Jim for your discussion of the Zephyr & boosters.  I suppose I could always sell by Bachmann booster to pay for a booster made for whatever system I might get. 

Thanks, Rusty.  Compatability over time is a good feature.  I used MS Bob for 14 years to catalog my movie collection & print it--until something went wrong a month or two ago.   

Thanks, jward, Tim & pdlethbridge!  I just looked through the manual for NCE PowerCab, & it looks interesting.  Decisions, decisions! 

I received The Dcc Guide: How to Select and Use Your Command Control System by Don Fiehmann, but much of it is over my head.  Also, questions that are important to me, he does not discuss. 

  If I wanted to use my Bachmann 5 amp booster with a Digitrax Zephyr or NCE PowerCab but had to connect them to sections insulated from each other, could the command station still communicate to the section controlled by the booster?

What I'd prefer is to connect the Bachmann booster to the command station.  NCE says, "NCE POWER PRO POWER BOOSTER 5 amp Booster

User-friendly set include everything to 5 amps of additional power.

This is a generic booster which works with most DCC systems to add 5 amps of power to your main system.
This unit can also be used to add 5 amps of power for a separate power district.

NOTE: Requires 15V, 5 Amp, AC power supply, (#524-215 sold separately)"

Thanks for the explanation, pdlethbridge!  There seems to be space for the engineer & fireman to set a table & chairs to eat their lunches. 

jward, have you programmed with your Zephyr?  I just lost another auction of a Zephyr, but I saved $155.   

 The front & back platforms on the SD40-2 are much bigger than on my SD45s.  Does anyone know why they were built with more space?