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Newbie to Hobby asks – What is Tsunami DCC?
John is new to model railroading and would like some help from ‘those in the know’ and asks:
“I have been interested in a model train layout for some time. Being green on the subject, what is DCC & Tsunami DCC and how involved is it for a newbie interested in getting started with a HO layout?”
3 Responses to Newbie to Hobby asks – What is Tsunami DCC?
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John,
DCC is a digital way to control your trains ,switches,lighting and everything. The Tsunami DCC chip is the controller inside your engine that controls engine speed, affects, sound if you have that and several other things. Under Standard DC you just adjust the track voltage to move your train. Under the New (to some of you and not so new to others) DCC systems the power is sent constant to all your tracks. Your engine is now controlled at the computer chip through signals and then power is sent to the motor when the chip gets the signal from you and your throttle controller to move or stop. It now lets you run in different directions with multiple different engines. If you have a larger layout you can do multiple operations running on the same power system. You could be switching in one area and running your Superliner in another without affecting each other. You cannot do that with standard DC. Speed adjustments can be made to an engine chip on one engine to match speeds of another so they can be run together and evenly Whether you use Tsunami or other brands of Chips they all work about the same and on the same layout with the other brands. DCC also simplifies the wiring to the tracks by using Buss wires following under the tracks and attaching to the rails every so often to help eliminate lack of power around the layout. No more wires to each individual track area to control your trains.
It sounds intimidating to try DCC but actually you will enjoy your model railroading experience much more. Visit a club and lear what they are doing and hopefully they will let you operate with themso you will have some experience with DCC. Once you get going in DCC you will be glad you did. from Newman
John, DCC can be kind of intimidating at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll never want to go back to DC operating. There are numerous books and videos available from Kalmback Publications which fully explain what DCC is, how it works and how to set it up. The locomotives are a bit more expensive than DC locos, but they also do much more. For one thing with Soundtraxx Tsunami or Econami decoders, you get a large range of authentic locomotive sounds for both steam and diesel locos, you get more lighting options and you can operate more than one locomotive on the same track. DCC opens a whole new world of realism no mater what size your layout is.
I have a 4 x 5 HO layout that I want to light up using LEDs. I have no experience using them for layouts. Do the bulbs come individually or can I buy a string of them and cut the wire to put the bulbs where I want them? I also read somewhere that if individual you have to attach a resistor. Many thanks for your help.