[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE my point is if i had started with problems with dcc i would have gone back to dc, most people are not technical they just want to plug the system in and run it with out any technical problems . This is exactly the issue that was raised previously in regards to Hornbys select. If people have a bad experience of DCC then they will be put off. This is why it is best to go with a tried and tested system.

Hornbys system has the attraction of being a very cheap introduction to DCC but there is still a lot of debate about how functional (or not) it actually is. No other system seems to have had as many issues as the Hornby one. By comparison I can only remember hearing about one problem with the Bachmann system.

You might want to have a read through the previous DCC threads as regards forum members thoughts on Dynamis and select.

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE IMHO, if Hornby do not provide the required support & then stop producing DCC, the sooner they stop the better, before untold damage is done to the reputation of DCC. Tough on the purchasers of Hornby DCC unfortunatly, but at least the Select is not too much money. Absolutely

QUOTE Clearly there is some level of failure of decoders, especially during programing - but we know that happens to all brands , and it's difficult to assess how Hornby's failure rate compares with others, and how far the users are contributing. I have never had any problems with any ESU decoder or Lenz gold.

QUOTE If you deviate too far from the standards, then you become a bit like Maerklin, where you have to buy everything from Maerklin to be sure it will work with the Motorola protocol used by Maerklin. This was a concern as Hornby are the UK's equivelant in terms of market share. They may be using the same tactic to lock customers in.

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE Quite a few of the German and Austrian suppliers of DCC equipment also support the Maerklin protocols

I would change "quite a few" with EVERY! They have to to survive. Maerklin is so dominant in the German market.

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE Those Model Rail Forum members from outside the UK really had no appreciation how DCC backward the UK really is. Maybe now they do! That is fair comment. I had realised that it was a bit of a niche but there does seem to be a huge gulf between train set world and DCC as I know it. Hornbys attempt to bridge that seems to be even too much for the train set crew. This surprised me as I thought they had dumbed it down enough that anyone could understand. Someone said something about little Johnnys mum not knowing anything and that says it all. That is the level to which a lot of these train sets have been sold. Maybe DCC is better off as a niche for enthusiasts?

Can it be taken to a level which is simple enough for kids with little or no support?

 

[neil_s_wood]

This is the above mentioned symbol.