DYNAMIS

QUOTE For these reasons I'm sure the DCC project was conceived with a larger target audience in mind than just the UK.

Maybe the overall project long term might be but the initial efforts definitely aren't. The Hornby efforts would be fighting a loosing battle attempting to compete with the local budget DCC efforts in Germany (Trix/Maerklin, Roco, Lenz, Fleischmann). These companies have brand loyalty in Germany and are already well established in DCC. Hornby must already know this. They are relatively unknown in Europe and the US. Besides some of the German starter sets have the similar spec's to the Elite. Some have better.

I think they must intend to expand their DCC range substantially in the UK at some point as there info on the elite says it has a connection for computer control and occupancy detectors. Now the current Hornby offerings are miles off the point where occupancy detectors would be required and the info says that a software upgrade will be needed before this can happen so this tells me that there is more planned which has not been mentioned yet. I suspect they will announce new DCC expansion in the new year so lets wait and see what they offer.

QUOTE (Makemineadouble @ 5 Dec 2006, 19:29) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Then normally loco's get converted perhaps starting with 10 at a time and then 5 at a time. Very often some of the 100 loco's you mention so are old, junk and not suitable for conversion. (typically old tender drives and some open frame motors). So this expense to probably 50% of what was claimed at around £2000.00 spread over a longer period. I am assuming the decoder installation will be done by the owner. This argument is often brought up on Pat Hammond's Model Railway Express normally by some obscure expert.

MMad,

I think the item you are referrencing above was actually one by my father, Paul Plowman. He attempted to bring some reality to the argument of 'I've got hundreds of locos to chip, DCC is too expensive for me'.

The point he made (which I fully agree with) is that by the time you apply a few parameters to the locos you will actually run, you will quickly find that the numbers of locos which actually need fitting with decoders is actually quite small, even for those with 100's of locos.

The 'parameters' would be:

- What period of time am I running ? (A: BR 1960's) This rules out all my 1920's GWR and 1980's BR (I'm left with 1/3 of my locos).
- What region am I running (A: WR) This rules out a few SR and LMS locos
- Do the remaining locos I want to run run well and are they worth chipping ? (Discount a few more locos - old Mainline, Lima and Triang locos)
- Can all the locos I have left actually be chipped ? (Discount 1 or two more - motor open framers which can't be isolated)

At the end, you're only left with a couple of dozen locos. If you change one of the parameters because you want to run a different period, that will of course necessitate a few more locos being fitted - agree with you on starting with 10 and then doing batches of 5.

Graham Plowman

QUOTE I think the item you are referrencing above was actually one by my father, Paul Plowman. He attempted to bring some reality to the argument of 'I've got hundreds of locos to chip, DCC is too expensive for me'.

Actually I was not referring to your Esteemed father at all. Do you recall a letter in the Railway toddler a few months back from a Clive Heradus I think it was, this was followed up by a similar posting and objection based partly on cost Pat Hammond's site. I hope that clears that up.

Hi
I like others am trying to decide which system to get, and am prepared to go a little further than a basic outfit but not up to the levels of ZTC which at 500 plus seems a little ridiculus to me I can get a 32" digital tele for that.
In this discussion I picked up on the Ecos system and went to have a look at it on the web and down loaded the manual.

I have a few questions for the experts

It seems biased towards Marklin will it be ok here ?
I have got a bit lost with the s88 system in the manual is this a feedback bus?

I was quite impressed with the rest of it, how does it rate as a system?
There decoders (without sound) at £20 seem reasonable as they are also suitable for coreless motore whist ZTC want £27 for theirs?

Any thoughts appreciated gentlemen.
Robert

QUOTE I like others am trying to decide which system to get, and am prepared to go a little further than a basic outfit but not up to the levels of ZTC which at 500 plus seems a little ridiculus to me I can get a 32" digital tele for that.
In this discussion I picked up on the Ecos system and went to have a look at it on the web and down loaded the manual.

I strongly urge you to read all you can about DCC. Buy a book or two they will always come in useful and may help you to make up your mind. Better still find someone else that's already converted to DCC. I would suggest that ZTC is totally over priced and short on features. Forget about the niceties of the train driver control panel, fully featured handsets are what count, with ease of control not silly little consoles that remain in a fixed position. I would say for about £300 quid you can buy a top end system, which will be fully expandable. Do some research at shows, and keep reading.

QUOTE It seems biased towards Marklin will it be ok here ?
Yes, the reason for the Maerklin mentions in the manual is that they are by far the biggest manufacturer in Germany and they have to feature prominently if the Ecos is to sell. The Ecos can control DCC. Maerklin Motorola version 1 and 2, Selectrix and a few others. It can also power AC or DC digital, so theoretically you can power thre rail AC Maerklin and two rail DC DCC at the same time.

QUOTE I have got a bit lost with the s88 system in the manual is this a feedback bus?

Yes, these are occupancy detectors which you can use this to trigger points and to use the shuttle feature. They are made by Maerklin or Viessmann or LDT.

QUOTE I was quite impressed with the rest of it, how does it rate as a system?
I reckon it's the best value for money at the moment. Zimo are probably better but considerably more expensive. The Viessmann Commander is the closest competition but it will be more expensive when it is released.

QUOTE There decoders (without sound) at £20 seem reasonable as they are also suitable for coreless motore whist ZTC want £27 for theirs?

Their Lokpilot and Loksound decoders are great. The Lokpilot are on a par with Lenz Gold.

I think I've just repeated what David has said

There's been a bit of news lately.
The basic Dynamis system (non-Pro version) was demonstrated in pre-production form at the London Festival of RM at Alexandra Palace, a few weeks ago.
I think this was the same as demonstrated at Nuremburg (see Doug's report).

See also:
RM Web post on Dynamis at Ally Pally
Bachmann Dynamis web site

I hope that's useful?

>late spring/early summer release.
I guess that's a calendar date and not related the unseasonable early displays of hawthorn blossom all around us?

David