[Gary]

Of the 34000 who buy Model Rail this month how many of those actually use DCC right now?

Less than 1000?

I suspect that this is a generous figure!

Bachmann E-Z Command users probably outnumber any other DCC operator and they more than likely are not the typical Model Rail reader.

For the remaining 33000 who have never used DCC then the 32 page supplement is a good showcase.

It has not been designed with the experienced DCC user in mind and we should remember this. An experienced DCC user is not going to be in the market for Hornby Digital. Lets be honest about this.

If jargon has been muddled so what? It seems fairly clear to me what is required and I did not even realise that jargon had been muddled.

From the perspective of the 33000 it is interesting.

As for adding anything new do Hornby need to?

It will be the first time that most of the readers will have even looked at the Hornby system!

This basically is where the masses are coming from in the UK. A position of absolute DCC ignorance!

There are massive potential sales for Hornby and Bachmann and now that Digitrax can see that the big 2 are suddenly taking the UK DCC market seriously they are coming in for their piece of the action. Its all getting very interesting.

When the 33000 start searching for more information this is where Model Rail Forum comes in!

Happy modelling
Gary

 

[dwb]

>If jargon has been muddled so what?
It is a very serious matter. In a subject that has the potential to be so complex, it is vital that the terms are used in a consistent manner. There is nothing that will drive a neophyte away faster than hearing a word means one thing from one manufacturer and something quite different from another.

David

*neophyte = a person who is new to a subject or skill.
It has the advantage over "newbie" in that it _is_ in the online Oxford dictionary.
The same applies to Chambers online as well, which I think means that neophyte will work in Scrabble but newbie won't?

 

[mthornton]

QUOTE (Gary @ 18 Sep 2006, 20:30) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>An experienced DCC user is not going to be in the market for Hornby Digital. Lets be honest about this.
Not necessarily. I think a few experienced DCC users have bought Bachmann's EZ command for use on small layouts (planks). Others might consider Hornby's offerings if their children were also likely to be operating a layout --- some of the advanced offerings don't appear very friendly for younger children.

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE (Mark Thornton @ 19 Sep 2006, 06:23) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Not necessarily. I think a few experienced DCC users have bought Bachmann's EZ command for use on small layouts (planks). Others might consider Hornby's offerings if their children were also likely to be operating a layout --- some of the advanced offerings don't appear very friendly for younger children.
I think the Bachmann and Hornby offerings are primarily intended for children. The looks and large knobs are far more child friendly, whereas the Ecos and Maerklin Central station are more computer like and probably quite intimidating to kids.

Doug raises a good point which I have also noticed. These give away magazines that appear periodically in Model Rail which are sponsored by Hornby or Bachmann aren't much more than a propaganda excercise. I have bought a few copies of model rail for these before and found them to be full of adds and very little content. While I appreciate Garys view that it has to be aimed at a basic level there is basic and theres bloody obvious. These mags tend to be pointless if you want anything other than adds.

Gary, there are definitely more than 1000 Model Rail readers using DCC right now. That would be one in every thirty four modellers from your stats. I honestly believe it has to be higher than that. Maybe one in ten. Why don't we do a poll to find out?

 

[Brian Considine]

Personally, I thought thet the "32 Page Hornby Digital Magazine" was very dissapointing. I was really expecting to read about DCC in general, not Hornby this Hornby that, although to be fair it the name Hornby was Prominent in the title (maybe Hornby sponsored the publication). Anyone hoping to gain an insight to DCC in general would not have gleaned much information.

Of the "32 pages" 16 were adverts (many of which are duplicated in the main magazine), 1 was the cover which left 31 pages of information. The main 150 page magazine carried some 67 pages of adverts, so in that respect, although an excellent magazine it's getting a bit like the RM.

Having said that MR is probably the magazine I buy the most. I used to buy most of them, now I only buy if there is something to interest me in them. It was getting too expensive, although without the adverts I dread to think how much they would cost.

best regards
Brian

 

[ayvareceli]

QUOTE (dwb @ 15 Sep 2006, 18:03) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>>Its Tintin by the way.
The world's second most famous Belgian after Hercule Poirot?

David

On this forum shouldn't Egide Walschaerts come ahead of two fictional characters?

 

[dwb]

>On this forum shouldn't Egide Walschaerts come ahead of two fictional characters?
Indeed it would be if any of us had actually known, or maybe we can provoke some lurkers out to confirm that they already did know. Anyway, I won't forget now, so some good has come of the wee diversion I threw in, which was based on the old joke that no-one can name a non-fictional famous Belgian.

David