A few areas of uncertainty are emerging.
This is good because then, over time, we can sift through and sort out those that most obviously need clarification for more detailed FAQ, later.
For now, I am backtracking to
"Two Wire?", but this sub-section should probably be headed
BUSSES?
The recent emergence of a new topic
Wiring for DCC in the DCC section is opportune.
Opportune because I didn't pursue the subject of 'TWO WIRES' far enough at the time I first raised it and the link above should prove useful in this thread.
The point I didn't follow through, but perhaps should have and now must, is the terminology and principles used with regard to 'BUSSES'.
This is probably the most basic area of confusion for DCC beginners.
imho, the confusion is primarily created by unclear/ambiguous terminology and it is obvious that a digital beginner must be enabled to clearly understand the principles and terminology before any useful progress can be made (with anything but the most simple of layouts).
The previously mentioned topic "Wiring for DCC" starts out with enquiries about "The Bus".
THE Bus?
Here we hit maybe THE fundamental problem for beginners!
Mention of busses immediately makes it apparent that DCC may not be as simple as just buying a digital controller, a chipped loco or two, plug in and go. Sure, it CAN be, but the sheer volume of enquiries about busses and wiring is a dead giveaway that it is not really that simple in practice. If it were really that simple, those bus and wiring queries would have no need to exist!
To which, I must add and heavily emphasize that this topic is not aimed at someone making a fresh start with a clean slate (though it might be useful anyway), but is
squarely aimed at modellers with well-established layouts who are contemplating its conversion to digital.
For these people, and there are probably thousands of them, it looks more and more certain that a simple 'two wire' setup just won't be adequate.
QUESTIONS
We were told, "all you need is two wires to the track", so why all this talk about 'busses' and wiring?
What, exactly, is a bus?
Why is a bus needed - what is it used for?
HOW MANY buses are needed?
What are the differences between busses?
How do we know which bus people are talking about?
Should we now forget the idealised 'TWO WIRE' principle as being far too simplistic for anything but the simplest layouts and therefore inadequate for converting anything more complex?
More questions?
