All About DCC

All About DCC with Pete Brownlow.

Digital Command Control (DCC) – a system used to control your railway, allowing you to operate locomotives and other aspects independently. It uses a command station (controller) which sends digital signals to a decoder in a locomotive.

Want to know more? Whether you are a complete novice or experienced operator of DCC, you will find this course valuable. Different systems and decoders will be discussed and we will equip you with sufficient knowledge to make your own, informed, decisions.

With a mixture of teaching, tutorial and workshop sessions, the course will cover the basics of DCC, how it works, the pros and cons. During the workshop sessions, you will have a chance to work on your own projects with the tutor’s assistance, including fitting decoders into locos, adding sound, configuring DCC settings and wiring for DCC.

Topics covered will include:

  • What is DCC and how it works
  • The advantages and disadvantages of DCC compared to analogue DC control
  • Choosing a DCC system – pros and cons.
  • Choosing and fitting DCC decoders and Sound decoders to your locomotives
  • DCC-Ready vs DCC-fitted locos
  • Fitting decoders to non DCC-ready locos
  • Setting up your loco decoders (those dreaded CVs)
  • Using “Decoder Pro” on a computer to make setting up easier
  • The different ways for digital control of your accessories (points-signals etc)
  • Wiring for DCC and the myth of the DCC friendly point