Best DCC Controllers For HO
Question
Have another question since the majority of you have far more experience in the hobby. In fact with work I haven’t had time to even start the layout in part of the garage or even sort through all the junk in the way.
But wondering which of the DCC Controllers you’ve had experience with and prefer. Pros and Cons. Don’t require anything fancy just to run 3 locomotives. Have a Broadway Limited ‘Refurbished’ 2-8-0 that has been sitting on the dining room table and collecting dust for months. Plan on 1 more steam and 1 diesel in the future. Also thinking I will use separate switches to control turnouts and auxiliary stuff.
Thanks in advance!
Mike Tuttle – Florida
Answers ( 2 )
Hi Mike. You’re in Florida so the Digitrax Zephyr Express (DCS52) is quite a nice unit. It will run 3 locos quite happily and is capable of being expanded. Here is the link for the manual https://www.digitrax.com/media/apps/products/starter-sets/dcs52/documents/Zephyr_Express_Manual_rev.0.pdf The unit itself is capable of being plugged into a computer through its USB port, so if at a later time you would like computer control, this will do nicely. Over some time, you might want to use DCC to control turnouts and signals from it as well. This can be done using accessory decoders. At some point, you might also like to know where a loco is on the layout so I would suggest wiring the layout for that possibility when you build it. I started my layout before I thought about having DCC and when I converted, it was a bit of a nightmare, and never finished the conversion before I had to tear the whole lot down. My next layout will be properly wired for detection.
I hope this helps you.
Chris.
CEO Bondale / Bontal railway
Using Digitrax DCS 52 for accessories, DCS 50 for detection and MRC Prodigy 2 with booster for loco control. JMRI for Layout control through a PC
Thank You Chris! And cost effective too. Like the ability to eventually tie it to the laptop.
Mike Tuttle – Florida