MRH Mag dialogue

This week I spent most of my free time compiling the how-to article about the grass machine. I approached Model Railway Hobbyist Magazine (www.mrhmag.com) and they were interested in it. I am waiting on the outcome of the submission so until I know whether it has been accepted or not, I will refrain from publishing my article on this blog .

I also spent the remainder of my free time researching various DCC products around accessory control. I have made the decision to have Illavearf under 100% DCC control. Currently I could switch it between DC and DCC so that I could run older or non-DCCed locos, but the time has come to start the electrics around point, lighting and signal control. I was originally thinking of running a separate DC based "control" circuit so that whether I was running DC or DCC, the controls would still work. Further consideration and some long navel gazing brought me around to the decision to make DCC the preferred control medium. As most new layouts seem to be heading down the DCC only path I may as well jump onto the bandwagon. As I also have Lachlan's DC layout I can use this to run any older DC locos until converted to DCC if they are able to.

So my friend Mr Mackie has used the NCE mini-panel and Digitrax DS64 accessory decoder very successfully, so I will go down this path as well. However this doesn't solve the problem of how to control non-point accessories such as signals, lighting, etc. Not much is out there but I stumbled on the MRC 4 output accessory decoder which allows signals and lighting via a latching circuit, point motor control if required, and crossing flashing lights (or anything requiring a flashing circuit). The manual on this device is OK but I wanted more info, so I have placed a posting on the MRC Yahoo Forum page and I am awaiting an answer. In the meantime I have placed an order for one of these, a NCE mini-panel, a Digitrax DS64, and various types of switches to be installed on the mimic boards.

All a good learning curve that I will attempt to describe and provide my experiences with from within this blog.