PIKO new dcc control system

Greg Elmassian said:
R. Wolf... I can drive a Fiat 500 on the racetrack, does not mean it's motor will keep with a real race car.

I explained carefully about the differences in locos. That is a little bitty loco on a flat track going slow, and it's one of the more efficient locos, so yes THAT loco will run on that system. Will it work well with more loads or on a grade? Probably not. Will it have enough voltage for an Aristo loco, no. Will it work well with a Bachmann K27? No...

Let's not encourage someone to make a bad choice.

Greg
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Greg what DCC system would you recommend for someone making the transition. I was looking at the Piko smart control basic as well but you've brought up alot of good points.
 
A big question, there's lots of ways to go.

You need to consider the number of simultaneous number of locos, the cost, capabilities, and how you like the throttles.

put these in priority order:

cost
size of throttle
ease of use
wireless
ability to handle 14 speed steps
ability to handle old "serial" LGB functions
expandability
compatibility with JMRI
integration with railcomm
local support (not on a different continent)

Then we can talk... there is no one "best" answer for all. It's easy to point out systems with severe limitations, but for most systems, it is a balance between features/performance and cost.

Greg
 
Tend to agree with Greg.. You need to answer a few questions about what, and how much you want to run..

I think the last point, should also include 'Do your local peer-group tend to use a particular make of equipment? - Having people fairly local, who use the same as you, is very helpful.
 
If you are curious about Smart control from Piko, I have it. I started using it because it wall simple DCC for N scale. However, I called them years back and asked about G usage. (They had not tested it at that point. They say it is ok now.)

I went ahead and started using it on G scale and it works great. The basic set has 2.25 Amps at 18 Volts, so just enough for one LGB or Piko loco. I got a 5 Amp transformer they sell for it, and I can run a few locos now. (though doubt you could run larger USA stuff.)

At just under $500 (U.S.) I have a complete DCC system that is easy to use. I feel it is a great bargain! (The outdoor G specific DCC system they have is roughly double that price.)
 
Of course you can buy an NCE PowerCab system, complete system, 2-2.5 amps, with lower voltage for $158, and add a 5 amp booster for about $50 later (and an old 20 volt laptop power supply for $20)...

By the way, when you talk DCC, you need to talk the DCC voltage to the rails, not the power supply output, the DCC voltage is always less than the power supply input voltage.

Also, the flyer on the Piko site says 16 volt power supply, which should result in about 14 volts to the rails.... where do you get 18 volts? Can you provide a reference?

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1...trol_Flyer_16_Lo-Res.pdf?14892412314704221747


Greg
 
Greg Elmassian said:
.................
By the way, when you talk DCC, you need to talk the DCC voltage to the rails, not the power supply output, the DCC voltage is always less than the power supply input voltage.

Also, the flyer on the Piko site says 16 volt power supply, which should result in about 14 volts to the rails.... where do you get 18 volts? Can you provide a reference?

.....................


Greg
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For what it is worth (which is what you paid for it - this advice, I mean), when I built my two battery-wireless-DCC locos using the Tam Valley DRS receivers, I used 14.8volt Lith-ion batteries in them; they are both LGB twin-motor locos - a 2095 Austrian "whizzy cranks" BoBo and a Saxon Meyer IVk - and both run very happily with that voltage, still being capable of speeds much higher than would be considered either "sensible" or in scale.
I fully accept that some of the really big US locos may well need more than that, especially for high speed running - I'm not disagreeing with anything said above, just commenting that in my case 14-15 volts seems sufficient for realistic running with LGB locos.

Edit: and that is before allowing for a probable 1-2 volt drop through the DCC decoder, so there is most likely only about 12-13 volts or so actually available to the motors.....

Jon.
 
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Greg Elmassian said:
A big question, there's lots of ways to go.

You need to consider the number of simultaneous number of locos, the cost, capabilities, and how you like the throttles.

put these in priority order:

cost
size of throttle
ease of use
wireless
ability to handle 14 speed steps
ability to handle old "serial" LGB functions
expandability
compatibility with JMRI
integration with railcomm
local support (not on a different continent)

Then we can talk... there is no one "best" answer for all. It's easy to point out systems with severe limitations, but for most systems, it is a balance between features/performance and cost.

Greg
Click to expand...
Greg,

I just spent a bunch of time on your website and it answered a lot of my questions. Fantastic Ressource thank you!

You seem to be in favor of the NCE Pro Cab. Would this be the starter set you would recommend then?
https://www.ncedcc.com/online-store/PH10R-10-Amp-Wireless-Starter-Set-with-D408-decoder-p38322066
 
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Yes, that's probably the best system to start with, in terms of bang for the buck... The wireless system is 900 MHz, like AirWire, and you might need a second base station if you have a REALLY large area, but it is very expandable, reliable, and has the easiest to use menu system I have seen, and I've seen them all. (excluding brain dead systems that do not cover all DCC functionality).

I have since switched to Zimo, for the reasons I have given on my site, but I miss the ease of use of the NCE system, and the ability to program about anything, having normal, paged, register and direct modes for example, which few systems have.

You can get the system at a considerable discount also if you look around.

Greg
 
His says San Diego as well ..
This is how Dan Piece and myself met ...He's literally just down the street .. go figure..
 
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That would be a treat !
If you're feeling too warm...you come out to the Springfield Mass. show in Jan ..
There are a lot of us there ...
 
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Argh! I am visiting sister in law after Christmas and they are in Virginia, and we are going to a beach house in N. Carolina... why, I don't know... it's short sleeve shirt weather here now (the temperature at my house is displayed on the bottom of my web site pages), right now it is 76.6 degrees....

Greg
 
ESU’s CabControl product is the same thing with a higher voltage (21V) 7A supply but they’re having trouble launching it for whatever reason.

If you are using the lower voltage Piko-branded SmartControl you need to call Piko America and they will send you a resistor to add in series with the programming output else programming is flaky.
 
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