the way back machine is doing

the way back machine is doing fine. One new item that was being discussed on the pages here and might have been worth a mention was the realistic diesel throttle and it's built in control features.

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I suppose the Next systems didn't make the cut because they effectively aren't DCC, but we have RING and Blue Rails essentially clinching the Command Stationless Computer Control route.  With computers as small as they are nowadays, and with the level of computing power available in a smartphone, there's no reason to not imagine the Next level where there is a microprocessor and regular memory storage in the locomotive and it is if nothing else it's own standalone computing device.

What fun

Bruce .

I have only been in this hobby for 3 years, but I am trying to my head around the DCC concept slowly thanks to your column in MRH

Thank you for your insight into the weird and wonderful world DCC.

Smokey Dawson      Australia

My favorite column

Round heads

DCC completely confused me, no matter how much I read and how many questions I asked, until I started to put decoders in engines and needed to tune them up to get good results. Bruce's columns have taught me a lot, once I had a way to put the suggestions into practice. 

Rob

I understand your point. As I said, this would be a look, not an exhaustive treatise.

BTW, the diesel control stand could be used to operate any control system, so it is really NOT DCC.

Benny

Correct.

Good points.

Smokey, Paul and Graham

Thanks, guys.

Graham - good point. My alma mater's motto was: "Learn by doing." No argument here.

The future of DCC

I have been in the hobby for a long time but never got into DCC because it was too complicated, too confusing, too geeky. The hobby is supposed to be fun.

However recent developments are encouraging with new systems hitting the market that are much easier to operate. The future is exciting and could revive the interest of the younger generation.

Here is what I see in the future:

Wireless. Isn't everything else?

Super easy interfaces e.g. phones. Which kid, young or old, wants to bother going through complicated geek programming. Time is short, we want to play now. Plus people should be able to choose their own interface.

Plug and play (related to the above). People today are used to instant gratification. Why torture yourself?

Flexible systems: Since there are so many manufacturers out there, a command control system needs to be able to deal with the majority of them. Don't make proprietary hardware/software if it does NOT interface with the other systems on the market. So proprietary hardware/software is perfectly fine if plays nice with (most) everything else.

Upgradable: We live in a world where gadgets are upgradable, end of story.

Industry consolidation: There are too many players in the market. Manufacturers need to work together and create alliances, just like the airlines. If you go your own way, you will be the Studebaker of yesteryears.

Constant push of new technology: If a manufacturer does not upgrade and come out with a better system, they will die.

Backward compatibility to support older, but not ancient, systems.

Forward compatibility built in: Manufacturers need to embrace advanced technology and be prepared for the next big wave. As it is often the case the first one to the market gets to set the standards. That means work with NMRA and get them to standardize new technology faster.

Price: There are a whole lot more folks buying Chevrolets than Bentleys.

Is there a system out there today that will/might/can fulfill all of the above? From my research, only Z21 has that promise. Please let me know what else is out there. I am most interested.

Exactly On Point

Bruce, you often if not always write about what I have been thinking, and always more clearly than I thought it.

I'm only 49 years young and beginning a large home layout.  I have a Digitrax system I started in the 90's, and still use the booster from my Big Boy set to power part of the layout.  I upgraded to a Radio Chief, only to have the Simplex replaced a few years later by Duplex.  Now I use JMRI and iPhones almost exclusively as throttles.

I work in the tech industry and see products and operating systems replaced regularly every three years or so.   COM ports disappear, drivers are not available for new operating systems, hardware becomes unrepairable.

With all this in mind, obsolescence is something that greatly concerns me.  With hopefully decades of building in front of me, what do I do with a huge investment if Digitrax closes its doors in a few years?  What if my command stations go belly up in 2022, and the new ones aren't backward compatible with all my gear?  My solution so far has been to buy back-up equipment, and a few extras of things like throttles, signals, detectors, etc.  But that can be expensive, too.

It's nice to hear that others have similar concerns.  Thanks for keeping on top of all of this for us, and for giving us a place to let the manufacturers know what we're thinking!

Dead Rail in garden

Battery power r/c has been around for at least 15 years and more if considering the onboard Aristo systems. Are  you referring to something different when writing about developing dead track in the garden?

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There's a wireless, battery powered DCC that has been published online out of Australia for a while now.