Reminder

I'm no writer, but I very

I'm no writer, but I very good with DCC.  I wonder who you can get who is as good as Bruce?

Looking forward to who you come up with.

What about rotating columnists

Consistent approach, attitude, and advise

Dear Joe,

My fear would be that with rotating columnists, there would be inconsistent advise and "stated as fact" apparently-contradictory information from one months column to the next.

When it comes to raw "how to plug it in and turn it on, so it works first-time, every time" info, there's the right way, and there's a load of "it worked for this one guy I heard about once" grey-area/murky words.
("first time, every time, in the widest range of circumstances" doesn't leave a lot of room for hear-say...)

Bruce was excellent in that he had demonstratable experience in the field, _and_ was _consistent_ in maintaining _rigorous technical-principle-supportable_ approach and advise. Little/no "wishy washy" info and no "bum steer" misinformation. Result was clear unambiguous advice which could be relied upon under almost all circumstances. (In the IT and Techsupport world's, it's called "confidence").

When speaking from a position of authority and/or influence, One must bear the responsibility seriously....
...the (modelling) lives of a great many "take the words in MRH as gospel" readers is in the new columnist's hands...

Happy modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

I get the point,  you do not

I get the point,  you do not want anything from my kind.  I do not rank on you special person scale.  

Considering you have no real clue what someone background is tell they do it.   Joe might have a knowledge test or skill test before taking someone on.  People that are so judgmental are the reasons people like me will never write anything for MRH.  

What I was saying, you have a lot of people like me that know more than you think and are very skilled,  but like me I'm not a writer.

Then again who is anyone to make that judgment call other than Joe?  

Well that didn't take long...

Hi Az and all

Well that didn't take long...for someone to take a fence and turn it into a palisade.

Az - no-one is questioning your technical ability, Please go back and re-read the previous post slowly. 

For all - The DCC columnist(s) whoever gets the job (one or several), HAS to deliver complex technical information in an accurate and understandable way consistently so that a DCC novice like myself can install and tune whoever's decoder for my specific install repeatedly.

If there is more than one columnist involved, then there is a valid concern that the information will be coloured by each columnist's previous experience, which could lead to inconsistency in the accuracy of information and how this information is being presented in MRH.

For DCC-novices like myself, I can guarantee that I will be taking that columnist's information as "the ONE way" to get me from a collection of electronic bits to a fully-functioning DCC-controlled locomotive. This information HAS to work otherwise I and a lot of others will let the magic smoke out.

As a DCC-columnist, you won't have the chance to say "Oops, what I really meant was...." It's too late after I've fried a decoder by following someone's instructions to the letter. That simply gives the columnist AND MRH a bad reputation very rapidly.       

It may well be that MRH will need several columnists, each with specific brand expertise, to match what Bruce has achieved by himself, Who knows?? I just hope that whoever takes over from Bruce can do almost as good a job.(Yes I'd be prepared to cut the whoever some slack while they play themselves in, but not if it involves repeatedly sending up smoke signals at my expense).

The real question for any/all DCC-columnists will be : "Can you break down complex information into small enough bites for a non-technical person to follow in a way that makes sense to that non-technical person?" 

It's not easy, believe me. That's what has has paid my bills for the last 20-plus years.

Az - Now given that you repeatedly sign off with "Can not spell, has limited writing skills and failed reading comprehension", I believe that you might have a steep learning curve to deliver technical content consistently in a non-technical manner. I sincerely hope that you're up to the challenge. From what I've seen so far on MRH, I believe that you probably might have sufficient depth of technical knowledge to be a useful columnist.    

What did I just read.

I believe to put yourself out there, one of the necessary characteristics is a fairly thick skin. Your going to say something at some point that someone disagrees with. Therefore, someone who can misinterpret a post as a personal attack is unsuitable for the post.

To be more on topic, I'd love the job. I can write fairly well, have a great interest in the topic and have a technical background. However, I have a lack of experience with DCC, certainly not the breadth of experience Bruce has demonstrated. 

May need to take the column in a different direction?

Joe

sounds like you are having a hard time finding a DCC guru that is 1. Willing to write every month and 2. Actually knows what they are talking about. I will be honest and state that I often skipped reading the DCC section as it was way more information then I ever needed. I generally had such a specific need for something I would just google it to find the answer. I am not sure what the average rating of the articles itself are but maybe this is an opportunity to try a different segment? 

A suggestions would be an article every month that covers something on electrical power. Could be a decoder install, adding crossing lights, building interiors, signals, etc etc. I bet you have or could easily get enough articles to dedicate a section of the magazine to that. Maybe through a few of these articles you will find the next Bruce. 

Just a thought and good luck!!

I do enjoy the MRH DCC put

I do enjoy the MRH DCC put out by Bruce.  Takes me way back to the early days for me in DCC when I built and programed my own DCC system using the "Basic Stamp II"  Micro Controllers as a command station.  So yes it can use a variety of ideas in an articles from hardwiring a decoder into a "N" scale Life-Like GP20 to building your own reverser units or signal control boards using an adriano etc.

Volunteer

I have bandwidth to do this, I know Bruce, talked to him many times in my early days.

I have a relatively sizeable website with a lot of DCC information on it, although it is pointed towards things that are "missing" from the factory documentation, and tips and techniques.

While DCC installation info is usually with the locomotive under motive power on my site, there is a DCC only section that is more generalized, DCC is on the top menu of http://www.elmassian.com

My only issue is that I will not modify my findings that are factual in order to present a "rosy" picture, i.e. my opinion cannot be bought.

I understand that under the constraints of the real world, a magazine cannot "trash" an advertiser, but there is a history of certain advertisers that object to any negative statement at all or they will pull their advertising. The now-gone Aristo-Craft comes to mind, even extending their influence to forums.

So, honest, factual information, well researched, and open to review of statements if in error, ok, "pimping" a manufacturer, not ok.

All that said, I think I have knowledge and writing skills that could benefit others.

Greg

Perhaps revisiting Bruce's series...

Revisit Bruce's work to update any outdated info....

I once archived Loy's Toys...It was (at the time) very comprehensive.   I'd need to search to find that stuff...  Back then (early '00s) the majr problem was still turnouts and shorting wheels.

I'm sure similar old sources can be culled for insights and tricks for newcomers...

BUT, I also consider DCC to be considerably well covered... and a (paper) volume would do well to inform those of us who are late-comers (including me).  

Most of the un-documented aspects are related to installing sound into  loco 'X' with speaker 'Y' and programming the proper prototype noise   sounds.   There are also  a few aspects of layout DCC that are new to the 'masses'. 

So I'd consider a Home Page menu direction to a DCC thread to be almost as good as a Full Time columnist... part time Definitely, full time, maybe not.

NOTE:  this is just MY overblown opinion!

...

So hard to find a Command and Control Hobbyist who also happens to be a model railroader...

I wish you luck!

Couple of thoughts.

We were lucky to have Bruce’s thoughts and insights for as long as we did.  Thanks Bruce!

It would be good if the background of the next person was as broad.  Bruce had an appreciation and experience with a number of the major DCC manufactures and systems.  He also had a good way of explaining the basic electronics that lead to the understanding of what was happening.

There is a rather large database and significant depth in Bruce’s articles.  Magazines tend to repeat information on a four or five year basis.  A collection and indexing of these articles electronically and/or in print could eliminate another revolution of the same wheel.  Although both ways, reading represented articles or re-reading past articles, are good mechanisms for reviewing and refreshing knowledge.

It intrigued me to consider a larger rotating staff and other one time writers as a replacement.  I think that it could be said that we all know the most about what we use and have learned in our own operations.  An example would be that I happen to use NCE and can help people understand or solve a problem with that system.  This winter I got a taste of Digitrax and am learning pieces of it as I experience it.  Any other DCC system is totally foreign to me.  Decoders and accessories would be the same.  I know what I use.  To take that one step farther a manufactures article on the use / application of their product could be of interest.

I would be comfortable with the multiple writer approach moderated by OIEJ (Our Illustrious Editor Joe).  It would be interesting to consider different approaches to the same proposition even if they conflicted.  I’m sure the depth of the readership would correct an outright wrong swiftly with a proper bolt of incendiary lightning.

A place to find out about the newest gismos with reviews would be a part of the column I would visit also.  

Well, guess I’m out of pennies, you got my sixth cent.

Nick