EVEN more exciting news about B-mann K4

[Joetrain59]

Ok, so Doppler effect is same as when a helo is approaching, it's very loud. After it passes, it's a much mellower sound??
 Yes, could've googled it, but wanted it from modelers perspective.
 Thanks,
 Joe D

[peteski]

I have the Walthers 2-8-8-2 with sound. The problem with the simulated doppler is that the loco doesn't know where you are. So the effect just happens randomly it seems.

I have the same model (it is the one which convinced me that QSI decoders are the ballz!) and IIRC the Doppler effect can be triggered by a function key on the throttle. So you can hit the button as the loco passes by you.

[Chris333]

and IIRC the Doppler effect can be triggered by a function key on the throttle. So you can hit the button as the loco passes by you.

What button on my DC throttle?   

[peteski]

What button on my DC throttle?   

 
Like I mentioned to someone else - get yourself the NCE PowerCAB. For much less than a price of this loco ($140) you wlll have a fully-functional (and uncomplicated) DCC system. Not only it is good for reprogramming the decoders (for you DC guys), but you can get your feet wet seeing how much better locos work when you run them under DCC control.

[towl1996]

Here's the obligatory "glamor" shot  ,



and an Bachmann H9/10 conversion for fun,



Maybe Bachmann could be "talked" into doing the H class?

[Philip H]

Like I mentioned to someone else - get yourself the NCE PowerCAB. For much less than a price of this loco ($140) you wlll have a fully-functional (and uncomplicated) DCC system. Not only it is good for reprogramming the decoders (for you DC guys), but you can get your feet wet seeing how much better locos work when you run them under DCC control.

Power cab is what I have and (dare i type it) @peteski is correct - it's as close to two wire plug and play as you can get for DCC.  Plus I find the layout and functions way easier to understand the Digitrax.  But I'm not a computer geek . . . .

[Lemosteam]

I was contemplating selling my Digitrax equipment that I obtained very inexpensively and was considering selling it.  The booster is 5amp.  When I started looking at the NCE, a very small 2 amp wall wart is what comes with the starter set.  a 5 amp booster is available for another $80.

I would think a 5 amp system would be needed even for a small layout, what with all these high draw sound locomotives coming out, I can't even get two Broadway Limited PA's to play nice on a DC layout-

However I WAS able to double head my two new K4's!!!

https://video-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvideo-xpf1/v/t42.1790-2/11987263_10204958317302313_759176432_n.mp4?efg=eyJybHIiOjY5MSwicmxhIjo4Nzd9&rl=691&vabr=384&oh=11e09107b488877d25737c596635e61e&oe=55F708D4

Sorry for the Facebook reduced quality video.  it actually is HD...

[TVRR]

FWIW my Digitrax Zephyr can easily power a Challenger, 2-10-2, 4-6-2, and a 2-8-8-2 all with sound/DCC simultaneously.  I find the system easy to work with and Lord knows I'm no tech weenie. Maybe other systems are easier to work, I haven't tried them though.  Still waiting for my B'mann 4-6-2 impatiently!

[peteski]

Power cab is what I have and (dare i type it) @peteski is correct - it's as close to two wire plug and play as you can get for DCC.  Plus I find the layout and functions way easier to understand the Digitrax.  But I'm not a computer geek . . . .

   I am a computer geek (over 30 years of geeking) and I think that the most popular DCC system out there has a very awkward user interface and poor manuals.  NCE is much more intuitive to use by all users.

[muktown128]

I received 2 of my Bachmann K4's on Friday.  The 3rd one is shipping now.  They look good, but were jumpy at low speed using an old MRC DC power pack.  I want to try one of my MRC Tech 4 DC power packs to see if the slow speed control is better.

Based on the Peteski de Snarski seal of approval, I'll probably take the plunge and order the NCE DCC starter unit from BLW.  I have a couple of BLI E8 units with sound and a couple of M1b's on order.  It would be nice to enjoy the full effect of all the bells and whistles.

Scott

[peteski]

Based on the Peteski de Snarski seal of approval...

This might go to my head! 
Thanks for your vote of confidence Scott.

I'll probably take the plunge and order the NCE DCC starter unit from BLW.  It would be nice to enjoy the full effect of all the bells and whistles.

I'm pretty sure that you won't be disappointed, and the price is right too.

[strummer]

They look good, but were jumpy at low speed using an old MRC DC power pack.  I want to try one of my MRC Tech 4 DC power packs to see if the slow speed control is better.
Scott

Based on what I've learned on this Forum, I'm not surprised about the "jack rabbit" starts with the older MRC pack. If your Tech 4 is transistor, it should be a lot better...

...right, guys?

Mark in Oregon

[Rich_S]

  I am a computer geek (over 30 years of geeking) and I think that the most popular DCC system out there has a very awkward user interface and poor manuals.  NCE is much more intuitive to use by all users.

I know, everyone gets freaked out because Digitrax uses hex instead of decimal, but in their defense there is a conversion chart in the manual. I have nothing against NCE, but back when I purchased my Digitrax Empire Builder system, the NCE was a lot more expensive than the Empire Builder. I also liked the fact that the DT100 hand held throttle was about the size of a deck of cards verses the size of the NCE hand held throttle. But again it's like the old saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

P.S. Peteski, I have an old school degree in computer programming (C, COBOL, Assembler) I was completely at home in the days of DOS and Unix, hex was our friend   
P.S.S. I haven't written any code in over 15 years and don't miss a day of those jobs, in fact I'm no longer in that industry 

[Bangorboy]

Ok, so Doppler effect is same as when a helo is approaching, it's very loud. After it passes, it's a much mellower sound??

Well, you're partially right.  There is a doppler effect when the helo passes, but the more dominant effect is caused by the angle of the rotor blades.    They spin in a circle which, while traveling forward, is tilted toward the ground in the front and skyward in the rear.  This causes the thrust vector to tilt so it has a vertical component to lift the chopper and a horizontal component to push it along.  The effect it causes for you on the ground is this:  as the chopper approaches, the loudest part of the sound flung off the ends of the rotor blades is thrown directly at you.  After it passes, the air is thrown upward and away from you.  I don't know how UH-1 (Huey) helicopters in 'Nam didn't get shot down more than they did; that rotor beat announced their approach for miles ahead.  As much as 10 minutes warning if conditions were right.  Much quieter shortly after they passed overhead, and only then could you hear the buzz of the small tail rotor.

The doppler effect comes from any fast-moving source of sound; train, helo, jet, prop plane, even highway trucks.  As they approach, each wave of the sound is produced closer to you than the previous wave.  This results in the waves reaching you closer together than the actual sound being produced, causing a higher frequency that sounds like a higher pitch.  After it passes, each wave of the sound is produced further from your vantage point, making the waves less frequent for you to observe.  So the pitch sounds lower than the actual sound.  The actual true pitch of the sound is evident only while the distance between you and the sound producer isn't changing much, such as an aircraft nearly directly overhead or a vehicle nearly abeam your position.  I've seen this depicted in print as EEEEEEEEYOOOuuuuuuuuu!   Yamaha motorcycles are really good at causing the effect.

As pointed out, the midpoint of the effect should be just as the train is at its closest point to the listener, so it can never be correct for a person standing next to a grade crossing, for example, and another modeler standing a quarter-mile (scale) down the track.

Another example of "physics doesn't scale down".  It can still be a cool feature in the sound decoder, though.

[peteski]

I know, everyone gets freaked out because Digitrax uses hex instead of decimal, but in their defense there is a conversion chart in the manual. I have nothing against NCE, but back when I purchased my Digitrax Empire Builder system, the NCE was a lot more expensive than the Empire Builder. I also liked the fact that the DT100 hand held throttle was about the size of a deck of cards verses the size of the NCE hand held throttle. But again it's like the old saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

P.S. Peteski, I have an old school degree in computer programming (C, COBOL, Assembler) I was completely at home in the days of DOS and Unix, hex was our friend   
P.S.S. I haven't written any code in over 15 years and don't miss a day of those jobs, in fact I'm no longer in that industry 

LOL Rrich where did I mention the hex numbers and that being a bad thing?  I don't ever recall doing so anywhere where I stated my opinion about Digitrax system.   I'm not freaked out at all - just the opposite.

I actually prefer using hex for CVs where certain bits need to be controlled individually. The hex/binary conversion is imprinted in my brain from years of working with digital circuits that I can very easily visualize in my head which bits are set to 1 and which ones are 0.  If you tell me that some CV is set to 202 decimal I would have to do some serious head-scratching (or just convert 202 to hex) to figure out which bits are set in that CV.  But if you tell me that the CV is set to 0xCA (which is 202 decimal) then I can instantly tell you that bits 7,6,3, and 1 are set. 

It is all the other things about Digitrax that I find awkward. Pretty much any functionality you have to perform while trying to follow non-plain English prompts on the throttle's display, or trying to figure out that the abbreviated legends (sometimes multiple) for each little button mean.  It is just non-intuitive.  Sure, you can learn to live with the system and learn its functions, but I still prefer something simpler out-of-the-box.  Why complicate my model RR experience?

BTW, DT-400 probably has as many little buttons as the NCE throttle but its display still doesn't prompt you in plain English (just in codes you have to learn).

I also understand that Digitrax is much more popular and more robust and expandable than NCE. But most modelers will never need all those fancy capabilities.

To each his own - I'm just giving my opinion and reasons for preferring one DCC system over another.  But we have strayed OT (as usual on TRW).