Upgrading to DCC

[DJIW]

My set is this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hornby-R1167-Flying-Scotsman-Electric/dp/B006ZL69JO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484742928&sr=8-1&keywords=00+gauge+flying+scotsman

I've put it all together, it works a treat and my nephew loves it. Now I have been bought a DCC model (DCC installed), so really would like to upgrade my set to use both.

I know the Scotsman is DCC ready and I need to install a chip.

Other than that, what else do I need to do?

I've got £65 in Amazon vouchers I can put towards it.

Cheers :)

[96RAF]

You need a DCC controller and as you said a decoder to install in each loco.

 

The forum rules forbid promoting products other than Hornby but be aware other DCC products are available.

 

Hornby controllers are:

Select - a basic unit which is fine for,simple control but restricted in what it can do such as reset a decoder or program CVs ( learn about those later)

 

Elite - more expensive but fully featured and can be used with a PC to run trains. Will do everything you need to do.

 

ELink and Railmaster (RM) - a black box with no controls that links your track to a PC running RM. RM lets,you,plan your track on screen and operate the trains by mouse,or touch screen control if you have one.

 

Have a look on the Hornby DCC page on this website for a fuller description of the various products.

Rob

[westernwill]

You can, of course, run your DCC fitted locomotive on your DC setup until you decide which way to go in the future. But you can only run 1 loco at a time realistically.

[Fishmanoz]

Just clarifying Rob's above, Select cannot run with a PC, Elite can run standalone or with a PC and RM, and eLink only runs with a PC and RM.

 

If you want to check out whether you'd like RM, you can download the latest version from the link at the top of the RM forum and play around with it in evaluation mode.

 

And just one tricky thing when you convert to using your DCC controller:  the power track that came with your FS will be a D.C. Version.  To use it for DCC, you have to flip open the cover on that little plastic box between the rails and remove the capacitor inside by clipping off its 2 legs.  The track will still work on D.C. too without the capacitor.