Customer Reviews

DCC Made Easy: Digital Command Control for Your Model Railroad (Model Railroader Books)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If you're still reluctant to go on DCC and want a book to introduce this technology, this book may help you to make the move. It presents the working principles of DCC and shows effectively how DCC can make layout wiring simpler and operation funnier.

However, the book is overpriced and people with knowledge on DCC may skip this one, so this is a very basic reading and you'll want more in the end. If you know nothing on DCC and the price seems right to you, try it out.

If you know absolutely nothing about DCC, this is an expensive way to start - you will be better served by buying a different book. Kalbach Publishing have failed miserably with this one - it never hits its mark and is useless as an independant guide - contains almost no information. Cannot recommend.

This is not a book that will teach somebody all the aspects of DCC. Instead, it is a simple primer that gives the basics. It does so in a clear and logical manner that is easy to understand. A person could conceivably wire up a railroad layout after reading this book (probably with lots of luck and attention to the manufacturers documentation) but that would not be wise. A person should do some more in depth planning. This book will not help with that.

The strength of this text is to give an introduction to the subject to somebody who knows nothing about it. The basic understanding gleaned from that should help to determine if further effort is warranted. In my case it is. I will probably keep this book handy for a while until I become more familiar with the tracks and the products but I will soon graduate to a more substantial treatment. Still, this exactly fit the bill for what I needed as a beginner who knows nothing.

I was very disappointed in this book. It was sorely lacking in content, mostly it was like reading a big ad for a single model of DCC equipment. I was looking for something which would give more than a general overview of the DCC system. Coverage on the accessory DCC capable options would have been nice. After getting this book I had to still go to the internet and research; this book should have been my reference. I would suggest that you wait until version 2 or maybe 3 of this book before buying it, maybe then they might even add a table for the CV values and what they mean for a decoder.

This book does what I hoped it would...explain what I thought was a complicated subject in easy to understand text. The photos and diagrams help a great deal, too. I always enjoy this author's monthly column in Model Railroader magazine because he speaks in a clear, simple manner. DCC doesn't scare me nearly as much now. This book is well worth the money as far as I'm concerned.

there is no information giving. it took me 2 hours to finish whole book, which is less than 50 pgs.
dont buy it

This book is perfect for anyone just getting into the World of DCC. Mr. Strang makes it very easy to understand DCC. I read it before i started helping to wire the layout of the club i belong to along with a club member who has been in DCC for quite sometime. If you want alot of indepth information this book is not for you but it will help you get started. You want more indepth information on DCC go with one of the other DCC guides but you should start out with this guide first.

A good book, very helpful for begin in DCC sistem control for model railroaders.

After 30+ years in the high-tech field, I can without a doubt say that this book is one of the major mistakes I have made as a purchase of a book to obtain additional information on a given subject. This book would be of **NO VALUE** to a person who has no background in electronics. I got this book just a few months ago, and it is really out of date as far as the current products available, which is OK. But my major concern is that there is no help on teaching one to solder, and does not even note that this is a necessary function to 'hook-up' the track. The basic theory and how DCC works is well explained, but **DO NOT** look to this book for assistance in actually hooking up your DCC system!!

I'm not so much disappointed by the author, Lionel Strang, in his discussion of DCC as I am with Kalmbach Books, who promote this book as a resource to make DCC easy, which this book for sure **DOES NOT DO**. If it was not for my professional background, I know that I would have been much more confused about DCC after reading this book then if I had left this book on the sellers rack. If I had spent a few more dollars on this book I would be requesting a refund from Kalmach Books. This book is being mis-marketed by Kalmbach Books IMO.

DCC Made Easy explains how DCC control staions and decoders work in model railroad locomotives. It is a good reference manual to have when setting up a DCC railroad layout.