Best New
DCC Product Awards
Best New
DCC Product AwardsThis award is awarded to new products that set a new standard for the evolution of DCC.
The criteria for the award is that the product :
If you know of a new DCC product that should be considered for a DCC product award, please forward your suggestions to deb@tttrains.com
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A fully controllable container crane for onloading and offloading containers.
The USB dirty track feature and the RailCom NMRA Bi-Directional features have set a new standard for DCC control.
The first Universal decoder that is at home on all NMRA DCC systems, incorporating the features offered by those systems.
The V36.4 was the first model locomotive built from the ground up to incorporate DCC. This allowed a seamless merger of electronics and mechanical design. Model also included automatic couplers.
Till now radio control was expensive and the range was short. Lenz introduced a device which allows a common low cost cordless phone to be used as a handheld.
The first production US locomotive with a high end decoder that included sound and was built in from the factory ,
The first handheld designed to be useable on multiple system architectures. The CVP radio was built to work on CVP networks, XpressNet based Networks, and announced for NCE/System-1 networks.
Set a new standard for entry level systems
Several manufacturers have produced locomotives with built-in decoders in the past. What makes the Atlas locomotive unique is that it represents a major new design for a locomotive frame in N scale that has been specifically designed for DCC.
The Soundtraxx decoder is the first truly integrated DCC decoder with sound. These decoders implement whole new areas of the advanced packet format giving it the most flexibility of any decoder to date to fully customize its operations. This includes function mapping (a personal favorite), and has added numerous manufacturer specific CVs to customize and control the sound output.
The Roco/Lenz digital crane is the first commercially available DCC product with full automation. The boom lowers and raises, the cab rotates and the hook is fully controllable making this model a fully functional out of the box DCC model. This product also won the Best New Product award at the 1997 Nuremberg toy fair.
The Lenz LE103 was the first commercially manufactured decoder to have a MSRP of less than $30.00 with a full dealer markup. It is also the first decoder to be awarded the prestigious NMRA Conformance Warrant and the first decoder with all the electronics on one side making the decoder much thinner than past decoders.
The Command 2000 is the first DCC command station geared to the mass market. The introduction of the MRC Command 2000 system into the US market began a whole new level of acceptance of DCC by the hobby press and by the model railroad public at large. The MRC Command 2000 was also the first DCC command station to ship with an NMRA Conformance Warrant.
In the early years many asked for lighting functions that could be tailored to the specifics of the prototype being modeled. The solution was often the addition of specialty lighting products. The Digitrax FX decoders are the first decoders to have lighting functions that could be user configurable built into the decoder.
Back EMF has been available in other versions of command control for years. Lenz GmbH was the first manufacturer to introduce this precision locomotive control to DCC.
While many have produced power stations intended for the smaller scales, North Coast was the first manufacturer to develop an auto reversing power station suitable for the O scale and Large Scale environment. Unique features of this power station are the ability to provide surge current for starting motors that are common in O Scale locomotives yet a fast enough short protection detection to avoid damaging these same locomotives. The ability to deliver these amps at the higher large scale voltages without voltage sag was also a first. (Note: This power station is also sold under the System One and Ramtraxx brand names.)
The Challenger was the first system to have an automatic reverse loop control. This ingenuous device is able to detect a short and reverse polarity quickly enough without damaging the locomotive. This allows the modeler to construct very complex reverse loops without regard to the wiring implications. The DB100 also doubles as an entry level command station.
TTTrains' Home Page | Modeler's Corner | Large Scale | Links | World of DCC | TTTrains Train Shops | Lenz O Scale
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Inc.
This page is written and maintained by: Stan Ames
For more information contact Debbie Ames,
President tttrains