Oh and btw, I bought mine from the same seller in your link (Power Hobby)... nice people... and shipping was quick

Yessir! I asked the same question before I bought mine (the description is a bit vague).... its currently sitting in the box on a shelf awaiting the arrival of my SD40-2   

I just visited a local hobby shop here in Austin, they have some switch machines that are similar to the tortoise, called the Cobalt...


anyone have any experience with these?

Oh wow.. good find! So 8 servo's... do they all have different addresses so they change independently? as in, can I hook up 8 different Tortoise motors and switch them all separate (don't want all the switches going at once now!)

please elaborate... I'm finding dozens of idea's on this.. but since you seem to be going the tortoise route like me, I'd love the input.

Thanks!
-Mike

Jward, Thanks for the reply... in fact I think I actually read your advice with the piano wire when I was searching the forums... I will definetly do this, I need it to be stiff because I may have to have the wire travel through 3/4 plywood foundation and up to 2 inches of foam as well... hope it can do that...

So let me get this straight... for each tortoise/turn out combo, I would need a hare decoder? ouch.. that could get expensive fast...

here is the Smail I was talking about... seems like it may be a tortoise/hare combo? but I think it says it is not available yet? 
http://www.blwnscale.com/Circuitron.htm

I'm not even sure how many turnouts I will even want at this point, but I would like a yard for at least 3 to 5 different sets of trains..

Well I posted this question on the modeltrainforum.com forum a while ago, but apparently they don't like to respond as quickly as this group here 

I was reluctant to ask, because my question involves other brands but here goes:

"Can anyone recommend a good decoder/turnout/motor combo that I can use remotely with the Dynamis system with no problem?? that's all I need is just a step in the right direction... so many options for this hobby... price is not a *major* factor, but I would like to keep it fairly mid-range... IE.. nothing that will break/fail, but nothing plated in gold as well. I've heard PECO makes a good turn out.. so I hope that would work with my Atlas track.. all I need to know is what decoder and motor to set up with it."

that is what I posted. After a little research I have found that the Tortoise turn out machines are highly praised... but require a DPDT switch set up? I want to be able to control the switching WITH MY DYNAMIS...lol is that too much to ask?

On that note.. I have heard rumors about the same company producing what is called a Smail.. which is the Tortoise with a Decoder installed? How about that?

Also... I'd just like to brag that I won an auction on Ebay tonight for a lot of 6 Bachmann rolling stock (hope I wasn't bidding against you! lol) and I am awaiting another bid on a Bachmann DCC GP40-2 with MRC sound installed (fingers crossed)

Got a VERY nice tax return on the way, and my girl already said I can allocate some of it towards my new hobby as long as I pay off the entertainment center we have on layaway   

Thanks guys, and have a great night!

Back again.. with another question    I'm really having fun planning this build.

So... I'm 6'3 tall... and I want a nice layout at a decent level. My question for you all is this... what is a desired height that most people seem to use? is there any kind of "standard".. maybe something clubs use to get the best effect of the scenery?

I know this sounds like a silly question, but once again looking for suggestions.

I also wanted to know if maybe there were some hidden deals out there that a certain height could be to my advantage.... maybe a good price on tables/legs that some people know about ? (I plan on using 2x4's at this point unless someone can suggest better)

Its a boring Friday night.. my girl is still at work... and I'm about to head to Home Depot to do some "window shopping"

Cheers!

Great input... thank you guys..

I think I'm going to pick it up then... found it for $40 (with DCC) seems like a killer price! I would prefer it to have sound though... but it seems these engines with sound are hard to find (maybe space limitation??)..

As for the swing out issue.... could I start with a few 50' cars behind the engine, and then add in the smaller ones with no problem? I'm sure that would look fine...

I also plan on doing a consist in the future... I think that is the correct word... having 2 or 3 DCC engines synched to the same train.... this is possible correct?

My local hobby shop has a DCC equiped Bachmann SD40-2 in the Santa Fe blue and Yellow that reminds me of an engine I had when I was really young.... id love to run this for the nostalgia factor but I'm not sure if it will derail. I plan on having mostly 22" turns on my loops (4 feet wide sections with protective barriors) but I may put one or two 18" turns into yard areas... not sure yet. Would you guys suggest I stay away from this particular engine? I love the look of the 3 axles... and the length... it seems "tougher" than the GP40 I was considering....

Any input? I have until next Friday to decide this...

Planning my wiring for my 10x10 room (around the wall setup)....

I was wondering if those rail joiners that had the wires atatched are any good? I would prefer to use them over soldering my own line to the track if possible

also.... with a "block" does it work like this:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Dynamis---> 14ga wire------> Block{8  8  8  8 8}
                                                         l   l   l    l  l
                                                         l   l   l    l  l
                                 (*track joiners in different areas of layout*)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

??  sorry for the odd... uh... "diagram"   I hope it makes sense...

and any idea's on a good site to pick up these blocks?

EDIT:   Also... how long can the wire be from the Dynamis to the block, and from the block to the track? I know resistance will come into the equation after a while...

Ok well after a day or two of thinking and researching my needs, and a few very helpful emails I have decided to go with the Dynamis system 

It is in the mail... should be here by the weeks end. I'll be back to bug you all with further questions lol

Until then... Cheers!

I bought this set in December for a Christmas layout. I think the price was right and its a good beginner set for sure!

Pros:

-Looks great... the large 4-8-4 dwarfs my other deisel loco. The amount of rolling stock (cars) included is a good deal as well.
-It smokes! some people seem to not be a fan of that, but I thought it looked cool... especially when coming out of a tunnel.
-Fair amount of EZ track included... more so than some starter kits.

Cons:
-plastic wheels on all rolling stock... I didn't expect this but should have with a starter kit... sometimes they actually pop out of the "truck" or whatever it is called. Pretty sure these can be replaced with metal for a cheap price.
-Derails at times... that engine, while looking good, just barely seems to make the curves at a 22'' radius. I had mine pop off the track (mainly the front wheels) a few times at over half throttle... but I also found I had 2 places that were not 100% level, so I cannot blame the train for the entire issue...
-The yellow "headlight" on the train is a bit dim, only looks good at full throttle


I found my set on Ebay, new, for a great price... look around (especially on google) for prices, as they vary quite a bit.

Good luck and enjoy! 

"Dynamis has one major limitation. The system as you are buying it will not read decoders, only program them. With that in mind, it becomes your choice."

Hmmmm I don't like the sound of that.... does this limit my use of other brand loco's turnouts etc? I have been comparing the NCE Power Cab system as well... there are videos for both systems on youtube and both seem pretty easy...

Decisions... decisions...

I picked up 25 pieces of Atlas code 83 flex track today for a good price... now I have a few DCC questions:

1. I think I'm going to stick with Bachmann products... and get a DCC ready GP40 engine.. I found one I really like on ebay. Since I currently do NOT have a DCC set up, I found this link searching the boards here

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Bachmann-36505-Dynamis-DCC-Controller-p/bac-36505.htm

Is the above system *everything* needed to hook up to the track I ordered... or is that just a controller and I need to buy other stuff for it? I want to make sure I have an entire "plug and play" set up ready soon.

2. I have read DCC works best if you add feeder lines to it every few feet into the layout. what do I need and where do I get it? 

Thanks!
-Mike

Thanks for the replys!  

few more questions:

1. Flex track... I have pretty much sold myself on using this. However, I was at a hobby shop the other day and found some and while bending it, I noticed... the rails shorten/lengthen... how do you connect this stuff?? I know this may sound like a silly question, but do you have to physically cut the metal part of the track at all?

2. I am going to go to DCC.... I plan on running 2, maybe 3 engines MAX on this set.. moving them around with the switches etc... what is a good, affordable DCC controller to get me started (that will work with the flex track) ??

3. I found this engine on Ebay and really like it, it looks like the one that runs down MoPac here in Austin:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bachmann-HO-Scale-Train-Diesel-GP35-DCC-Equipped-Union-Pacific-743-60713-/200692135850?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item2eba2ef7aa#ht_2752wt_766

what era is that considered?