Although I like the concept of (mostly) plug and play, for getting the digital input push button commands onto the dcc and or accessory bus. It’s the multiple break points of 6 and 12 turnouts that is a real downside e.g. For 13 turnouts and need an extra AEU and a DCD-DSB costing circa £120 just for adding an extra turnout, it softens the blow if you need upwards 14 to 18. Sure for turnouts 7 to 12 and ditto 19 to 24 it is just an extra DCD-DSB at circa £50. You certainly have to be careful on costing this system up and that’s before all the cost of the dcc turnout motors! There’s certainly a high price to pay for going minimal on the wiring, but recognize it’s all about getting the balance features, components vs cost right. This video certainly helps clarify, particularly addressing in fixed address blocks of 12 which you written instructions are not clear about. Otherwise a very informative video, left me a lot to think about! thanks Stephen
@@dccconceptsyoutube6446 Yes realised that - three good points (pardon the pun)- just as for control of solenoid point motors. Thinking about that with your system can you do anything like diode arrays as used in route settings, that is without adding some other form of logic control/ processing or mapping/ array. Correct me if I am wrong but I got from this video that an input address has to match exactly the same point address so it can control it. Cheers Stephen
Absolutely yes - you can connect an Alpha Switch D panel into the Sniffer Port on the back of a Z21 system using our Sniffer Adapter (DCD-SNX). Pressing the buttons on the control panel will then send the command to the Z21 - the on-screen display will change and your accessory will be controlled :)
Hello John. It is only an accessory system that "piggybacks" onto an existing DCC system or is a "stand alone" accessory only system. It is not directly Loconet compatible, but can be hooked into a Digitrax system using the relevant adapter cables and Alpha Box. The same applies for Expressnet. The Alpha protocols are based upon the NCE Cab bus. I hope this helps... Richard, DCCconcepts
Hello Charles We do make a DC version of this - Alpha Switch A. Give us a call on 01729821080 to discuss your requirements. We are open 7 days from 10-5.
Not so much from this video but.... DCCconcepts seem to have great products but also the worlds most confusing naming to their electronic devices. I've been studying their videos, documentation and explanations for ages only to be befuddled by their combinations of strange terminology and I'm from an electromechanical background! Alpha this, Cobalt that, Cobalt Alpha combined, sniffers, boxes and centrals, Zen, iP, SS...... There is never a basic overview of what it means. It is always assumed that you fully understand all their complexities before you start! I bet they are inundated with queries simply because there's no explanations of how to make sense of it all!
Hello! Our products are in families, much like cars - so VW has (for example) a Golf and a Polo - under those model names there are various different options and trim levels. DCCconcepts / Legacy Models - these are our main brand names. Cobalt = Anything that makes turnouts and accessories work on your layout. Under this there are various different models of turnout motors etc. such as Cobalt iP Digital or Cobalt-SS, there are also control system products such as Cobalt S-Lever. Cobalt Alpha = Physical control of digital accessories. This is where pushing a button or flicking a switch sends a digital signal to change your turnouts or accessories. Still under the "Cobalt" umbrella as it controls accessories, but a sub-group which has buttons, encoder boards, extension wires etc... You can think of Cobalt Alpha as the components you'd need to build a control panel for your layout. Zen = Anything that makes a Locomotive work such as decoders and stay-alives etc... Other products are individually named such as "Rolling Road" or "Trackbed" etc... We are open 6 days 10am until 5pm with a dedicated sales and customer support team. We also have a forum at www.dccconceptsforum.com and of course our main website at www.dccconcepts.com and on Facebook. In addition to this, we also actively encourage dealer support and training, with events both here in Settle and with our dealership network - so you can get advice from your local dealer as well as from us direct. We actively liase with online experts such as Charlie Bishop, Richard Watson, Jenny Kirk etc... who produce videos to show and help explain the products. If you have any questions about our products, then please do get in touch - we are always happy to help! :) ^RB @DCCconcepts
@@dccconceptsyoutube6446 Thank you for taking note and offering some kind of explanation. It's still a bit murky though as the the terminology doesn't sit well, flow or register easily in one's mind from the outset. My DCC layout is currently controlled with a Hornby Elite wired directly to the tracks only, no accessories bus wires, everything is powered and controlled through the track including the attached ADS-8sx. If I also wished to use an Alpha switch to manually control my analogue point motors (that are connected via a DCCconcept's ADS 8sx) as well as the Elite what would I need? Can I switch DCC controlled signal lights too via an Alpha switch or push button switches?
Although I like the concept of (mostly) plug and play, for getting the digital input push button commands onto the dcc and or accessory bus. It’s the multiple break points of 6 and 12 turnouts that is a real downside e.g. For 13 turnouts and need an extra AEU and a DCD-DSB costing circa £120 just for adding an extra turnout, it softens the blow if you need upwards 14 to 18. Sure for turnouts 7 to 12 and ditto 19 to 24 it is just an extra DCD-DSB at circa £50. You certainly have to be careful on costing this system up and that’s before all the cost of the dcc turnout motors! There’s certainly a high price to pay for going minimal on the wiring, but recognize it’s all about getting the balance features, components vs cost right. This video certainly helps clarify, particularly addressing in fixed address blocks of 12 which you written instructions are not clear about. Otherwise a very informative video, left me a lot to think about! thanks Stephen
Don't forget that a crossover is only one input, not two - the same as a turnout loop or a catch-point :)
@@dccconceptsyoutube6446 Yes realised that - three good points (pardon the pun)- just as for control of solenoid point motors. Thinking about that with your system can you do anything like diode arrays as used in route settings, that is without adding some other form of logic control/ processing or mapping/ array. Correct me if I am wrong but I got from this video that an input address has to match exactly the same point address so it can control it. Cheers Stephen
Hi there, that was much better. Regards Gary
Thanks for the feedback, Gary - glad we could help!
Can I use a Z21 connected to this system? And tortoise switch machines?
Kind regards
Jonathan
Absolutely yes - you can connect an Alpha Switch D panel into the Sniffer Port on the back of a Z21 system using our Sniffer Adapter (DCD-SNX).
Pressing the buttons on the control panel will then send the command to the Z21 - the on-screen display will change and your accessory will be controlled :)
could you use this for controlling kato switches?
As long as the kato switches have accessory decoders (such as our DCD-ADS range), then yes :)
Is this Loconet compatible ? Or Xpressnet compatible ?
Hello John.
It is only an accessory system that "piggybacks" onto an existing DCC system or is a "stand alone" accessory only system.
It is not directly Loconet compatible, but can be hooked into a Digitrax system using the relevant adapter cables and Alpha Box.
The same applies for Expressnet.
The Alpha protocols are based upon the NCE Cab bus.
I hope this helps...
Richard, DCCconcepts
This system its compatible with Esu Ecos 2?
Absolutely! Just connect via Sniffer adapter into the ECoS unit. Simple :)
Is there a US version of this?
Hello - we ship worldwide - this product would work perfectly in any country...
Can you use this on a dc setup
Hello Charles
We do make a DC version of this - Alpha Switch A.
Give us a call on 01729821080 to discuss your requirements. We are open 7 days from 10-5.
Looks very expensive and more complex than it needs to be.
It's actually far more cost effective than analog control :)
can you link parts used
Hello Dylan,
All details can be found on our website at www.dccconcepts.com or you can give us a call on 01729821080.
Not so much from this video but.... DCCconcepts seem to have great products but also the worlds most confusing naming to their electronic devices. I've been studying their videos, documentation and explanations for ages only to be befuddled by their combinations of strange terminology and I'm from an electromechanical background! Alpha this, Cobalt that, Cobalt Alpha combined, sniffers, boxes and centrals, Zen, iP, SS...... There is never a basic overview of what it means. It is always assumed that you fully understand all their complexities before you start! I bet they are inundated with queries simply because there's no explanations of how to make sense of it all!
Hello! Our products are in families, much like cars - so VW has (for example) a Golf and a Polo - under those model names there are various different options and trim levels.
DCCconcepts / Legacy Models - these are our main brand names.
Cobalt = Anything that makes turnouts and accessories work on your layout.
Under this there are various different models of turnout motors etc. such as Cobalt iP Digital or Cobalt-SS, there are also control system products such as Cobalt S-Lever.
Cobalt Alpha = Physical control of digital accessories. This is where pushing a button or flicking a switch sends a digital signal to change your turnouts or accessories. Still under the "Cobalt" umbrella as it controls accessories, but a sub-group which has buttons, encoder boards, extension wires etc... You can think of Cobalt Alpha as the components you'd need to build a control panel for your layout.
Zen = Anything that makes a Locomotive work such as decoders and stay-alives etc...
Other products are individually named such as "Rolling Road" or "Trackbed" etc...
We are open 6 days 10am until 5pm with a dedicated sales and customer support team. We also have a forum at www.dccconceptsforum.com and of course our main website at www.dccconcepts.com and on Facebook.
In addition to this, we also actively encourage dealer support and training, with events both here in Settle and with our dealership network - so you can get advice from your local dealer as well as from us direct. We actively liase with online experts such as Charlie Bishop, Richard Watson, Jenny Kirk etc... who produce videos to show and help explain the products.
If you have any questions about our products, then please do get in touch - we are always happy to help! :)
^RB @DCCconcepts
@@dccconceptsyoutube6446 Thank you for taking note and offering some kind of explanation. It's still a bit murky though as the the terminology doesn't sit well, flow or register easily in one's mind from the outset.
My DCC layout is currently controlled with a Hornby Elite wired directly to the tracks only, no accessories bus wires, everything is powered and controlled through the track including the attached ADS-8sx. If I also wished to use an Alpha switch to manually control my analogue point motors (that are connected via a DCCconcept's ADS 8sx) as well as the Elite what would I need? Can I switch DCC controlled signal lights too via an Alpha switch or push button switches?