DCC

Good afternoon, this is my first post to the site and I'm sure its probably been asked before, I just couldn't find the thread. However, I'm a recent convert to Z. space playing a major contributor. Ive been toying around with different track plans and while I know the plan I pick with will influence weather I go DCC or not, does anyone have some strong recommendations on which brand DCC I should go with? Model, brand, really anything that would help! Thanks!

Jed,
Welcome to the group. Don't worry too much about your post: the DCC info is scattered all over the place (of course I can say that since I don't run site). It would be useful to know about your experience in other scales.
I've recently started working on converting over to DCC, so I know some of the issues.
For the DCC controller, I'd suggest the NCE Power Cab. I have one because of its low power (2A goes a long way in Z and "more power" is frequently a bad thing at 1:220 scale); low price, but expandable; it's a common unit among Z-scalers and there is a good knowledge base available for help.
As for the locos, I'm not aware of any that are DCC off the shelf. There are several locos which can be easily DCCed: MTL's GP7/GP9 has drop-in decoders from Digitrax and TCS (I don't have enough operating experience to make a recommendation), AZL showed a drop-in unit from Digitrax for at least their newer (< 2yrs) GPs. You might want to check with them for availability. For other locos, there are decoders that will fit in Z units, such as the Z-2, DZ-125, DZ-143, but they can be "challenging" to install. There are also a number of Eurpoean decoders available, but due to U.S. availability I didn't give much thought to them.
There are a number of posts on the net for their installation in various AZL, Marklin and MTL locos. I've found posts from members of BAZ Boys and Zocal group members to be the most useful. Understand that in some cases you need a machine shop to prepare the loco for DCC, but the are people you will do it for you. Usually a quick search of the loco type, DCC & Z Scale will find them for you.

Hope this helps,
Mark

Thank you for the quick reply, normally I'll be faster on the reply, works been a bit crazy lately. Anyway hopefully I'll have a blog and bio bit posted which will provide a bit more detail on my history which I assume will make answering some of my questions easier. Typically, I've worked in HO and a little N. I suppose my favorite aspect of model railroading is scenery and detail. THis coupled with the fact that Ive always been very limited on space and traditionally worked with HO meant my layouts were always super simple switching layouts. Never had any reason to consider DCC since all I need was around two or four blocks. My main reason for switching to N (and it has been a slow and cost hindering conversion) is how much less space it takes up. I'm currently working/planning (over the last year now) a single track (maybe double deppending on a few things) single or double loop with a yard (something never possible with the space I have and HO). I kind of like DCC more and more as I research it further. Cost wise isn't going to be too much worse since for now I only have a single AZL loco and it is DCC ready (with a few additions). Hope this helps, your post def did.

Jed,
Glad the DCC info helped.I started researching DCC in Z last Fall. I sort of have a love-hate relationship with DCC: I love what it can do for me, but hate the process of getting there. About half my fleet is F-units, DCC-able if you have the all the machine tools or willing to pay to have it done. With the new AZL GPs and their drop-in decoder, I'm liking DCC a bit more and thinking of turning some of my F units into DCCed A-B or A-B-A MUs.
I also like the scenicing aspect of modeling, but my interest are more in the direction of animation: lighting effects, crossing gates, motion effects. It goes back to my youth with my American Flyer S scale where flashing lights and moving objects and bells and whistles were an intergral part of the experience.
I got into Z about 25 years ago via N scale and Nn3 scale, when Marklin introduced their first American mini-club set. I like what you can do in a small space: a 2x6 foot double track oval translates to nearly a mile proto.

Mark