PIKO Spielwaren Ltd wireless DCC system

PIKO of Germany has introduced an entry-level Digital Command Control (DCC) system that features infrared wireless operation. The Digi 1 system comes with a wireless remote, receiver base station, and two decoders. It’s intended for a model railroader who wants to operate two or three locomotives at a time. You can add other components, including Digi 2 boosters and other handhelds, to extend the system for larger model railroads.

The system supports as many as four throttles, functions F0-F7, accessory decoders with addresses 1-256, and locomotives with addresses 0-127. The system’s programming capabilities are limited to changing the address, which is done on the main track. (Warning: This system will change the address of any locomotive left on the main during programming.)

Easy operation. The Digi system is extremely simple to operate. The battery-powered handheld, which resembles a television remote control, is lightweight and has the direction and speed keys located in the center of the controller. Some keys are intuitive – for example, the key with the locomotive icon is used to select an engine – but others are less so. You need to use the key with an icon that looks like a pair of turnouts to program a new locomotive address, and the “F+8” key has no function at all. Also, the “off” key works for only the headlight; you need to use the “stop” key to switch off the track power. Still, the operation of the handheld is easy to master.

The accessory function is inter-esting and quite useful. First, you use the turnout icon and the keypad to select the accessory decoder you wish to use. The system then assigns the leftmost of four pairs of green/red keys to that decoder. The other three pairs go to the next three higher numbers (if the left buttons control no. 20, the other three control 21, 22, and 23). Having multiple accessory decoders available at the same time makes it simpler to select a train’s path through a yard or junction, since you can assign sequential numbers to accessories that you use together.

Power requirements. The system will support a maximum current of 1.8 amps, but unfortunately it’s offered only with a European-style transformer that can’t be used in the United States. Instead, I tested our sample with an Atlas no. 335 Generator 15-volt, 3-amp power supply, which falls within the PIKO system’s requirements.

The one caveat I have is that the RMS track voltage with the recom­-mended transformer is 20 volts. While that’s within the range specified in the National Model Railroad Association’s DCC standard 9.1, it’s higher than some decoders will tolerate without heating excessively or shutting down. You can use an MRC no. AT880 universal voltage reducer to drop the track voltage to 16 volts. Simply install the reducer between the base station and the track.

PIKO (and its DCC partner, Uhlenbrock) has introduced an intuitive system that performs well and brings wireless operation to the starter DCC market.

PIKO DCC system features
Designed to meet NMRA DCC specifications
Functions F0 through F7
Includes two decoders
Infrared wireless control
Supports addresses 0-127
System can handle as many as four throttles

PIKO wireless DCC system
Price: $230

Manufacturer
PIKO Spielwaren Ltd.
(Distributed by LGB of
America)
Lutherstraße 30
D-96515 Sonneberg
Germany
www.piko.de/e/

Description
Infrared wireless DCC system