Joined: 01/06/2016(UTC) Posts: 2,465
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Originally Posted by: cintrans  Originally Posted by: dsbtog  Hey everyone,
So, whatever happened to Jean-Pierre and his return to the hobby?
I read many of the initial posts, and skimmed the rest, but it looks like he initially wanted to remain with the old analog trains, upgrade them to digital, and stay with the Delta transformer.
It also looks like everyone eventually convinced him to at least go to a mobile station on CS2...
Here is the path I have taken: I got my first Marklin train set the Christmas after I turned 3 in November - that would have been 1967. I still have the original lok and 3 cars.
In the 80's I had over time expanded, and had set up a fine looking layout in my parents' dining room - 3 elevations high - on perhaps a 5ft x 9ft area. I lost interest when I discovered girls - but came back briefly in the late 90s, early 00s, expanding my rolling stock collection, and pinpointing my direction etc,, to be Denmark, Era IV (with ery late III and very early V), rolling DSB stock - because those were the trains I rode as a kid and teen.
Again, life got in the way, and now, starting about 2017, I have been expanding my collection again, having now discovered DIGITAL!!!!!
I am working on upgrading all my old rolling stock to Digital, with the high-efficiency motor, having amassed nearly every part of the MM Digital system components, including the 2nd gen MM, like Control 80f - I got the keyboard, memory, control station, central control, central station, 2 6001 transformers, one running a booster for the k83 switch decoders - and I am having a blast!
Yes, upgrading old locos is a lot of work, but for about $40 - $45 each, it is very cost efficient in place of a brand new digital - and if I do a LokSound, it's still less than $150 including the HE propulsion, plus the enjoyment of the accomplishment.
I am still running M-track - and I need to get some older Lima DSB Litra MZ engines converted from DC to AC Digital. Also bought a couple of very new Roco DSB engines in DC - MISTAKE!!!!! While the old Lima ones are fairly uncomplicated and relatively inexpensive to convert - not so with Roco, especially for the DSB Litra Ma 461 Platinum Edition "Lyntog" - which requires nearly EUR 300 in replacement parts for the DC to AC conversion. I had purchased 2 already when I discovered this, and am now selling one to cover the cost to convert the other - and have purchased one in AC with LokSound, so I will have a nice set of Ma 461 and Ma 463.
Now - to my point: I am drooling over the Mobile Station - but I had already purchased much of the MM CS1 before I knew it had aged out - and I am finding that there is at least ONE thing the CS2 and CS3 can't do: Route memory, setting several turnouts at the touch of just 1 button on the Memory. I have decided to remain with the MM system (for now), and learn little by little. This system can do what I was trying to solve in 1984 in my parents place, and I am upgrading my older locomotives, but have finally concluded that, when buying new, unless there is a specific engine number that is not made in Digital, always buy (used) digital engines instead of buying an old analog to convert.
I'd be interested in Jean-Pierre's progress in the Dutch Antilles.
Cheers everyone!
Michael. Hi Michael Well, i guess that is the "problem" with life... it gets it the way of our hobby's quite often!! That being said, we continue on the path we started when we got back in the hobby last year, and although i still have those couple of old analog loks, all others now are Delta (the simple digital) loks. I have converted a Marklin #3430 SBB CFF E-loc with the #60760 conversion kit, witch works very nice! Changed the light bulbs with SMD LED's in the process also. Bought (among other train goodies) a "nicer" #3460 Swiss lok and a ICE2 set (...the Delta version...) when on vacation in Europe. The #3460 will also be upgraded with a #60760 kit, as will the ICE2 in a later stage. I understand that the ICE2 will be more tricky to modify because of the powered end car....? Have to do some reading up on that one first... Although not Marklin, i also bought a nice PIKO-for Marklin Taurus lok with the yellow / silver "Kombi Verkehr" livery for my Rolling Landstrasse. Lok is digital (simple decoder) and drives fairly nice.... Also upgraded from the M-rails to the C-rails by now because, obviously, they are a lot nicer and more efficient to work with. I did not stay with the Delta controller, but upgraded instead to digital with a time-proven and bullet proof 6021 with the 6040 keyboard and matching transformer that i was able to buy on one of the 2e hand websites in Europe... I know its outdated compared to the mobile stations and central stations, but it does do what i want it to do, and if ever sometimes goes wrong with it, i probably could fix it myself..... Well, that's what we did so far! Still tinkering around with our re-discovered hobby! Regards from Aruba Jean-Pierre Arriba Aruba! Good to read your magnificent progress. C-track is gorgeous. I use it myself. Please be aware buying used c-track rails - especially before 2010 - they can brittle sometimes. Märklin has still an exchange programm for such broken or brittled tracks, although the main fault happened before the insolvency and therefore before the new owners..
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