Originally Posted by: ocram63_uk 
After months of frustration and disenchantment I decided to put away my little layout and trains and wait for better times, mainly my own house with a room for a layout. ... Is digital an improvement in our lives or not ? I don't think so. ... I admire all you guys that like to put so much time and effort in your digital projects, but how much time do you actually spend running trains without worries ?... Analog was much much better, complicated wiring I admit, but easier to run. ... Definitely not going back to it though as I will always keep it simple. ...
Marco
Hello Marco,
Please, please do "
Take it Easy" :
(I am in that audience, though hard to spot !!!) so do, take it easy and consider a simplified digital Märklin, let me explain my own journey

:
Like most of us, I was originally in analogue (again a late-comer to Märklin, not counting childhood Hornby Doublo) from about 1983.
Then a house move (mainly because the prospective new house had a great potential trainroom

) prompted a new medium-sized layout in 1995 and I decided the correct move was to digital. I have never regretted this.
My digital initiative was into the era of 6021.
In my trainroom I like to have direct and immediate control of every locomotive that is running on my layout (eight of them on the four main tracks plus movements in the station area, freight yard, and electric, diesel and steam service facilities). For that reason alone, despite the eventual digital mastercontroller “advances”, I did not progress to the subsequent “control many-but only two at an instant time-in one device”

setups.
For me it is about keeping it simple so I can spend most of my time running my trains. I am not interested in siting back and watching a computer running my trains - I want to do that directly myself, not just on the main lines, but more interestingly in station movements shunting and to-and-through movements involving the electric, diesel and steam facilities. I do, however, enjoy frequent sorties into electrical/electronic/digital constructions with my locomotives together with their control.
So I remain with my 6021 system

:


I have avoided engaging with MFX - even though many of my later Märklin locos (and two PIKO @ "M4" !) qualify.
This is mostly because of KIS,S but also the concerning comments I have noted on this forum and I remain with a simple Motorola protocol.
I may walk with the dinosaurs but I have had no problems at all and believe I can fully enjoy my trains with five "functions".
For the last seven years on this forum (I am a “Johnny-come-lately” to this forum) I have bitten my tongue through what seems to be myriads of complaints about the subsequent generations of Märklin digital controllers and systems.
I have never had any such concerns with my “old-fashioned” 6021 control system but I must admit to having been somewhat disloyal in using only ESU decoders in my 6080 upgrades and in ensuing analogue loco acquisition conversions for some years; I can then adjust them very nicely to my preferences with my ESU LokProgrammer.
We all have a valued opinion on this forum, this is just my own experience – to each his own

- I certainly respect the opinion of those that are at variance with mine. I think we all have individual reasons as to why we continue to gain enjoyment from and stay in this hobby with Märklin.
Regards,
PJ