DCC on Marklin

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DCC on Marklin - DCC beginner's question

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Giovanni Carboni		#1 Posted : 19 January 2026 10:34:22(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 08/03/2015(UTC) Posts: 22 Location: Toscana, Pisa		Hello folks, a digital beginner's question. Is it possible to use the DCC protocol with the current Marklin Digital locomotives? I ask because I have two old Marklin locos which I converted to DCC. I don't want to use my control station (a ROCO z21) in MM mode but in pure DCC. Any disadvantage ? Thanks Giovanni

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JohnjeanB		#2 Posted : 19 January 2026 11:55:25(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 04/02/2011(UTC) Posts: 3,712 Location: Paris, France		Hi Giovannt Since a decade - I think - digital Märklin locos are multi'protocol understanding MM2 (Motorola), DCC and MFX A disadvantage to use your Roco Z21 in DCC-only mode? I don't know Roco's Z21 (I use a CS3) but: - using only one protocol helps with reactivity - in DCC mode some Märklin locos will have less fonctions (27 or so and not the full 31) but is it that important? - when jumping from MM2 to DCC I cannot think of any drawback. In the long run, if you buy mostly Märklin I strongly advise to use a CS3 and MFX whenever it is possible in the future My train with MFX, CS3 and Rocrail Cheers Jean
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EB421		#3 Posted : 19 January 2026 13:40:19(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 10/04/2025(UTC) Posts: 113 Location: UK		29 functions total (F0 and F1-F28). DCC's current cap as I read it is function sixty-eight, but z21 currently still only supports up to F28 like most controllers. I like the z and Z 21 so don't see any reason that should need to change. There are extra features the CS3 (and eCOS and some other command stations) have like auto-identification (this is not an MFX-exclusive feature, the z21 just doesn't support Railcom+); but they're "nice to have" instead of critical for 99.9% of modellers. The performance of my TRIX locomotives on z21/DCC is perfect.


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Giovanni Carboni		#4 Posted : 19 January 2026 15:26:35(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 08/03/2015(UTC) Posts: 22 Location: Toscana, Pisa		Originally Posted by: JohnjeanB Hi Giovannt Since a decade - I think - digital Märklin locos are multi'protocol understanding MM2 (Motorola), DCC and MFX Cheers Jean Thanks Jean. Cheers Giovanni


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EB421		#5 Posted : 19 January 2026 15:29:36(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 10/04/2025(UTC) Posts: 113 Location: UK		Originally Posted by: JohnjeanB Hi Giovannt Since a decade - I think - digital Märklin locos are multi'protocol understanding MM2 (Motorola), DCC and MFX With a few exceptions - Start-Up is a mix of MFX only and only one or two +DCC things like the current version of the crane.


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