Monthly Archives: November 2005

New Link

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Astute observers will notice that there are now two links in the menu bar that reference something called Fre-MOn30 — a mail list at Yahoo!Groups and a web site.

Fre-MOn30 is an outgrowth of several initiatives for an On30 Module Standard, including OCMODS. The unique thing about the Fre-MOn30 is that it provides a standardized way to build non-standard modules. In other words, generally speaking, the standard is more about the module interface than anything else (although certain stipulations are placed on the mainline, to provide allow for the greatest compatibility with the widest array of locos and rolling stock).

The Mid-Atlantic modules are compatible with Fre-MOn30, at least at the interface level.

Site of Inspiration

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Bob's Boat & Bait Shop One of the more inspirational sites on the web, at least as far as I’m concerned, is Laurie Green’s, especially his waterfront scenes. Of special note is “Bob’s Boat & Bait Shop.” You may (or may not) recognize the structure from my mockup photos.

Although based on the same design and concept, mine will, of course, be a bit different. Materials and construction details will be altered to more resemble similar buildings on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

How to Program a DCC Decoder

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I’ve found the best way to program a DCC decoder, and it’s free (depending upon your DCC system)!

DecoderPro is a free application that runs on pretty much any Windows98, WindowsXP, MacOS or Linux computer. If you have an NCE Powerhouse Pro system of just about any vintage, you can simply plug your computer into the serial port and you’re ready to program just about any decoder currently on the market. Other systems will require some sort of computer interface (for Digitrax users, that’s the MS100).

Decoder settings, including those pesky custom speed curve tables, can be easily adjusted and sent to the loco, along with literally every other setting in the decoder, and all through easy to read and understand screens.

Once you’ve got all your settings for a particular loco set, you can save it off for future reference, or, if you’ve got a “fleet” of one particular loco type, simply change the address and download all the same parameters to each loco.

Did I mention this is free software? What more could you ask for?