10-23-2010, 11:44 AM
I am afraid in some time (years) DCC decoders will be installed in all locomotives by default. That will be true for the entry level market too.
Bachmann is showing the way. Some time ago Bachmann started to have decoders in entry market engines as separate units attached via the 8-pin plug. At that time Bachmann had the extra cost of the very entry level decoder, the plug in the board and the extra labor attaching the decoder. I am sure the decoder was the least problem. The next step followed soon. The DCC decoder became a chip on the PCB in an engine that had a PCB anyhow. At that point the only extra cost is the bare chip. That cost can easily covered even for an entry level locomotive if you get the right quantity. I am very sure the DCC extra cost is less than $3.
But how much extra revenue can you make with a new customer starting with DCC vs. a new DC customer? I think the $3 are well spend.
When all entry locomotives are sold with a DCC chip there isn't any more an excuse for the upper class to delivery a locomotive without that "standard" functionality (it's not a feature anymore). I am watching Athearn to do that very step. Athearn RTR is very close to the Bachmann entry market. They are the next brand to have DCC "by nature". The "upper class" (e.g. Atlas) will be happy with that development. They can drop the "silver line" and promote the much more expensive "gold line". At that time there are no newcomers asking for a more expensive locomotive without the DCC functionality they are used to from their first day.
That is my prediction of the DCC future.
Bachmann is showing the way. Some time ago Bachmann started to have decoders in entry market engines as separate units attached via the 8-pin plug. At that time Bachmann had the extra cost of the very entry level decoder, the plug in the board and the extra labor attaching the decoder. I am sure the decoder was the least problem. The next step followed soon. The DCC decoder became a chip on the PCB in an engine that had a PCB anyhow. At that point the only extra cost is the bare chip. That cost can easily covered even for an entry level locomotive if you get the right quantity. I am very sure the DCC extra cost is less than $3.
But how much extra revenue can you make with a new customer starting with DCC vs. a new DC customer? I think the $3 are well spend.
When all entry locomotives are sold with a DCC chip there isn't any more an excuse for the upper class to delivery a locomotive without that "standard" functionality (it's not a feature anymore). I am watching Athearn to do that very step. Athearn RTR is very close to the Bachmann entry market. They are the next brand to have DCC "by nature". The "upper class" (e.g. Atlas) will be happy with that development. They can drop the "silver line" and promote the much more expensive "gold line". At that time there are no newcomers asking for a more expensive locomotive without the DCC functionality they are used to from their first day.
That is my prediction of the DCC future.
Reinhard