Ok, was going to post this on Atlas’s forums,but for the life of me I can’t get an account there (tried 3 different email accounts and still no email on how to complete registration)
Ok, in reviewing for the possibilities of getting a DCC system, i did some research ( as any good fanatic out there), Now I liked the price on the atlas system and the fact that it said it could handle 99 Loco’s at once.
Now despite the fact that it only put out 2.5 amps I thought this would be an ideal starter set. but with further reading i find that you can only add 3 addtional Booster packs to it, no more.
In my research, i find that a 2.5 amp booster will drive around 5-6 locos effectivly, and with atlas’s limit of 4 boosters (it comes with one), that’s a top limit of 24 Loco’s, no where near 99 Loco’s!
Seems they should say Max Loco’s as 24 not 99, considering that is false advertisement, even if the controller can handle 99 loco’s they’ve preset the hardware to effectivly 24.
Now mind you, an average operator will probably never have 24 loco’s on the track at one time, but the fact remains that the average consumer is being duped into thinking they’re getting a better DCC system that even the low end Digitrax system.
So i guess after all this research, i’m probably going to shoot for Digitrax Empire Builder, since the Chief is more than i need and the Zypher is a little on the short side. At least digitrax doesn’t mislead you with false numbers.
Jay.
I’m not a DCC fan but from what I hear & see about Atlas, they are a superior manufacturer
and run the best model rr forum on the internet.
Is there a possibility that there’s a mis-interpretation of the vitals?
I’ll post this for you on the Atlas forum, in the DCC section. Look for a title - Atlas DCC engine count .
I don’t understand why you can’t get registered, I’ll also copy and paste your problem in their administrative forum, under the title - Atlas Registration problem
no the numbers are not misleading. you are trying to compare apple to oranges. 99 is the number of decoders address that are availed not the number of loco it can handle. if you need more power buy one of nce power booster. they have both 5 and ten amp models. my systemone used 5 amp and I run a 25 by 48 layout in ho scale and that is more the enough.
CSX how are you using a 5 amp or 10 amp booster with the atlas system? it has a 2.5 amp output cap, anymore and it shuts down.
Atlas says it can control 99 Loco’s and hold 99 address’s, compared to Digitrax’s Chief of controlling 120 and holding 9000 address’s.
So you see I’m not comparing apples and oranges, a 2.5 amp output cap and a 4 booster cap does not allow for 99 loco at one time. If it can truely Control 99 Loco’s on 2.5 amps and with a 4 booster cap, I’d like to know how.
RSN48, already emailed them and have been emailing back and forth on the problem, must be something at their end if i can’t do it with 3 different email addy’s on 3 different services.
I don’t think it’s misleading. I never thought I could run 99 locomotives when I read their stuff. I understood that I could own up to 99 locomotives, each with their own, unique DCC address and never have an address conflict.
I don’t own a DCC system, yet, so I feel fairly objective about this. I will say that I think this thread smells a little like flame-bait to me. To expect any entry-level DCC system to run 99 - 120 locomotives simultaneously is naivety in the extreme. Anybody with 99+ decoder equipped locos isn’t low-ball shopping for basic DCC systems.
Sorry if it sounds that way, just trying to figure out how they can say 99 Loco/Consists and 99 address with a max of 4 2.5 amp boosters.
If you refer to tony’s trains http://www.ttx-dcc.com/productcompare/dcccomparison.htm you’ll see how it can appear that way on their comparison chart. as for the booster rule, i found that elsewhere and will have to find it again.
Am I the only one on the face of the Earth that knows that these “economical” DCC controllers
are nothing but glorified power packs. I wasted about three post on trying to explain this
under my topic" A question for old timers" . They have no programming ability other than
changing your loco address. I do not understand why anyone would waste one doller on
these when you can get a system such as Digitrax or Lenz for a little more. So rather than
worrying about how many locos you can run at once,( with atlas you can actually only “control”
one at a time, with digitrax you can use 2 DC packs as trottles without buying extra trottles)
you should be concearned that you have no way of programming you decoders.
So if all you want to do is run you trains around your layout and turn your headlights on and off
just stick with DC and dont waste your money.If you want to take advantage of what DCC was
designed for , spend a few more dollers and get a system with a full range of programming
features.
Blue in the face
Dave
you can add a booster to the atlas system by wring it to the C & D on your atlas power station. The atlas system then will work like the systemone/nce system where they can use extra boosters . 3.0 a cut off will not be a problem because the altas system send out a low voltage signal to those output for that purpose. look on page 27 of the atlas manual. if you need to know how to wring the plug to connect an nice booster I can email it to you or find someone with a systemone manual and follow the lenz to booster wring . i am useing a twin 5 amp booster with a 5 amp power supply. i have the layout in two half with 2.5 amp each. in my case if i need more power i must get a bigger power supply. hop this helps Rob
“99Loco/Consists” Means 99 locos programmed, nothing more or less is implied. You park them in your staging yard and use them as your operating plan requires. WhenYOUR layout is so big that you need to run over 24 locos at once, let alone 99, then you can explain to us why you chose to use an entry-level DCC system instead of a full-featured high-end system. Did any of your “research” that you keep mentioning tell you who actually makes the Atlas system?
If you think you’re EVER going to need to run 99 locos AT THE SAME TIME, with ANY system, you’re dreaming. Talk about a traffic-jam!! Everybody with a lot of locos likes them all to be programmed and have their own address, so they can come out of staging or the drawer and be run without delay. That’s ALL the advertising is claiming. By the way, McDonalds’ Big Mac is advertised as having “Special Sauce”, but it’s pretty much just Thousand Island dressing. Doesn’t that make you want to call a lawyer?
I think you’ve misunderstood Atlas’ specs. The Atlas system supports 99 addresses, meaning only that 99 locomotives can be given unique addresses. It also is limited to 2.5A of output (about 4 low-current motors, or 2.5 Athearn blue-box motors) before needing boosters. I haven’t seen our club run with boosters yet, and we run up to 6 locomotives at a time on our flat modular layout. If you seriously expect to run more than 6 trains at a time with 2 locomotives each, then no, Atlas isn’t the right choice for you.
As for Dave999’s remark about “glorified power packs” - Atlas can directly program all CV’s, and operates functions 0 through 4. It doesn’t work as quickly as Digitrax or as conveniently, but it does it at a lower cost.
It’s the same as everything else: Time / Quality / Cost - choose two.