After SEVERAL years of arm chair railroading, I have my basement and am ready to take the plunge.
Would like to go DCC (even though I know nothing about it) in N scale (Illinois Central).
I would like to know your expert opinions on the Bachman Dynamis and how it compares to Digtrax Zypher, NCE, and other starter sets.
Thanks
majortom
The Bachmann Dynamis is a dead-end system. For the same price point you can be well into any quality DCC system you choose.
I humbly suggest either the NCE PowerCab or Digitrax Zephyr.
David B
I have no personal experience with the Bachmann Dynamis, but do know that it uses an infrared link between the controller and receiver, which will be strictly line-of-sight communcations, similar to a remote control on a DVD player or TV set. If anything at all gets between you and the receiver, or you’re not pointing it directly at the receiver, you will lose control of your train.
I would agree with David. Though the Dynamis looks sexy, the Digitrax Zephyr and NCE PowerCab are the best entry level systems in terms of price/performance. The PowerCab has a reputation for being more user-friendly, while the Zephyr is a bit more powerful. The Zephyr’s limit for locomotives on your layout is ten while I believe the PowerCab’s is six. The power output of the units may reduce that number a bit, but the Zephyr also offers greater power output than the PowerCab.
Best!
Randall, let me clarify this a little.
Speaking specifically about the Zephyr as this is what I use.
The Zephyr has a limit of 10 locomotives (more locos if in consists) running simultaneously. In addition to the system constraint of 10 locomotives running, there is a physical power constraint which may further limit the number that can be run simultaneously. Since most DCC equipped locos use very little current the 2.5 Amp capacity of the Z is capable of handling 10 powered locos. Throw in a couple of high current users and the number of locos will drop.
Important point!
These numbers, in particular the number 10, only apply to locomotives that are selected and under direct control. Many more locomotives can be sitting idle on the layout in yards etc. At this very moment there are 24 locomotives on my Zephyr run layout. Of the 24 a maximum of 10 can be run at once.
To be fair, the Dynamis is a brand new system. We really do not know what is planned for this system so can not say for sure that it is a dead-end. Bachmann may well have plans for considerable expansion and development. What we do know is that the device is not made by Bachmann, but has been designed for them by one of the European DCC makers. It does appear to have some nice innovations in terms of user interface.
If the relationship between Bachmann and the designer remains strong and secure. If the product is subject to upgrades, add-ons and development. If Bachmann get their act together and provide good technical support for the system then this could be a reasonable choice. The problem is that if any of these things don’t happen then the predictions of “dead-end product” become a sad reality.
The advantage of purchasing from a company that makes and supports its own systems is that you know there is commitment.
Simon, et. al.
This is because whatever your last speed setting was for each of your locos is continually sent out over the tracks in a command packet. The number of locos that a DCC command station can continually send to is usually called its “roster”. The command station interleaves the last commands sent to each locomotive in its roster and continually re-broadcasts them. The roster of the Super Chief is 120 locos. I was actually trying to avoid getting that technical in this thread.
I’ve always been curious about something. If you have 10 locomotives running and start an 11th, does the least recently used locomotive (the one you’ve least recently adjusted the speed of) stop, or just keep running at it’s current setting? From my understanding of the technology, I would guess the latter, meaning that technically you could run all 24 locos simultaneously if you had an additional booster. Personally I don’t have the layout capacity to run more than four or so at a time, so I couldn’t test it without having train wrecks.
Best!
Accurate information about the Dynamis is hard to find, even from Bachmann’s own web site. Most places that Google finds are in the U.K., where it has evidently been on the market longer than in North America.
One site in the U.K. references the use of a Dynamis Pro Box to allow the use of additional controllers, but this is evidently not available in the U.S. because even Bachmann doesn’t mention it in their advertisements.
Bachmann’s advertisement on page 37 of the August 2008 issue of Model Railroader magazine claims that one can control up to 40 locomotives at any one time, or 40 consists of up to five locomotives each; however, it comes with only a 2.3 Amp power supply, which would not be able to handle that power load. No price or availability information is given for any add-on items, such as additional power transformers, the Pro Box, or controllers.
Until Bachmann USA provides better information about what you get and how much these add-on items are going to cost, I would be very cautious about being one of the first purchasers of a Dynamis.
Here’s a link to one of the U.K. sites with information about the Dynamis and the Pro Box:
http://www.dynamisdcc.com/about.php?lang=en
A Google search for the Dynamis Pro Box turns up an additional site in the U.K. indicating that it is an upgrade option, with a price (in Pounds) given, but also says it is not yet available. To me, that would be yet another red flag. What if it never does become available?
http://www.railway-models.co.uk/1876_1_2663940.html
It’s interesting to note that the Dynamis Pro Box uses the ECoSLink communications protocol, which was developed by Elektronic Solutions Ulm (ESU) of Germany, makers of the ECoS DCC system and LokSound decoders. This is perhaps a clue as to who actually makes the Bachmann Dyna
cacole;
Thanks for that link. I had actually wanted to mention the Dynamis specifically instead of simply alluding to it in the other thread, but I’d lost the link and could find nothing on B’mann’s US site. I should have thought to look on their UK site… the only time I’ve seen it for sale online the price was in pounds not dollars. And if I did the quick mental conversion right it wasn’t cheap.
Best!
You’re right abouit not being cheap. The regular price of the Dynamis Pro upgrade box is $320. It’s on sale for $291. The standard Dynamis system with transformer is $232.70, on sale for $194. The system is of course wired for 240 volts.
imported quote from general discussion thread by musserail
[quote]
I actually purchased this system about two or three weeks ago - my post is the one linked to at the Bachmann DCC yahoo group. Some things I’ve read here I’ll respond to.
Two handed operation - Obviously you can’t reach across the controller with a single hand to operate all the buttons, however, unless you are using the functions to turn lights or sounds on and off, you can do everything with your right hand. To change locos, you just press the joystick right or left and the screen scrolls thru the loco addresses saved in the machine (40 max) My 14 year old son can operate three locos simultaneously with no problem and one hand. Again, that scroll feature is so easy to use.
Screen - Yes there are European locos on the screen - not a big deal to me as I don’t think digitraxx or nce have logo logos on their screens (the versions that do have screens that is) and I can still tell the difference between steam, diesel, and electric. In my opinion the logos are not needed anyway. However, what the handheld does have is a big screen with great backlighting. It also has a feature that I don’t believe other systems have - the ability to put in a text description of the locomotive - so when a loco comes up you have it’s 4 digit address which I of course use the actual loco number and then you can input a description like for instance (New Haven Alco R-11) or (GE 70 Toner Steel Mill Locomotive) that sort of thing. If you were having guests over it would be much easier for them to pull up a loco from a description that looking for numbers. It’s very easy to program edit, consist, turnout control from the handheld - everything makes sense and you really don’t need to memorize any keystroke sequences,…etc. - the unit asks yes or no questions to confirm things - its about the same as programing your cell phone.
Wireless (sort of) - It looks like a big thing on here that people are trash
river_eagle; Thanks for that informative post.
I had heard something about associating graphics with addresses, and the complaint about it only having UK prototypes. While it sounds like fun, I’m not sure how useful that would be if I wanted to run two trains being pulled by identical locos on my layout. The scrolling recall is an interesting feature. However, with more than five or six locos it might be easier to key in the address… and almost certainly would with two digit addressing.
My point, in the other thread, is that Digitrax needs to consider user-interface… something the Dynamis clearly addresses well. I have heard that, like its B’mann predecessor, it only supports two-digit addressing. Can anyone confirm that it does or does not support 4 digit addressing. I don’t see that as a real problem, except as an upgrade path issue… which is actually a non-issue with B’mann DCC products.
Best;
You haven’t done your homework. Dynamis supports both 2 and 4 digit addressing. It’s listed in plain view in the ‘About Dynamis’ section here. Look at the 5th sentence.
I’ve seen the dynamis as low as $168 here in the states.
Jeff;
Guilty as charged. Tuesday and Wednesday are busy days for me. I had on my list of things to do for tomorrow to read the pages cacole linked in detail.
At $168 the Dynamis is indeed coming down into the price range of the Zephyr and PowerCab. What I do like about the Dynamis, as I’ve said about B’mann’s DCC turnouts in the other thread… these products raise the bar for the industry. We all stand to benefit in the long run from the innovation.
Randall,
If you have ten locos running and an eleventh is selected, you get a “Full” message. By running, it’s assumed all ten addresses are selected and set at a speed of 01 or higher or in a consist with another selected address. The ten running engines will continue at their last known speed and direction.This can be checked easily by simply selecting ten address and turning up the throttle on each. You don’t actually need to have ten engines or even track. Unfortunately after the test, you will need to properly dispatch all ten address’ to clear the slots. Or just reset OP Switch 36.
If any selected address is not in a consist and at speed 00, the oldest will be bumped from the slot and replaced with the newly selected address. Still only ten slots. The bumped address will need to be re-selected (if there’s an available slot).
Martin Myers
One feature of the Decoder Pro suite of applications that I like are the Loconet monitoring tools. The slot monitor in particular is nice to display as it shows all the locos that are selected and occupying slots, and provides information in real-time of their status, so you can see speed, direction and active functions. I guess I am a techo-geek for liking such things?
To clear up a couple items, the Digitrax Zephyr is not limited to 10 running locomotives. It is, however, limited to 10 active addresses or “slots”. That can be an important difference. For example, I have a 4 car P1K RDC train I use on my Zephyr-powered layout, and it only uses one slot. Each RDC is programmed to the same address, and I use CV29 to set the direction for each RDC. This can also be used on ABBA sets of F-units, or any other power that tends to be used as a set. It’s called “Basic Consisting” in DCC-talk. So the real limit for the Zephyr is the 2.5 amps of power available, not the number of locos.
The other item is that, at least on Digitrax systems, if you have any functions turned on with any decoder, the system will keep that address active. Likewise if the engine’s throttle is above zero or if it’s in a consist. So it’s kind of important that one un-MU’s a lash-up at the end of the run, turns off all functions, and reduces throttle to zero before releasing or “dispatching” the loco from the throttle. Otherwise, you’ll have an active slot and over time, a “FULL” or “Slot Max” message will appear. It’s either that, or routinely clear out the loco roster with OPSW36.
Paul A. Cutler III
Weather Or No Go New Haven
Another easy way to clear the Slot roster, is with Decoder Pro Loconet Monitoring Tools, as Simon does.
majortom,
I too recently got into model railroading. I use the MRC Prodigy Express. I paid about $125 for it. It’s really easy to use. The only drawback is that the screen isn’t backlit.
Mike Kingsbury
Modelling the Chessie System on the living room carpet after the wife puts the kids to sleep.