I know nothing of the Atlas system. On the other hand, I use a Bachmann EZ-Command myself. It’s good for what it does. It gives you easy control of your DCC equipped locos and accesories (EZ-Track turnouts, etc). You can control your locos direction and speed. You can set the loco address. You can’t change cv’s, you can’t change the function key settings and you can’t set speed tables. As for using an additional throttle you can get the EZ-Command walk around companion which has a cord that plugs into the EZ-Command control station, but at $109 it’s rather pricey.
Both systems are made by Lenz of Germany, but the Atlas system is slightly more capable than the Bachmann. Your best bet would be to download and read through the instructions for both systems and then decide which is better for your intended use.
Personally, I would choose the Digitrax Zephyr, but there are other good relatively inexpensive systems that others prefer.
I have an EZ Command in a box somewhere. I bought it to see if I wanted to go DCC. It was cheap and simple which appealed to me because I had a 3 year old engineer who wanted to run Thomas the Tank Engine from time to time. It was good enough to convince me that was the way to go, but I very quickly learned that it was designed for small children who cannot deal with anything too complicated. It’s great if all you want to do is run one train at a time, turn the headlight off and on and blow the horn/whistle. I now have a Digitrax Super Chief. The youngest is now 5 and has no difficulty at all with the UT-4 throttle that I bought for her use. The 10 year old uses the DT-400 with no problems. Not that it matters, but they are GRANDchildren… lol.
Extra throttles are around $70. I have a Bach EZ Command and it works fine, but is VERY limited. It can’t adjust CV’s which is kind of a necessary thing these days. I don’t know if they even sell that Atlas system anymore. They don’t list it on their web site.
Jeff- The extra EZ controllers are available new on E-Bay for about 1/2 that price.($60) Realistically, you can get an EZ Command and an extra controller for about $130. But you still can’t adjust CV’s. I’ve got an MRC sound decoder on the way and I’ll be curious to see how it works with the EZ. Quite a few of the sound functions are higher than F9.[sigh]
I agree with loathar, if you want a system with multiple throttles the Prodigy is a better choice. There are some Prodigy Express setups for under $100 buy-it-now on e-bay, plus you can get the Dispatcher throttles for around $30. The system is upgradeable and very easy to use.
The Atlas Commander was discontinued but you can sometimes find one in a hobby shop or on ebay, and in fact I still have one. But, as good as it was in it’s day, it has been rendered obsolete by all the newer systems, i.e., Zephyr, Power Cab, Prodigy Express, etc. It’s far more capable than the Bachmann EZ Command, but I wouldn’t recommend either one. If you want to seriously get into DCC these systems are a waste of money. The Bachmann unit might be okay if only used by youngsters who just want to have some fun running trains or for those that just can’t afford anything more at the present time.
I just recently converted to DCC for my small layout – I went with the NCE Powercab. I chose this system because it is easily upgradebale by adding a power booster and it can do just about everything the full system can do as far as programming (and it has a walk-around throttle). Being able to change the CV’s is very important as one can tweak how the motor responds at different speed ranges and one can play with lighting effects etc… If you are going to get into DCC, buy something that allows you to explore all of what DCC offers instead of just being able to change an address. You will quickly outgrow the EZ system and then you will be back in the market looking for a new system which is where you are now. Just my two cents…
I would go with the bachmann system. It’s a good set to begin dcc with. Plus, if you want to later, after you’ve learned the ropes of dcc, you could upgrade to a more sophisticated system.
On the one hand the simplicity of Bachmanns EZ command makes it appealing because of the “almost” no learning curve.
But in the future I may find that too limiting.
Programming CV’s is something I would probably end up wanting to do eventually.
If I were to ask the advantages/disadvantages (and differences) of Prodigy express and NCE power cab starter systems,which of these 2 systems would be better?
Oh and incidently the Atlas commander system that I asked about initially was listed at Trainworld lately at $99 but for that outlay I may as well go with Prodigy or NCE?
I’m shopping for a system, too, and I’ve decided to go with the Zephyr from Digitrax because its still only $160 from Tony’s Trains and it has a good upgrade path if I want to later. I looked at the NCE as well and would have been fine with it, but one of the reasons I chose the Zephyr is because the clubs around my area all use Digitrax and it would just be simpler if I got involved in them or needed help from them I’d be using the same system. The thing I didn’t like about the Prodigy is the lack of feedback capability, so my choice was between the Zephyr and the NCE.