I would appreciate any input positive or negative on CVP Products. I have been reading lots of reviews and evaluations and this name hase recently appeared in the MR review of DCC. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanking you all in advance
I have never used the CVP gear. They do have the CVP basic system listed in the back of the Model Railroader primer of DCC Made Easy. From the specs the system looks good, and is the ONLY system listed with a lifetime warranty. If you get one, post here how you like the system.
I do not have Easy DCC, but have been using CVP products since 1986. I used Railcommand and later added the wireless throttles. I liked the wireless system so much that I now use it with my Lenz DCC system. The only thing I don’t like is that it is limited to 8 throttles. Had I not gotten such a great deal on the Lenz system I would have gone with CVP.
When I have called Keith Gutteriz <sp?> on the phone he has always cheerfully answered my questions.
I own CVP Easy DCC. I have operated on various incarnations of CVP Easy DCC for about 5 years.
It works great. The wireless is the reason I went with these guys. Very intuitive and reliable.
Excellent service, fixed a throttle that one of my guests broke for free (small kid turned the potentiometer past the stop and broke it).
I was able to set it up in under an hour and I was running wireless around the layout. It has worked flawlessly on twisted together, jury-rigged wiring controlling over 400’ feet of track for the last year.
To see what I mean, click on the link in my signature and scroll halfway down the page to photos of the new layout.
I have used several other systems on other layouts and have not regretted purchasing Easy DCC.
We have EasyDCC at our HO scale club and a friend of mine has EasyDCC with a wireless throttle on his home HO scale layout. I use AirWire900 wireless DCC systems in all of my G-scale locomotives.
None of these systems have ever given us any trouble.
I have had EasyDCC since 1998 and I am very satisifed with it. The plug in throttles “feel right” in my hand and work well. The radio throttles are OUTSTANDING!. I have also used CVP wireless throttles on two CTC-80 layouts and found that they work very well in that setting too. Support from CVP is second to none.
Keep in mind you must purchase everything direct from CVP.
Thank you all for the comments. I believe I am about 98% convinced to purchase the Easy DCC system. I have evaluated (on paper) specs from many suppiers and theirs is right there. The comment from Clinchvalley is interesting and I did think about that but it doesn’t really mean much to me. Single source for items isn’t something new and in my business its something that happens frequently. So again thank you and I will share my comments after purchase and when its running. GENE
Sorry to horn in on this discussion, but I have a problem. I purchased a Bachmann E-Z Command DCC System the other day. I hooked it up according to directions (very simple) and switched the dual-mode decoder in my Atlas GP-40 (Runs as smooth as silk on DC) to DCC. When I gave power to the locomotive there was a very audible, “buzz,” sort of like the sound you sometimes hear in a florescent light . I have operated the locomotive on a layout with a Digitrax system and it experienced no noise with smooth running. Bachmann customer service says that they have no idea what it could be and sent me a brand new system which of course does the same thing. Has anyone else had this problem and can anyone offer a solution (I know the most obvious answer is, “Ditch the Bachmann system,” but I have a very small switching layout and cost wise this seemed the way to go.)
That will sometimes happen when you run a DC (non decoder equipped) loco on DCC rails. The main reason this is, to my understanding, is that DCC applies current to the rails at all times. It’s a square wave (?) current verses a normal wave current, and this also is part of the problem I think. Please don’t quote me on this as I’m no expert. I just know that this is the problem you are having because I had it too.
It is generally not recommended that you run a DC loco on DCC rails for extended periods as it causes excessive wear on the motor.
Converting to DCC by installing a decoder will solve all your issues. I buy the Digitrax DZ 123’s for about $15, so it doesn’t have to cost a bundle to do it. [8D]
The Atlas GP-40 has a Dual-Mode Decoder. I switched the jumper to the DCC Mode. The locomotive works great on the Digitrax system. This can’t be the explanation, but thanks anyway.
OOOPPS, I missed that info in your description. Sorry
Guess I WILL have that cup of coffee after all!