Well, I’m not very savvy when it comes to electronics and computers so I really want and need to stay away from that stuff. I just don’t “get it”. I have no fellow modelers around here to fall back on and often the forums just have people that get so far off the subject they can’t help much.
One thing that got me thinking about changing up my DCC system was the lack of being able to read back CV’s. With my old stuff I managed to install several Tsunamis and get them sounding the way I wanted but it was a very hard road to go doing it. To make it worse the Tsunamis would sometimes go back to default settings if I left the railroad “down” for a while. Soundtrax is a great company & was very helpful in getting me straight but the CV experience had me convinced I needed a better way. The new EVO should make it easier. YES…I KNOW…JMRI will cure all my problems. That’s what I keep reading and hearing but I don’t understand nor want to understand JMRI and hooking my computer to my railroad just isn’t going to happen. I’d go pack to DC before that happens.
I used my UT4 a bit before scrapping the railroad and moving and I really liked it. I’ll just keep it and my DT200 and use them with the new EVO when I get things going again. I’ll sell the DB150 and PS515 and use the money for some more Tsunamis or TCS decoders. I haven’t tried a TCS but have heard good things about them. I’d like to hear their whistles but their site is limited to 4 of their offered 60 whistles. Bummer!
First I never said Digitrax was “junk” or “crappy” stuff. I did say I wasn’t very impressed with the customer support offered by Digitrax and thought their manuals were confusing and needed improvement.
I asked for some serious advice from folks who are more knowledgable than I (almost anyone!) and got snippy comments. Some folks who replied were the ones who said my stuff was prone to failures and wasn’t very good and I asked questions as to what the issues were. I thought those statements need clarification.
I claimed to not be well versed in DCC in specific, Digitrax in particular and in electronics in general. I only wanted to know if my present stuff would work if I upgraded.
One big problem with these forums and others is when someone needs some help a small percentage of people actually try to help, a larger percentage seem to think stupid and ignorant responses are called for and many more just drift off on non-related topics confusing everyone. It would certainly be nice if people could go here and find serious help without filtering out all the crap. All of us aren’t expert at anything and need fellow modelers to help. Thankfully many folks are kind and considerte and truly offer great help or advice.
I ordered a new Digitrax EVO 5a plug in system. It will solve some issues as it will read back my CV’s I’ve assigned engines, update my DT200 throttle, give me a better/more reliable power supply and still let me use my old UT4 and DT200 throttles giving me 3 to use now. The old DB150 and PS515 can be sold to someone needing a booster.
The EVO has a lot of features my original old Super Empire Builder set didn’t have. I want to read back and I like having the connections for the programming track.
After thinking about the new layout and the design plus the lack of fellow modelers in my area to run trains I decided, for the money and all, I can live with the plug in and cables. I can use the additional money saved for a TSC sound decoder for my WM H-8 2-8-0.
Now to get the new railroad room finished and get track down to play with my new toy!
OH…and for those who claim the DB150 and PS515 can be sold quickly as folks really want them…so far not even a question about them after putting them up for sale. SO…don’t continue telling people how readily saleable they are to others. It’s obviously not how it works! lol
Many thanks to those who offered good advice and help with my questions. I appreciate your help!
If you go back through the posts and look, you will see that Saronaterry said that he would be willing to purchase all your crappy junk for $100 and was willing to pay shipping.
Then you posted back to Saronaterry asking him how come he wanted it if he thought it was crappy.
All I did in my post was attempt to point out that Saromaterry really didn’t think the items were crappy, but was probably looking for a bargain. That was just to point out to you that you might have over-reacted to something that was unintended.
Since eBay fails and shows a lot of things OTHER than a DB150 when the query is “digitrax DB150” it’s hard to tell. Looks like 3 for sale right now, all full Super EMpire Builder Xtra sets, with a DT400 or DT402 throttle. One is duplex radio. There are 2 sold ones this month, no completed but unsold. I guess it all depends on where you are trying to sell it. It’s also nearing prime summer time and sales of ALL train stuff falls off sharply. This is when I look - because sometimes you cna grab a bargain because competition in bidding is low. Best time to sell is late fall, so there is still time to get the item delivered before Christmas, but not the week of any major train shows.
I’ve always considered used pricing on Digitrax items based on their street price less the standard Digitrax repair cost. (just in case it takes a crap after I get it)
That being said, MSRP was $180 on the DB150. They were readily available for $150. Repair cost is $35. That puts the maximum I would pay for a used DB150 at $100. plus shipping. I have one so not in the market, BTW.
With the power supply, I would stretch to $125 plus shipping. Those PS515’s are heavy.
As I noted earlier the DT200 is a non issue. No repairs are possible and it is one of the oldest throttles made. So that is best offer material. I sold a DT100 a couple of years ago for $50 and was happy to get it.
Well, I have purchased a new Digitrax EVO system for the new layout. It’s the non-Duplex version. That leaves me with an excess DB150, PS515 and my DT200. I’ll keep the DT200 and use it until when and if it craps out. The DB and PS are not needed from what I gather so I have been trying to sell them. Contrary to what some of you have stated there seems to be very little interest in the used items. Maybe the train show next year?
How big is your layout? Is it big enough to justify power districts? Do you have a large engine facility? The reason I ask is it may be worth keeping a the DB-150 as a booster and creating a second power district depending on the size of your layout.
I have a fairly large layout (~700 sq feet) and have two primary power districts (DCS 100 on one, DB-100+ running the other) with 11 sub-districts using circuit breakers. This way is one part of the layout shorts, the whole thing doesn’t shut down.
Also with two staging yard and a fairly large engine facility I have the second power district so i don’t have power issues. Granted I do power off the staging yards when not in immediate use it is still nice to have them on their own breaker so it doesn’t effect main line operations.
Again it may be worth keeping the DB-150. In a pinch, it can serve as a back command station as well. if your new one craps out for some reason and you can still run trains while it is back in Florida for repair. Many of the layouts I go to for operating sessions keep a spare around ( I just get a zephyr for a good deal) just in case their command station gives out.
Just a thought. They are still quite useful as a booster unit.
Thanks. Good idea about keeping it for an emergency. Nobody wants it anyway! LOL
My layout is in a 14x16 building dedicated to the layout and my painting/work shop. I model the Western Maryland and it’s a point to point line with code 83 Walthers track. Mainline is a single track with no hidden staging or anything. One medium sized yard (approx 60-70 cars). The engine terminal at the yard holds 6 engines plus the yard switcher and the far end is set up as a helper station. The grade out of there is almost 3.5% so I have a 2 stall enginehouse there with a pair of 2-6-6-2’s as helpers. Pretty simple layout all in all. The most complex thing is a 90’ turntable at each end of the run. No signals, detection or much anything else. Tortoises are being removed for Caboose throws. Since I have to be there to run the trains and switch I may as well be switchman too.
I started off with a Digitrax Zephyr and agree about the confusing manual instructions. I switched to an NCE PowerCab, mostly because I did not like having the Zephyr sitting on a shelf. Turns out, in my opinion, that the PowerCab is a lot more intuitive when it comes operating and it has walk around capability. My layout is a walk-in U folded dog bone. I also like the information display on the PowerCab. The only part of the PowerCab that is limiting is that you can only add one additional plug in panel when I would prefer at least two more. The Zephyr is now dedicated to programming locomotives on the bench.