I have a Digitrax Zephyr and am thinking of adding a 400T throttle and going wireless. I’m thinking of doing the Infra-Red receiver. But… should I consider the extra bucks and go radio instead? My train room is 20’X20’. Thanks for any input!
Intrared is line of sight. So if you turn your back to the sensor or put a backdrop between you and the sensor it won’t work.
I’ve used both and I would recommend radio all the way. Infra-red has a split second delay that takes some getting use to but does work well. Radio is great, you can be 200’ away and still control your train.
i have the super empire builder with the dt400r and a new ut4r and would recommend it over infrared. my club also has the wireless units and they work very good and we enjoy operating with them. we did have one problem today at a mall show that we had our 14x20’ display layout operating. everything was working fine until the afternoon when we started to lose control of the trains. we were using two dt400r’s and two utr4’s to control sometimes 6 trains and we would not be able to stop trains, start them moving or they would just stop on their own and then start moving again. there was a store nearby that had those detectors at the door that went off when someone left and set them off. the only way to regain control was to plug into the the base then everything would be ok for a while. it was a little bit of a pain in the a but the show went very well. go with the radio over the infrared. you’ll only need one ur91 for your layout.
Thanks for all the input. Sounds like radio is the clear favorite… but is quite a bit more money (both for throttles and especailly the receiver). Maybe I’ll just have to bite the bullet on this one, and spend the extra.
RF by a landslide!
IR requires sharp aim to hit that microscopic receiving window . In the heat of NOT running off the track - or trying to avoid a derailment (panic stop) - ‘aiming’ is not an instinctive reactiion.
I’ve had and used both.
Case closed. When Don Gibson speaks, I listen. I’m serious. (Don, I always enjoy your no-nonsense, usually bullet-pointed, well-experienced advice.) Thanks, all.
I’ve got both. With the IR, I have to be within a few feet and point the DT400 directly at the reciever to get it to work.
I use my DT400R out in the yard on my G scale trains. The reciever is in the house. It works reliably at least to 100’ away from the house. I don’t know if it will work farther because I havn’t tried it. Radio is definitely the way to go.
UPDATE: I took everyone’s advice and ordered the radio controlled 400TR and receiver. Arrived today, plugged in… fabulous! Thanks for steering me in the right direction. I’m very glad I took this step!
ONE LAST QUESTION: I’m frustrated with Digitrax’s requirement of plugging the throttle back in to select a locomotive (Or to recall one). Any way around that? (allowing tethereless loco selection?)
The solution for infrared is to have several recievers or pickups around the layout.
but then that may equalize any cost doing radio would do.
But if you find your dissatisfied with infrared, dont buy it in the first place anyways.
BTW I would always have some plugin throttles as a backup should the wireless have trouble.
The way around having to plug in is to go with something other than Digitrax. As I understand it neither Lenz nor NCE nor EasyDCC have this problem so don’t take any ^&%^&% from those who try to tell you it is a design feature of Digitrax. I’m a Digitrax user too and it drives me nuts. What I have done is to cut the long cable off my throttles and just leave a short dongle for when i have to plug in.
I’ve only recently converted from IR to radio and I’m “between layouts” so I haven’t had a chance to test, but I did hear tell that even radio has a time lag and you may need to plug back in for sensitive stuff like switching. Any comments anyone?
This time lag thing with radio everyone keeps talking about is really not a problem. Mostly because it really does not exist. According to the Digitrax manuals it states that the radio signal will only be sent when the knob is not moving. What it does not state is how long of a time period this is.
Now I say this from experience. As for the IR throttles this is another whole different problem. I also have the IR throttles and IF you do not have the IR pointed right at the receiver than the response is going to almost ZERO. And this could be the time lag that is being experienced. Now with the Radios it is an all together different thing.
I have had upwards of 20 Radio throttles in use on my home layout (2700 ft of track) and with over 30 operators we have not had any one complain about slow response with the radios and/or theoretical runaways due to the Radio lag. This surly would have been brought out during my OPTUDs (OP Till U Drop) when we have a 12 hour OPs session.
If you are a continuous knob twiddler then Yes you may run into this problem with a lot of operators but if you are the only one then there should no problem. What you may be experiencing is the momentum delay that is in the decoder. This will give the impression of no response as the engine will slow down or speed up more slowly due to CV 3 and 4 having a value greater than zero.
Now I have had problems with the Radio signal loss and this is due to the many full height backdrops I have on my layout. I also have a metal frame that supports my house (I-beams and C Channel) plus a metal grid for a drop ceiling. This also does not help the signal. I have 3 radio receivers mounted at the ceiling to help eliminate the signal drop out and this has helped a lot.
BOB H – Clarion, PA
The price of the wireless options should be considered when choosing a DCC System. Also having to plug in the wireless throttle to change engines seems like a disadvantage. This was one of the reasons I went with Lenz. Lenz with their XPA module allows you to use a cordless phone as a throttle (range becomes a non-issue with a decent cordless phone. Actually - I believe this set-up can be used with other systems that support Xpressnet - you may be able to use this with Digitrax.
I’ve never experienced any type of time delay on the Digitrax radio system’s I’ve used.
And one of the largest home layouts in existence converted from another system TO Digitrax because the other system had lag and Digitrax didn’t. And a recent thread on the Easy-DCC Yahoo group was all complaining about radio lag. Hmmm…
You pay a price for the two-way radio feature of NCE, due to FCC requirements. But at least there you know which loco you selected, unlike CVP. I guess with Easy-DCC you hit the lights or twiddle the throttle knob and hope you didn’t fat-finger the buttons when selecting an address. Maybe less of a problem with lots of sound-equipped locos, just hit the horn, if the loco in front of you sound soff, you have the right one. If the sound comes from across the layout, you have the wrong one.
–Randy
LOLOL, like when you lose your car in a parking lot. Just hit the panic button and listen for your car, lolol.
radio, ditto.
We’re introducing DCC at the club and have found that using IR throttles requires more operator discipline than with the DC radio throttles that we’ve been using. We’ll be encouraging members to stay plugged in until they get better acquainted with DCC operations and the increased degrees of freedom.
It’s too easy to forget to aim in the general direction of the UR90 IR panel while gabbing to other club members and moving around. This can mean a surprise when its found that your not controlling a hi-balling express as it runs a red block signal.
We’ve found that the UR90 field of view is reasonably wide, perhaps 45 degrees on either side of the centreline. We’ve also found that bouncing the IR signal off our sky blue club walls and grey painted floors often works but shouldn’t be relied upon. Positioning one or more UR90’s above the layout on a mast or on the wall or in a corner is needed to ensure the lines of sight are not blocked by crew bodies, scenery or other obstacles.
Radio is handy and best for me since you do not have to point it like Infrared requires. . The extra money is worth it.
Radio.