Hi there again,
I am thinking of converting all my locos to a digtal control system. I have a lenz chiped loco now and know all about there system. I would like to hear from people who have DCC layouts, And what they think of the system they use?
for example Atlas’s system and how it compares to lenz?
Also and info on other systems and how they rate?
There are many systems out there for the beginner (smaller layout) to the club layouts (often very large).
To keep the answer simple, at the entry level, the two best available in North America, and supported widely are the Atlas system (which is Lenz) and the new Digitrax Zephyr unit. Presently, the Zephyr is hard to get a hold of, many want it, and Digitrax I think was caught by surprise at how popular it is. The Zephyr is the best entry system out there, and can use your old power packs as additional throttles (this is new to the North American DCC world).
There are other systems out there but to save time and space, those are the two I would recommend for anyone coming in and starting out.
The one great feature of the Atlas system is that it can use (with the purchase of an additional widget) wireless telephones to run your trains. This feature is proving very popular.
If there are other systems, why do I say these two are the best? Well, one is Lenz - a very large player in DCC - and Atlas is upgradeable into other Lenz goodies; and the other is the Zephyr, which has is a “full feature” DCC system and is Digitrax - the most popular system in North America.
In entry-level systems, I’ve used an MRC Command 2000, and I own an Atlas Commander (sold as Lenz Compact in Europe). I’ve seen specs for the MRC Prodigy and Digitrax’s Zephyr, but I haven’t used them yet. I do know that MRC has a limited expansion path compared to Digitrax and Atlas.
If you have any notion of adding throttles or later growing into a larger system, I’d recommend Atlas Commander or Digitrax Zephyr. Both have good options for additional handhelds - the Lenz XPA cordless-phone adapter works well with the Atlas, & the Zephyr can use existing DC controller(s). Furthermore, both can be be part of a larger DCC Lenz or Digitrax system.
I am by no means an expert but highly reccomend DIGITRAX. I researched for months before purchasing my DIGITRAX system. It really depends on the size of your layout, future expansion plans, number of loco’s your planning on operating, etc. The first thing you should do is purchase a book on DCC. Kalmbach has a good book out and there are others out there also. This will not only answer alot of questions but will become a good reference once you begin installing DCC. Hope this helps.
The only systems I’ve had any experience with are Digitrax and NCE. I would go with the NCE system. The NCE’s control and display are far more intuative. To turn on a headlight, hit the Headlight button. No fooling around with functions. Consisting is easy. A friend of mine ran with my NCE system a couple of times and traded his Digitrax system in. He’s very pleased with the decision.