If I understand correctly you are describing Decoder Pro for the most part.
Also I can assure you DOS is alive and well, I use it regularly to earn a living.
is the 402D manual available in PDF anywhere yet??? i want to know how the higher functions are accessed?? i guess they have used A,B buttons as 1# and 2# like tv remotes but i would like a read… on the dt400 debate a few posts back, i do like it ( got to really as it’s the only fully loaded option? ) but i did prefer the 300/100 for size.
But where would you stick the screen for that? The 400s can’t get any longer, or they become cumbersome and can more easily pry themselves off the fascia velcro holders. And a wider screan isn’t ergonomical for the throttle knobs. And buttons can’t be whacked out of the way, the whole point of the 400s is to have one function to one button. So you get a small, abreviation filled screen
For myself, I’m impartial to the UT4s myself, since I missed the 300s. I prefer the fit in my hand, dpn’t run anywhere with DCC switches (anymore, thak the guy modelling us) the only thing I miss is consisting. I’m getting a 400 when Dad and I order/layaway the Empire Builder anyway, so I may stick with that. The only functions I need that are beypnd the 12 is that I enjoy the cab and radio chatter. But with MTH&n
I sent Digitrax my own crude drawing of what i believe would be a true
one handed throttle
Of course the sent me a nice Ya Ya reply
But having the speed control roller on the side
would put it right at your thumb so you could roll it up or down
With out straining to reach it
same as the direction switch on the side it’s right at your index finger
if your left handed just turn it over
Personally i don’t need more than 10 buttons
Its hard for me to remember more than 10 functions
I like that, but would having all the stuff on the side make it any more sensitive to pocket bump or whathaveyou? The other is still the length. If you could, halve the length and find a nice blueprint setup to makre it more appreciable. Also, flipping it around would put buttons facing the palm where they could be inadvertently pressed. Unloess you could rig the keyboard setup on an axis?
I don’t know if it would be any more prone to pocket bumps than a ut-4
But the keypad could easily be made to swivel
if you only used the 1 thru 10 mumbers it wouldn’t have to be any longer than a cell phone
I guess I’m the oddball. I have no problem holding the DT400 in either hand, and using my thumb to turn the knob and double-click it to reverse, leaving my other hand free to work the uncoupling stick or whatever.
–Randy
I’m a beginner with DCC. I use DT400s and the occasional utility throttles. I have to say that I’ve had absolutely no trouble using the 400 right from the get go, holding and rotating the speed and fwd./reverse knob(s) with one hand ( I have small hands) and learning and memorizing the function CV numbers. I keep reading and hearing that the manual is hard to understand and needs constant reference…forever, but I’m about the dummest computer guy around and have difficulty programming his vcr, but so far, everything in the manual seems to make clear-cut perfect sense to me. I’ve used a friend’s NCE throttle and system and although the english named function knobs are nice and I thought initially superior, I have to say that I’m having no difficulty so far, remembering the function button number combinations and they get retained quickly. I don’t have to understand hexi-decimal systems to use it, I just push the “numbers” I’m supposed to. I want to read through the pdf for the new throttle and see if it’s going to have any useful applications for small layouts where I’m only a two step away from a plug-in to access a locomotive. The occasional runaway perhaps. I learned to use the DT400 during a busy club operations session and it was really no problem at all for this “rope and pulley technologist”. They’re just kind of …ugly.
That´s what I thought as well, don´t they hire Industrial designers in the US? [8D]
Maybe but the design is ergonomically correct
the speed control is right where you thumb is
as is the direction switch for your index finger
those are the 2 functions you use the most
I may be wrong, but I would almost bet money that the case used for the DT400 is an off the shelf molding that they buy in and modify (holes for cable etc) rather than one that was custom designed. I think that the same might also go for the NCE throttle. Having been peripherally involved in the manufacture of low volume custom plastic molding for medical device cases, the cost of getting the injection mold tool is very high and can take many years to recover on a low cost, relatively low volume device. Digitrax is a relatively small company and chose to use this case design some years ago. I can’t imagine that it made financial sense at the time to go custom then, and probably does not now? To do so would very likely add so much cost to the throttle that the list price would become a problem.
That is a true statement. The DT4xx series of throttles use the Serpac M-8 and the UT4’s use the Serpac M-6.
I would have no reason to believe that isn’t equally true.
Steve
They sure do http://www.serpac.com/Products/Mseries/m-8.aspx having Googled that I did a search on “electronic enclosures” there is no shortage of manufacturers serving this market. A quick browse revealed a couple of NCE/MRC like dog-bone enclosures. Somewhat sadly, the company I work for recently had to go to China to get custom injection molding tooling made. The cost in Europe was astronomical and would have priced our product out of the market. Our business had grown to a point where we wanted to move away from off-the-shelf to custom, but you sure pay a price to do it. We sell a low volume, high cost product ($15K) but with tooling costs in the region of $100K you think real hard about making that kind of move. Must be an even harder decision when the retail is only $250!!
Well I find it hard to understand that, USA is one of the biggest model railroad consumer-countrys in the world. If a BIG DCC-supplier can`t see that it is financially viable to invest in proper toolings, how can European companys?
I ask again, why not this (with cool design):
I also know that Märklins Central-Station 2 won a major design award.
I will be frank with you Graffen that paddle doesn’t appeal to me at all. I simply don’t like the look of it and the color. It reminds me of some control for toy cars.
It is of course a matter of preference, if it is a great design for you then I respect your opinion.
It is a business decision pure and simple. As I understand it Marklin is now in bankruptcy proceedings and I seem to recall that Roco is in financial trouble as well? It may be that they got their cost of goods out of whack resulting in financial difficulty. Each company has to balance customer need and satisfaction against prudent investment.
Well if it is a control for a toy train then? I really think that ergonomic design IS a dealmaker or breaker. And regarding the color, it comes in a blue wireless version as well.
And thanks for respecting my opinion, I respect all of yours as well.
To straighten this topic out would require a few pages [;)]. But to keep it short:
Märklin is mostly restored, and their financial problems was mainly created by their (former) owners, an investment company who cared more for their own salarys and bonuses than the company.
And Roco was in dire straits earlier (last year), but after some new strategies they too are on the rise.
And regarding that “Each company has to balance customer need and satisfaction against prudent investment”. You must try something new sometimes and invest in new tech and design. That is a standard business procedure. You can´t defend “old” designs with the statement that: “Maybe the customers won´t like the new design”. If that would be the case, you all would be driving Model-T´s!
I don’t disagree with you at all Graffen. I was just stating why I think Digitrax has so far stuck with an off the shelf package for the throttle. As I said earlier in the thread I can think of many ways that the DT400 could be improved, but fully understand why they are currently sticking with a formula that works well for them. They of course will live and die by their decisions. While they may be one of the “Big” DCC manufacturers in the US, I think you will find that they are a remarkably small family run business. I suspect that companies like Marklin are far bigger since the offer everything from models in numerous scales, track as well as control.
Nah, you guys are missing the whole point. The reason Digitrax has not changed case design is that if they did, they’d no longer fit in your “Remote Boat” along with your VCR, DVD and TV remotes 
The case shape doesn’t bother me so much (although I do prefer NCE’s dogbone) but I need shades for the “trick or treat”/1960’s “Star Trek” orange and black with the “Hollywood Squares” graphic design! Anyway, to get this thread a bit more back on trax, are there going to be any real advantages to using the DT402 on small-medium sized layouts other than to re-access for runaways? Speaking of new designs…I"ve just downloaded a new version of Mac’s “Safari” and will now find out if it allows indentation of paragraphs on this forum! (Not gonna hold my breath though.)