Would this be a good starter set for dcc? i researched the bachman ez command and other cheap starter sets. They seemed to have limited options…not as many functions or programs. When i came across this set, i said wow. I researched NCE and seems to be a good company. I would like feedback from someone who has used this product or knows about it. Thank you
ryan,
The Power Cab is a very good starter system. I’ve had one for over 4 years now and have been very happy with it. FYI: It’s actually a 1.7A system but I believe can operate at 2A peak.
The command station, booster, and throttle are rolled up into one. So, if you disconnect the Power Cab from your layout, it will shut down the layout. However, it comes with a 7’ long cable that allows you some freedom to move around your layout, albeit tethered.
Some complain about the size of the throttle. It’s never been an issue for me…but I have big hands. Other limitations are the 2-locomotive recall stack limit.
If you have the opportunity to try a Power Cab out, ryan, I would strongly encourage you to do that. That way you can actually see how well it fits in your hand and if the button layout is intuitive for you or not.
Hope that helps…
Tom
what do you mean by 2-locomotive recall stack limit?
The recall stack is being able to toggle quickly between locomotives or trains. Toggling is faster than selecting and addressing loco numbers. FWIW My Power cab is over four years old and has run 5 sound and 6 non sound HO locos at the same time. For a small fleet it is plenty of power. The real plus is the programing ability. Mine reads and programs every decoder put on the rails so far.
Pete
I personally use the 5 amp Pro Cab from NCE, but the 2 amp Power Cab is an excellent starter system. Go on the NCE-DCC forum on Yahoo and check out the comments about the Power Cab.
Rich
I agree with Pete, my Powercab has been all I need. It reads and write CVs and powers as many trains as I can put on my layout. The layout is now 5’ x 27’, I have one additional throttle and ten locos all sound. I don’t keep everything on the track at once but you could have a storage track and cut the power to that if you wanted to. I even use a laptop and Decoder Pro with it. I get all the fun for a small price.
Good Luck
Lee
This means that the handset can remember two individually selected locomotives, and you can toggle between them by using the “recall” button on the handset. If you select an additional locomotive, its address will overwrite one of the already selected locomotive addresses.
However, if you happen to use your handset on someone else’s railroad where they have the larger capacity PowerPro system, the recall capability of your PowerCab handset will be the same as one of the PowerPro handsets (6, I believe).
For whatever it might be worth, I belong to a club that uses the ProCab system and has about 20 members. We ended up purchasing a PowerCab so that we could do programming without affecting mainline operations. Somewhere between 6 and 8 of the members have also purchased PowerCab systems for their home use, and I have not heard any complaints. A couple others of us use the PowerPro system, some like myself because the PowerCab was not available when we made the leap to DCC.
thank you
I started out with the power cab and then went to the pro. The nice thing is that the power cab can be used with the procab as an additional throttle. It can also be used on the side to program loco’s. Also if I ever have a problem with the pro I can always swap out for the power cab while it’s being repaired. Another neat feature is the yard function. When in that mode you can use the rotary throttle to go both forward and reverse without using the direction button. You’ll love it.
Totally different league than the bachmann you were looking at.
Another great thing about this set is that you can add a booster to up the overall amps. Chuck
Actually, a booster can be added to just about any DCC system. Many times it doesn’t have to be made by the same manufacturer. There are even some DIY boosters.
Martin Myers
On Bachmann EZ whatever it is - any other late model DCC system will outclass it.
Firstly, I own a power cab and have recently(this month) researched or experienced the pros and cons of the unit itself and its optional components.
It is important to note that while any booster may work, it is important for the Power Cab users to purchase the NCE booster. Why? Simple, the SB3(the original 3amp version, ~60 dollars) will expand the woefully inadequate recall stack from two to four. Also, allows four cabs to be used at once. Additionally, the newer SB3a(now full 5amps!!!) will expand the stack to six, and allows for eight cabs(I think).
My understanding at this point is that the power cab does not need a programming booster to program QSI sounders on the programming track???
The NCE is a fine product from a great company.
Optional components - NCE has a switch eight for turnout control(tortouis), a killer minipanel for even more accessory/train control, short circuit protection devices, and a USB interface for using JMRI. All reasonably priced and available.
Now for the cons:
1). Power cab cannot remember the macros when shut down or short circuited. This is a real buzz killer. TO NCE - how could you do this to me. Why have it if I have to reprogram them each time I use it? This fact makes the macro button a non-feature as far as I am concerned.
2). My Power cab came with a defective thumbwheel. It is physically screwed up - binds up in one spot. Oh, and it does not function correctly either.
3). The number pad is odd. You will find yourself entering wrong numbers sometimes. Why? Because our brains are predisposed to entering phone numbers, calculator values, ect…, on a 3x3 number pad with a 0 at the bottom. Power
A small correction here, the SB3a will allows for 4 cabs not 8.
Another correction: The original Smart Booster (SB3) only had a recall stack of 2 - just like the Power Cab. What it did increase was the number of additional cabs you could use in conjunction with your Power Cab - i.e. from 1 to 3. The newly updated SB3a is the only version of the Smart Booster that increases the recall stack of the Power Cab - i.e. from 2 to 6.
Tom
I had trouble with the original SB3. Two of them burned up after a short circuit. I gave up and switched to the power pro. The SB3A probably fixed whatever was going on with the short detection.
Absolutely hands down yes in my o/p the best bang for your buck. What was appealing to me was that you have plenty of room to build with the NCE and for the average to mid sized model railroad virtually no limitations. I am not referring to these big 2000 plus square foot basement empires who run over 100 locomotives then you’ll need to bump up to the power house pro. If your engine roster starts to grown and you find you want to run more trains at the same time simply upgrade to a larger power supply.
For me I couldn’t ask for anything more but maybe some day down the road a wireless throttle.
I would have to disagree with the “virtually no limitations” for the average to mid sized model railroad comment(assuming you meant without upgrading to the PowerHouse Pro). For some people, the 4 cab limit of the Smart Booster is a pretty severe limitation, especially since the PC interface and Mini panels use cab addresses. If you plan to use a compter for dispatching(if you plan on using the computer interface for programming only, then it is a non-issue because you can just unplug it when operating the railroad) and a Mini Panel for occupancy detection or control panels, that limits you to 2 cabs. My planned layout is certainly no basement empire(about the size of 4-5 hollow core doors) and I won’t be running anywhere near 100 locomotives(maybe 8-10 max), but I do plan on having computer dispatching, occupancy detection, and control panels tied into the DCC system. The layout is also planned to handle as many as 4 or 5 operators. I seriously considered a Power Cab/Smart Booster combination until I realized there is no way it would handle my layout without upgrading to the Power House Pro, so I went with a Digitrax Zephyr, which will handle my layout just fine.
Adding a larger power supply to a DCC system does not increase the power output and may actually damage the system. The only way to increase the power output of a Power Cab is to purchase a booster. Once you have the booster and its associated power supply, again replacing the power supply with a larger one will not increase the output of the booster.
Adding a booster is probably what you meant, but since adding a larger power supply can be harmful I thought it worth pointing out.
With the Power Cab/SB3a the Macros work just fine. No memory loss on shut down. But, it should be noted that this system only allows 15 macros. If you need more then you might need the Power Pro with 256 Macros.
I run solo so 4 cabs is plenty for me. I only use the computer interface for programming and roster storage and don’t use a Mini-panel so I could add 3 more operators should I ever want to.
So far I’ve experienced no defects with any of my NCE equipment and the radio is flawless. And, their tech support for my new user questions has been excellent.
The PowerCab is an excellent DCC system, for starters…and more…My only complaint is that starts in 28 speed steps, and each time you may change to 128 steps. It take just 3 seconds, by I prefer that by default, it´ll starts in 128.