Oh man that’s too bad, I was actually considering NCE if I converted to DCC.
I hope you can get it all sorted out soon!
Bigiron,
Which DCC system you choose is your prerogative. And determining which one is the best fit for both you and your needs is wise shopping and how you ought to approach any purchase. But to say that Digitrax is a far superior product? Sorry, no. In my opinion, that statement is just totally off base…
Tom
Tom,
Let me rephrase that… “I’ll go with Digitrax… the competitor.” I should have known better than to add the part about the “better product.” Someday I’ll learn to think before I type.
(3:16)
The technical issues being discussed here are not the reason for my upset with NCE. The discussion is happening because people here are doing what NCE should have been doing.
Maybe if you read the first post, you would know I’m blasting NCE because of the lack of customer support. This support is suppose to be one of their big reason to buy their system. Bigiron nailed the issue in a nutshell. And whether it is a big company or small, sexist, racist or any other such comment is NEVER appropriate.
I bought my NCE Procab about 2 months ago and I am very impressed with the system and the support.
When I first got started, I spent about 2 hours on the phone over 3 calls with their tech having things explained to me. He seemed genuinely happy to help a dummie like me get the system up and running. I called on a wednesday and a friday and was talking to human being by the third ring.
As far as digitrax goes, it’s ok, but I find it a bit clunky to operate and NCE’s expandabillity is superior.
I think a lot of people forget this technology is not like a simple DC powerpack. It’s a lot more like setting up a new computer system, (which is of course exactly what it is), there almost always some glitches when you first set one up, but they do get worked out. And DCC technology is only in its adolesence so far.
As far as outrageous prices go, have you seen what they’re charging for palm devices and laptops these days? I spent $500 on my computer originally, but now after upgrades and additional storage devices, I’m well over $2000. The same goes for DCC, the cost all depends on what “bells and whistles” you get (pun intended).
I think you will find a lot of Digitrax users disagree with your statement that expandability with NCE is superior. Expandability is one of the strong suits of Digitrax. Digitrax has one of the largest ranges of DCC add-ons including signalling systems. A basic Zephyr starter set can have any and all of the Digitrax add-ons functioning as an integrated system. I have already added a 5 amp booster for more power, a PC interface, wireless control and 3 extra DCC throttles as well as 2 old analog DC packs to provide additional control. I am curious in what way NCE expandability is superior?
I would hope that you would take this incident in context of the bigger picture. I guarantee you there are people that will have “horror” stories about every system out there. I’ve decided to go NCE when I upgrade to DCC in the next year and this has not changed my opinion. I don’t expect to have everything perfect right out of the box. There is a learning curve for me. While I understand Gumby’s frustration with the support, that in itself does not change my decision to go NCE.
Bigiron,
That’s okay. Forgive me for being a bit terse in my response. [
]
Tom
You’re absolutely right about a sexist, racist, etc., remark. Surely you got the name of the person who made it, and reported it to NCE?
And to this and other posts about NCE and others being small companies and unable or unwilling to provide instant support, you’re also entirely correct. I myself vastly prefer to deal with a big company like, say, Microsoft or the old AT&T. I love their eight-level phone trees, then spending at least 20 minutes listening to hype about their products with the occasional reminder of how important my call is (not important enough for them to have enough people to actually answer it, though). And the reps, especially those in India, are nearly always very polite and helpful, even if I have to ask some of them to repeat themselves two or three times so I can understand their accent. But the best part, of course, is when they charge you for the delightful experience of finding a way around something THEY messed-up!
But seriously, your experience has clearly soured you on NCE in particular, and perhaps DCC in general. Surely someone with your expectations checked the return policy of your vendor (Tony’s has an unconditional money-back guarantee, but I don’t know about the others), so why don’t you just return it?
Um, you what? Expected customer service from ANYBODY on a Friday in summer? And you wanted a PERSON on the phone?
Maybe an email would get a faster response. NCE is a great little company, but the emphasis is on little. I think they have one guy who does all the support/cusomter service calls. Whilst I never have problems getting to them by phone I tend to try calling mid-morning on Monday or Tuesday.
John
Gumby,
I think that NCE (or any company) deserves, at the very least, a second chance and an opportunity to explain themselves. When you talk to them, I would encourage you to do the following:
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Accurately explain your present situation with your Power Cab.
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Tell them calmly about what you experienced over the phone on Friday and allow them to explain what happened.
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Share with them what you’ve already tried to do to rectify the problems that you are experiencing.
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If you aren’t satisfied with their response, return the product to your LHS for a refund.
Sometimes we don’t always know or see the whole picture. I know that similar experiences have been shared by others here on the forum where a simple phone has changed a seemingly “bad” experience with a manufacturer or vendor into a “pleasant” or positive one. They deserve a chance to explain themselves.
Lastly, I want to encourage you to review the verse you have referenced in your signature:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
If you truly believe the two verses prior to this one, perhaps…this may be a “good work” that the Lord has prepared for you to “walk in”. [:)] They deserve a 2nd chance…
Tom
That is one reason I purchased the Chief, all that is present without having to expand a smaller system with more money.
But, I may purchase the Zephyr later for a switching yard and connect THAT to the loconet easily as a seperate power district.
Apologies to others for a cross thread post. I try to avoid those.
Strange. I’ve had a NCE system for years. No problems (other than what I created myself) and support has been nothing short of top notch.
I like you reply. Many of the problems we get into are ones we created. The DCC installations can bring up some capacitance problems in layouts if everything is not correct and many other factors can add to problems. We do need help sometimes and that is the issue for this post if I understand it correctly.
I normally do not get technical support any moment of the day or week and even had to wait a day or so for some of my requests.
This problem could have happened with any system and probably any technical support group. They are all human and are small time compared to GM or Ford which are both almost bankrupt.
If your saying NCE was a bad buy than tell me of a system with the power cabs capability at less than $140.00.
Again another posting bashing a HOBBY company for not giving you support like your life depended on it. I M O Unless you make a living at model railroading and fast support and customer service puts food on your table and pays your bills than its not that important to wait a little for customer service.As for the digitrax guys bashing NCE I could tell ya something about there waranty system they wouldnt like to hear. I use a Power cab at home and love it I also use Lenz at the club. I have decoders from every maker of DCC products and the only thing I can say for any manufacture is that I had 2 digitrax plug and play decoders fry on the program track and they wanted more money to fix them than buy new! Obviosly there was no waranty on them even though they claim 1 year. Ive ask them how and why they fried and they said miss instaled. I then asked how I could missinstal a Pand P decoder and got no response. But yet i have bought more decoders from them and had no problems since.
All Im saying is try to work the problems first before ya call. If ya had a flat tire would ya call goodyear first or just change it and be on your way?
As for the comments from the phone call Did you let the person know you were upset over it and would like a more profesional conversation? Some people are just insesitive to some feelings and some people are just stupid. The change from the cashier today was 11 cents He counted 11 pennies and handed them to me. I told him a dime and a penny would have been the same but i got that deer in the headlite look. Ya another that shouldnt be able to breed.
wow long winded today
I am not going to try to analyze what may or may not have been programmed wrong with the NCE, but what I would like to say is…many people hate to read manuals. They choose to delve right into the hook-up and programming and away we go. I have helped my own children mnay times, to set up audio and video equipment at home because of the “dad, it’s not working” syndrome. My question to them, " did you read the install manual"? Of course not!!! Even if you “did” read the manual, we have ALL missed things the first time around with instruction manuals because we tend to interpret things differently than the author, who thinks he/she is being very clear. As for NCE or any vendor, it would be be very foolish to judge them on one problem, especially a small vendor. It takes a “pattern” of such mishaps, especially from others also to support the claim, in order to judge a vendor as “bad”. As an example, I read on this forum about a2 years ago, where one modeler was slamming Tony’s Trains ( Tony in particular ) at the Big E Train show in Springfield, Ma, because he didn’t give him the service and prices that he wanted at show. I didn’t know much about Tony’s Trains at that time, but I was very interested because of his knowledge and product he sells regarding DCC. So when I was on vacation later that year, I visited Tony’s in Essex Junction Vt, about a 250 mile ride for me. I found him very helpful in helping me choose my DCC system ( NCE Wireless) as well as some loco and a few other tems. His people gave me demos of the equipment, let me try it myself, and has been very helpful also via email and phone from time to time. Now if I had listened to this “more expert than myself at the time” person, I might have never had the great experiences that I have had with Tony. We can control what “we” say and do,but we cannot control others.
All sorts of intersting comments here, isn’t there?
I’ve had occasion to call and talk to NCE about problems, or just with questions, and they were very helpful.
There certainly is one way in which Digitrax expandability is superior to NCE - adding a PC interface. NCE doesn’t have an expansion unit for a PC Interface - the Power Pro has the interface built in. How short-sighted of NCE to do that! (To save on initial cost, the NCE Entry Level unit does NOT have a PCE interface).
Mark,
You are correct and I would agree. NCE is working on a USB port interface for the Power Cab. But, as Joe pointed out, they usually run behind schedule has far as getting things out the door. Along with the Smart Booster, that is one feature than I am eager for them to release.
Tom
Of course, it should be noted that the Zephyr does not have a built in PC interface either and that the Digitrax PC interface option was quite poor. Fortunately there are several companies making Digitrax Loconet compatible hardware like the Locobuffer so a Digitrax user is not reliant on Digitrax for all the hardware.
Sorry, but I respectfully disagree that such a statement is off base. There are lots of similar posts scattered throughout these forums, about DCC systems as well as myriad other products. After all, why does one buy a given brand instead of any other? Certainly not because that person believes they are all equal. If that were the case they’d never be able to choose. If I had any problem with bigiron’s post, it would be to challenge him to explain why he thinks (any brand) is a much better product.
Steve