Question for any NCE Powercab owners..........

As far as which system is a better value, that depends on mnay things, including how many and what type of cabs you want. If you want four full function, walkaround cabs, this can be done cheaper with the PowerCab and Smartbooster. If you don’t mind one of your cabs being the stationary cab on the Zephyr, then it becomes cheaper. If you want some reduced function cabs, then it depends on how many of each cab.

I am an N-scale Zephyr user. I don’t know about HO or other scales, but typical N-scale locos draw LESS than .25 amps. According to one users test (http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=37557&SearchTerms=challenger,current), the maximum current draw of his Athearn Challenger with the wheels slipping was .21 amps, and from what I have seen, most locos are even less than this. I think the PowerCab is a good system, and if it meets someones needs they will be happy with it. I chose the Zephyr because even though the layout I am planning will probably never run 10 trains at a time, there is a very good chance that it will run 5 or 6, and the fact that the PC interface is not yet available for the PowerCab. I ended up interfacing my Zephyr to my Pc with about $5 worth of components using the circuit at the botoom of the following page:http://www.teamdigital1.com/support_tools.html

Steve - 10 cabs does not equal 10 locomotives. 10 cabs means controlling 10 TRAINS. With consisting in DCC a train could contain more than one locomotive thereby increasing the amperage draw of each train controlled by one of the 10 cabs.

jktrains

I know that 10 cab’s doesn’t necessarily mean 10 locos.

But your item #1 indicates that 10 cabs is too many for a 2.5 amp system simply because of amperage draw, and I pointed out that based on user feedback that’s just not true.

The PowerCab/SB3 has amperage limits, too. But within those amperage limits, which gives you greater flexibility, four cabs or ten? After all, most folks don’t run their locos at full stall current all the time. They usually draw a lot less.

Who’s to say that someone might not have a layout with two double-headed road trains, a single-unit way freight, and two yard jobs? Or a double-headed road train, two single-unit turns, a commuter train, and a yard job? Or any of the many other possible and likely combinations that work out to more than four cabs and ten or less locos and still draw less than 2.5 amps?

Think about N-scale as wel