Well, it’s really only one question, but at any rate…I need to know of a good DCC system to fit my needs. I don’t plan to run more than 5 trains at one time, so I don’t need a really advanced system, and I also need it to be somewhat midranged in price.
Thanks.
I am a Digitrax fan. There are other good ones. I went with super chief radio. Anything less would be less than I wanted. Their starter set is nice, but no radio or walk around throttle. When you start buying that you might as well go with the Super Chirf to start with. The IR did not work for me at all. The Empire Builder is on sale because it will not read CVs and that will make a difference sooner or later.
Other will tell you about a couple of other good units.
My personal favorite is the Digitrax Zephyr. Its pretty much full-featured with CV readback, computer interface, etc. etc. Plus you can add anything it doesnt have via the loconet ports. If you are just switching to DCC it also allows you to use an old power pack as an additional throttle to the one on the command station. A Zephyr will cost you about $150, and if you need to later you can easily add boosters, throttles, radio control or anything else digitrax offers. I have run 7 locos (2 with sound) at once on my zephyr with no problem and that is with no booster.
The NCE power cab is also a good system. It is comperable in price and features to the Zephyr but has a different layout for the controls, its up to you what you like best.
MRC also offers a starter-type system, the Prodigy Express, which is very limited in its expandability. It is also lacking useful features like a computer interface, and thier polled throttle system is not desireable IMO. I have used all three MRC systems, Prodigy, Prodigy Express and Prodigy Advance. The old prodigy is, well, old. Not worth buying anymore. The PE and PA have more features but have been very unreliable in my experience. I actually like the layout of the throttles but that doesnt make up for them not working half the time. MRC makes poor quality DCC products and you should just stay away from them.
I’m really liking the Digitrax Zephyr, I may go ahead with that.
Check out NCE too. I was waffling between digitrax and NCE. I went with NCE because the starter set throttle is a tethered walk around albeit 7’ long though. And at $139.99 you cant go wrong.
Check out Tonys first impressions here:
Austin,
If you are interested, you can read a review I wrote back at the end of February on the NCE Power Cab and their CAB-04p throttle. It lists my initial thoughts and impressions and includes questions and answers from other forum members. The Zephyr is a nice unit, too. Both units have their pros and cons. Hope this helps…
Tom
Toms review hooked me. I bought the NCE just last week and am very happy with it.
Driline
A good place to start is Tony’s Train Exchange. Read his “DCC For Beginners” item and then look at his DCC system comparison matrix.
Austin,
It would be handy if you could try some of the DCC systems first-hand. Perhaps if you can tells us where you are in that small state of yours, perhaps someone here would invite you over for a “test drive.” Or, contact a MRRing club nearby you that runs DCC on their layout and ask them if you can stop in to see it in action.
Tom
I’ve tried DCC before, at a LHS some time ago. I loved it. I’ve also tried DC on a fairly large layout. No comparisson.
After comparing the two, I actually do like that NCE starter more. I might go ahead with that, but I’m going to do some more reading first.
Thanks.
Good Idea.
(You might wanna check the NCE DCC bad buy thread)
Yeah he had a bad experience with customer service, but other than that I havent really heard any complaints about NCE. I think its a pretty safe buy.
I did read it. I’ve also read about people who think Atlas track is cheap in quality because they can’t make a reverse loop out of it without it shorting out.
I’ve heard more praise than complain for the NCE pacakge anyhow.
Austin,
Take your time and figure out which system is going to best meet your needs. I don’t think you can really go wrong with either one.
Tom
I Like NCE too, but you can’t unplug it from your layout. period. (unless you have two.)
Because if you do, the power shuts down.
I researched the leading brands and chose NCE wireless. I do not like being constrained by wires while walking around the layout…if people can afford it, they will all migrate to wireless one day.
Dick,
Is that the older or newer NCE wireless system? Joe Fugate mentioned in another thread that there were all sorts of problems with NCE’s first wireless system. He said that NCE’s 2nd version is quite a bit better and more robust.
Tom
I have a Zephyr with a DB100a booster (from my old Challenger set). If you have a few engines on your layout the Zephyr may blow some power supply electronics. This happened to me, despite only 4 bachmann shays on the layout (only 1 actually moving) according to the Digitrax tech. So you might want to either get a booster at some stage or a more powerful set. Don’t get me wrong, the Zephyr is great and I don’t want to change from it, it suits my layout just fine but you need to look at what you may run in the future too.
I’d like to know who told you that. I’ve had 8 locos running on my Zephyr, 2 with Loksound (PCM), one with QSI (BLI), 1 with a Soundtraxx DSD (just sound, no motor), and a couple of P2K’s and a pair of Stewarts. Nothing blew up or got hot. I even shorted the rails on purpose to see if it could recover (common problem with the high inrush current on QSI decoders) and it worked exactly as expected. I’ve inadvertantly shorted the track many time,s usually froma tool left ont he rails - the kadee coupler height gauge is a common culprit. If running the Zephyr near maximim load is going to burn it up, mine would be long gone.
Now, I doubt I could run 8-10 sound locos at the same time, for that I’d need an extra booster as well, but I don’t think loading down the Zephyr is going to break it.
–Randy
It was an E-mail from their technical/repair department. I was a bit dubious about their stated cause and replied that they advertise that this unit could handle up to 10 locos. They replied ‘yes, as long as the total did not exceed the 2.5 amp maximum’.
I’m still not convinced and suspect it was something to do with faulty parts or other cause and I was spun a line of b***t, problem was, I can’t proove it.