Well the time has come to retire my EZ command and get something more robust for the SIW. I doubt I need to run more than 3 locos with sound. Looking for suggestions on a budget.
Hi Joe,
NCE Powercab!
Let me list a few reasons why I recommend it:
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Reliable. I don’t know of any posts on the forums where somebody had one quit outright. I can only think of a couple of posts where the command station itself had to be reset.
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Intuitive. The throttle layout is easy to use, and it only takes a few minutes of set up to get locomotives running.
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Reasonably priced. The Powercab system includes everything that you need to get started. Things like a longer throttle cable are cheap if you need them.
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Fully capable. The Powercab can do any programming with any decoder without the need for programming boosters.
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Easy to follow instructions. The manual is well written and easy to follow, and NCE includes instructions to get the system set up and operating in just a few minutes.
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Upgradable. If your future plans change and you want to be able to run more locomotives then the system makes that easy.
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People who have switched from Digitrax or other systems to NCE wish they had done so sooner.
I could go on but I think I have made my point. Admittedly, there are a very few minor quirks but once you are aware of them they are a non issue.
You won’t be disappointed.
(Hey, can you tell I’m a bit biased?[swg][(-D][(-D]).
Regards,
Dave
Joe,
I started out with the EZ Command back in 2005 for the purpose of getting my feet wet with DCC and without spending a lot of money in the process. I was fully aware of its limitations going in but I enjoyed it for what it was worth, for the time I had it. I purchased my EZ Command and two decoders for just under $100 - not a bad deal.
After a year I knew I wanted to invest and enjoy the benefits of a more serious DCC system. In early 2006 the NCE introduced the Power Cab.
I liked the intuitiveness of the throttle and the freedom of its “tethered” cord to move around my modest 4x8 layout. I bought it and a CAB-04 throttle.
Its now 2016 and I still have the same Power Cab; albeit with a couple of upgrade firmware chips between then and now to utilize improved functionality and features. IIRC, one upgrade EEPROM was free; the other cost me $20.
I also purchased a Smart Booster (SB3a/SB5). Now I enjoy 5A of total output. I can operate more trains and can unplug my Power Cab from my layout for “untethered” freedom - without shutting my layout down. Both have been great and I still enjoy the intuitiveness of the Power Cab interface.
The Power Cab itself has 1.7A of total output (vs. 1A of the EZ Command) so it should easily handle 3-4 non-sound locomotives and 2-3 sound locomotives. Course, that entirely depends on the current draw of your locomotives and whether you go with sound. Most modern locomotives have a draw of ~0.25A. Sound units can draw ~0.5A or more.
And, because of the Power Cab’s portability and that the throttle/booster/command station are all rolled up into one, I can (and do) use my Power Cab at my bench for programming locomotives on a
I have no quarrel with the NCE Power Cab. But, it does have limitations. The NCE Power Pro is a much more robust system, albeit more expensive than the Power Cab. So, it depends upon how you quantify your budget.
Mark Gurries has offered a very comprehensive review of the various NCE DCC systems.
https://sites.google.com/site/markgurries/home/nce-info/nce-dcc-systems
Rich
While I love my MRC Tech 6 and its hand held throttle I kinda wish I went with the NCE Power Cab. Of course hindsight is always 20/20 after you have experience with a little better DCC system like the Power Cab.
Yes,I will recommend the NEC Power Cab.
Gee there seems to be a concensus. Ok I have a question
curently the SIW is running off a DC power pack. If I switch to NCE can I just move the bus wires over or is there an interface that (such as a data port that needs to be wired?
The one reason that I won’t wholeheartedly recommend the Power Cab over the Power Pro is that the Power Cab has some limitations that will eventually drive a number of purchasers to eventually upgrade, and that will likely prove more costly than buying the Power Pro in the first place.
Rich
Joe,
Here’s what comes with a Power Cab:
- Power (PCP) panel PowerCab (RJ-12)
- 6-connector cable (7’)
- Extra throttle cable (coily cord)
- Power Supply (13.5VDC)
- Users manual
- PowerCab throttle
The PCP Panel (1) is the interface between your Power Cab throttle and your track:
All you need to do is to connect the two wires of your track bus to the rear of the PCP panel (upper left connection) and plug in the Power Cab’s power supply (upper right connection) to the PCP:
The Power Cab must be plugged into the LEFT connector port of the PCP to operate your layout. If you inadvertantely plug it into the RIGHT connector port, your Power Cab will light up but nothing will run. The right connector port is for an extra throttle.
Also, the flat 7’ 6-connector cable is for the Power Cab and the coily coil is for an extra throttle. The 4-connector coily cord will not work with a stand-alone Power Cab se
[quote user=“tstage”]
Joe,
Here’s what comes with a Power Cab:
- Power (PCP) panel PowerCab (RJ-12)
- 6-connector cable (7’)
- Extra throttle cable (coily cord)
- Power Supply (13.5VDC)
- Users manual
- PowerCab throttle
The PCP Panel (1) is the interface between your Power Cab throttle and your track:
All you need to do is to connect the two wires of your track bus to the rear of the PCP panel (upper left connection) and plug in the Power Cab’s power supply (upper right connection) to the PCP:
The Power Cab must be plugged into the LEFT connector port of the PCP to operate your layout. If you inadvertantely plug it into the RIGHT connector port, your Power Cab will light up but nothing will run. The right connector port is for an extra throttle.
Also, the flat 7’ 6-connector cable is for the Power Cab and the coily coil is
I’m assuming you mean from the rear of the PCP panel? If so, yes - it will accept bare wire. I’m not sure how large a gauge though. I’m thinking up to 14ga??? 18ga for sure.
Is your power bus for your track solid copper bare wire? For flexibility, it may make sense to solder feeder wires to your power bus then attach those to the connector on the back of the PCP panel. And the connector is removeable from the onboard receptacle to make it easier to tighten the set screws onto the wires.
BTW, Joe…What is SIW?
Tom
SIW = Staten Island West The fictional Railroad I run I live on Staten Island The Forgotten Borough of New York City. Since there is only one train that runs here plus some minor freight service I decided to create my own RR. Seems like the only RR The Metropolitan Transit Authority does not have its sticky hands in.
The bus is 14 Gauge I think Stranded wire I Only have 3 feeders one in the middle and one each end of the layout The bus runs to a Teminal strip in the center and then branches out to 3 14 gauge (same spool of wire it came from) wires soldered to 22 Gauge feeders then soldered to the track.
Make sure you get a round of opinions from other forums, not just one. All forums lean heavily on certain brands and sometimes w/o considering there are other choices besides the ones they made, good or bad.
If you can I would suggest to try the different brands out at a hobby shop, club or a show, see what fits your hand best and how you like the throttle and type. They all pretty much do the same thing, you need to spec one that meets your power requirements and comfort.
I have Digitrax but use NCE at a club in another city, either works fine for me, there is nothing that would make me say “I wish I had changed sooner”.
Might I also suggest the Digitrax Zephyr Xtra. It’s closest in design to the Bachmann unit, and is fully expandable with no price penalties. The Zephyr Xtra has all of the capabilities of Digitrax’s most expensive system, except that it is limited to 20 simultaneous locos instead of 120, and it is 3 amps not 5. Given that the Bachmann is 1 amp, that’s still 3x the power. You can add any Loconet throttle and/or use JMRI. When I say no proce penalty - if you add a DT402 throttle to the Zephyr Xtra, you now have all the features of the Super Chief Xtra, at 3 amps insted of 5, for a significantly lower cost. And the proce difference between a Digitrax radio throttle and a plug in one is about $40, and the price they charge to upgrade a non-radio throttle to radio is - $40. So if you don;t go radio now and later decide to switch, there’s no price penalty for not buying the radio system up front.
–Randy
At this point layout expansion will not happen as I have run out of my allotment of phoney estate and the the wife will allow no more. However I did leave the door open at both ends should that change in the future so expandability will be a consideration.
I use the CVP “Easy DCC” system with wireless cabs, and I’ve never regretted it. I love the long slender throttles… very easy to hold.
Chuck Hitchcock uses them down in KC and after running on his very busy railroad with 8 operators constantly going, I was sold.
I strongly dislike the shape of the NCE handheld.
So now you have another opinion.
Also, for a modest sized railroad I’ve operated on a LOT of Digitrax equipped layouts and most of them work quite well.
NCE Power Cab. I have had one for some years.
Started with the MRC 2K some years ago. It did not do as much as the EZ but five throttles was fun and could run one DC loco.
Rich
I started with a Digitrax Super Chief system. After a few years I finally had enough of Digitrax and converted to an NCE Power Pro system. I should have either started with an NCE system or converted years ago. IMHO, NCE is far superior to anything Digitrax.
I am now testing a RailPro system. I’m not going to change to RailPro but instead run it along with the NCE system. The RailPro system does not use the track to send signals to the engines. It connects via radio directly to the engines. Easy to set up, easy to use, and no CVs to fool with. My main use of RailPro is for consisting. It is, IMHO, the best consisting controller on the market today.
NCE Powercab. Less than $200.
You ask a LION? LIONS do not use DCC. But you say you want to run more trains? LION must ask you how many heads do you have? Me thinks you need a head for each train in order to run them correctly. LION has not been able to grow more heads, still, LIONS are remarkable animals who can run 10 trains at a time on the layout of him. Trains run by them selves. LION operates the tower.
ROAR
At a small gathering of operations-minded model railroaders I attended over the weekend, several people started sharing their gremlin stories regarding their Digitrax DCC systems. Most were complaining about erratic reliability issues including it works beautifully one day but strangely or not at all the next. They were also complaining about how the correct “FIX” for a particular problem is completely different depending on which Digitrax expert you query. Several shared stories about their systems malfunctioning with all attempts to repair/replace multiple components providing no results only to have the system light up again all on its own with the reason for the system malfunction remaining a total mystery. I have been at one or two ops sessions where the session had to be abandoned or postponed due to the Digitrax system going down.
Finally, someone posed the following question:
“If you were to totally start over, would you use a Digitrax DCC system to power your new layout?”
Almost all of the Digitrax users responded that, if they weren’t already tied to Digitrax to operate “at the club,” they would try a different system. Most said they would try NCE.
Being an MRC Prodigy Advance Wireless user, I mostly just listened to this conversation. I was a little surprised to hear the other MRC DCC user in the group also state he would probably go NCE “if not for the overly large throttle.” I have operated on several different Digitrax powered layouts and can attest to my dislike of the Digitrax throttles, especially when compared to MRC throttles. For every button push my MRC throttles require to select a loco, function, or other feature, the Digitrax throttles often require several additional button pushes to do the same thing. It took me several ops sessions to learn the (correct?) way to dispatch a loco using Digitrax throttles because several different people taught me seve