Cvp Easy DCC…Because it is very easy and the wireless is simple and reliable.
I’ve owned both Lenz and EasyDCC. I am currently a very happy EasyDCC wireless system owner.
I sold my Lenz system in 2000 because I wanted wireless and EasyDCC was the only true wireless that was not vaporware at the time. I’ve since run on NCE wireless and find I prefer the nice size of the EasyDCC wireless throttles and I have had less radio reception problems than my friends seem to have had with their NCE systems.
But NCE is a pretty sweet system in terms of features as well.
Wow! I see that the overwhelming majority of modelers taking this poll prefer Digitrax.
If the Yahoo forums are any indication, the Digitrax system sells well indeed.
The Digitrax yahoo list is the largest model railroad forum on yahoo, with the membership almost 5000 strong. All other model railroad forums on yahoo pale in size comparison to this forum.
If you want to make your decision based solely on which system has sold the most units, then Digitrax is probably your winner. But personally, I prefer to make my selection based on features I want, and not just to follow the crowd.
On the other hand, the huge Digitrax forum numbers could also mean that owners of that system need more support than other systems do.
Not saying that’s the case, but just that big support forum memberships may not always be a good thing.
I am currently using the Digitrax Super Empire Builder and plan to add the Zephyr to it. Is that upgrading in reverse???
I bought the AtlasMaster set about two years ago and it’s the only one I’ve ever used. It’s simple and I like it. Unless you are doing a big club-sized layout or running two dozen trains at once, the Atlas seems to do the trick just fine.
Ray out
Hello Joe,
Something I’ll share here about an “interesting incident” I had at a Train show in Sarasota, Florida. There was a DCC vendor with a demonstration display. I checked it out and after a while the gentleman spoke to me. I told him that a friend had introduced me to Digitrax. I asked this vendor questions about Digitrax since I saw that he had a Zephyr on display but not hooked up to the portable layout.
Rather than answering my question, he shoved an NCE controller in my hand and had me run the locomotives. His statements to me were “brisk” saying “You see how easy that is? There you go. No questions, just hook it up and go!” What annoyed me was that he did not want to talk about the Zephyr’s features.
Yes, no doubt I think NCE is a good system, but he just didn’t want to accept that I was interested in Digitrax. It’s like going to a dealership and asking about the Trans Am, but the salesman keeps steering you to the Camaro Z28.
Turned me off, but I kept my cool and said “Thanks”. He didn’t realize that he lost me as a customer as I was looking to have decoders installed on 5 of my locomotives! Apparently he stays in business as he does a lot of customer work through the internet. Face to face his customer skills were poor.
A friend who owns a business explained to me that even in the hobby business certain vendors receive incentives from manufacturers to sell (or push) products.
I am on the Digitrax forum and it is very active. The thing to remember is that the Digitrax range of DCC/loconet products is very broad and goes a long way beyond the main DCC system and throttle. A lot of the discussions center around the use and support of the peripheral items. I am a Zephyr owner and not yet into block detections, signalling and static decoders. There is very little chatter about the Zephyr because is it so simple to operate. You get the odd post about a bad one, but I suspect that the Zephyr is currently the largest installed base of any specific DCC system.
I’m sure that a dealer will put a lot more $$ in their pocket selling a $500 NCE rather than a $150 Zephyr, at least in the short term. But I, like many others, have found that once into DCC, even with a starter unit like the Zephyr, it is easy to want to continue to add to the system and spend more $$ over time. This is what has really impressed me about the Digitrax solution, how I have been able to build a DCC system that really meets the needs of myself and my 2 young boys. The exciting part, is that there is so much more I can do with the system if I decide to develop it further.
I use a Digitrax "Big Boy’ system which you do not list. I have had it for a number of years now and have had no problems with it’s use. I had a chance to upgrade to a Chief system a couple of years ago, but stayed with the Big Boy for that reason.
The ‘Big Boy’ was state of the art when it came out.
I belong to a club with a large layout. The club uses Digitraxx Empire Builder which is easy to use and very flexible.
On the other hand at home I just have an L shaped switching layout and use the Atlas master system. Fairly easy to set up and use. I also have a PR1 programmer set up on an old notebook computer which makes programming very easy.
Bob DeWoody
NCE Powerhouse
I started the hobby with the Super Chief and really like it’s adaptability/expandability. It has been a fairly easy system to learn and operate. I never operated with DC and I have no expierience with any other system so I am not able to compare.
Terry
Zephyr - simple, has all the features I need for a small layout, has decoder feedback (like the Chief, but unlike the Emprire) and requires no support - I haven’t had to ask anybody anything about it, just use it !!!
I cannot belive how many people like the prodigy and prodigy advance. I CANT STAND IT[:(!]. They pump out WAY too much voltage, no computer linkups. The programming is aweful. I could go on and on. If I were you I would get my engines off of prodigy power before it ruins your decoders. we had one at the module group and after a few months of hard running it started frying sound decoders, then cheaper decoders. We put a voltmeter to it and it was pushing something like 22 or 25 volts. We traded it in for another one, same problem. That makes me belive its not an isolated issue. Just stick to the DCC from manufacturers who know what theyre doing.
What’s so awful about the Prodigy family? I own both Prodigy and Prodigy Advance and the Prodigy Advance has really improved upon the old Prodigy.
I measure only about 15 Volts on both systems, which according to Model Railroading, is better than most systems out there. I have NEVER fried any of MY decoders.
And if I can run 19 functions and have them all work effectively, then I consider the product to have excellent programming. Zephyer only had eight functions last time I checked…
I like the Zephyr, because I’m stupid, and it’s easy.
I’m not voting, because I have no experience with DCC whatsoever. But, I think I’ll be buying the Digitrax Zephyr.
Why? Because “following the herd” is not always a bad choice when it comes to technology. This means more people to help you with your issues, more people the company has to please, etc., etc.
Any Lazer Disc collectors out there? Any Beta fans? My stepdad still swears by the commodore Amiga… you could think of many examples of where the “best” system lost out to the system that won out by having more installations.
There is something to be said for a large installation base.
The Prodigy Advanced sounds like it would be perfect for me. But I’m leaning towards Digitrax due to the upgradability factor.
Joe Fugate’s threads convinced me hooking up to a computer to program decoders would be a nice option to have down the road also.
I don’t like the fact that it doesn’t come with a walkaround throttle. So I’ll immediately fork out the dough for that when I buy the system. Aside from that one downside, it sounds like a good way to go to me - start small & keep building.
So, my non-vote is for the Digitrax Zephyr.
None, because I’ve never tried DCC before.[:D][:D][:D]