NCE PowerCab -> Digitrax <insert name here>, what do I need to know?


T

TrinityJayOne

N gauge fan
I've just joined what looks to be a great MRR club, but unfortunately they use Digitrax and I have a PowerCab. Right off the bat I will say that I find the Digitrax way of doing things overly complex compared to NCE, however despite my feelings on the matter I think it might be for the best if I cut my losses and switch over before I extend past the NCE starter system. If I were to make such a change, are there any major things I need to be aware of? What is the Digitrax equivalent of a PowerCab? I want to be starting with a full-featured system that leads into upgrades without wasting anything, just as the PowerCab does, and it's essential that I can take my throttle to the club layout. Thanks in advance, guys.
 
I did a bit of research myself and it looks like it's going to be more expensive to swap than I thought. The Zephyr is right out, I need a handheld. The Empire Builder and Super Chief are both overkill as I barely needed 1amp with the PowerCab, nevermind five, but that seems the only way to go if I want a handheld throttle. So I'm looking at $350 for the Super Chief + another $50 for a power supply, ouch!
 
Wellll, you can run your NCE at home with your trains then buy just a controller to take to the club functions. Your trains will still run on the Digitrax and NCE systems.
 
I paid $220.00 for a new Super Chief Extra setup at a train show last year from a dealer. You need to shp around. E-bay has some good deals also for a new setup. I didn't need a power supply either. Whats that all about. Or just like he said, buy just a hand held.
Wayne
 
Digitrax has a budget handheld for around $64 at MTS. I'm not sure if it will control turnouts or other advanced functions.


http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Digitrax-UT4-Utility-Throttle-2-4-digit-addressing-p/dig-ut4.htm


DIG-UT4-2.jpg
 
Why wouldn't you just buy a throttle for use at the club and keep your NCE for home use? The locos won't care what brand is on the throttle or command station. All they see is the signal, and that is universal.
 
TrinityJayOne said:
I did a bit of research myself and it looks like it's going to be more expensive to swap than I thought. The Zephyr is right out, I need a handheld. The Empire Builder and Super Chief are both overkill as I barely needed 1amp with the PowerCab, nevermind five, but that seems the only way to go if I want a handheld throttle. So I'm looking at $350 for the Super Chief + another $50 for a power supply, ouch!
Click to expand...

You could go with a Zephyr and a DT402 for around $320(including power supply) or a Zephyr and a UT4 for around $235.
 
I briefly had a powercab, and it's a tethered/powered throttle that you really can't get more than a couple of feet away from the layout with. Why would you want a handheld throttle you can't go anywhere or do anything with? By the time you get to a point where you can plug in to different locations with it, you will be over the cost of a Zephyr, or even a Empire Builder.
 
Re: keeping NCE at home and getting a DT402 for the club, couple of reasons why I didn't mention it. First of all I incorrectly assumed I could sell my PowerCab (which go for $200 locally, not everyone in Australia imports) and switch to a comparable Digitrax handheld with little to no monetary loss. Obviously that is not the case. Secondly I don't want to have to learn two completely different DCC systems, plus half the workshops the club runs on things like advanced DCC and automation would be useless as soon as I get home. Thirdly, if I buy just a DT402 for the club I've pretty much spent the same total money ($350ish) I would've spent just selling off my PowerCab and getting a Super Chief.

CSX Robert said:
You could go with a Zephyr and a DT402 for around $320(including power supply) or a Zephyr and a UT4 for around $235.
Click to expand...
I'm going to need the full functionality of the DT402 for the club layouts I believe. Can a DT402 be connected to the Zephyr command station? If so it would do the job for now, but I plan on automating my home layout eventually so I'm not sure the small saving over a Super Chief would be worth it in the long run.
 
The basic DT402 will work with any digitrax command station. You would need the radio receiver to get the radio link functionality of the 402.
 
bnsf971 said:
I briefly had a powercab, and it's a tethered/powered throttle that you really can't get more than a couple of feet away from the layout with. Why would you want a handheld throttle you can't go anywhere or do anything with? By the time you get to a point where you can plug in to different locations with it, you will be over the cost of a Zephyr, or even a Empire Builder.
Click to expand...
My MRC prodigy express handheld connects through a standard cat 5 or cat 6 ethernet cable. I think the cable can be any length one might need on any layout. In normal computer networks a cat 5 cable can carry a signal 300+ feet. Does an NCE powercab throttle use a standard network cable? The digitrax loconet jacks look like typical RJ45 network type......but I seemed to notice the price for their loconet cables is way more than ethernet cables.
 
Yep, regular old network cable for the PowerCab, although you have to make sure it's the right kind (I forget if it needs crossover or straight-through).

Upon further research it looks like the Zephyr can only remember 10 locos at a time, which would be a problem for me as I like the consists. Would this limit still apply if I'm connecting a DT402 to the Zephyr?
 
I would just buy a separate DT402, with or without RC, and keep the NCE at Home. If you don't have to throw any turnouts with the throttle the UT-4 is a cheaper way to go. There are two other things it can't do. 1. It can't setup consists, but it can run them after someone else runs it, and 2. It can't program, but with a full function system you have at home it doesn't matter. If I went to another club and they used a different system than the one I used at home, the most I would buy is a throttle.
 
TrinityJayOne said:
...Can a DT402 be connected to the Zephyr command station?..
Click to expand...

Absolutely.

TrinityJayOne said:
...I plan on automating my home layout eventually so I'm not sure the small saving over a Super Chief would be worth it in the long run.
Click to expand...

There is not much the Super Chief can do that the Zephyr cannot. The main differences are:

5 amps vs. 3 amps
Number of slots(more on that later).
Lack of routes stored in the command station for the Zephyr - with Loconet, if you use DS64's you don't really need to store routes in the command station because they can be stored in the DS64's. Also, since you plan to automate they could be stored in the computer.​

TrinityJayOne said:
...Upon further research it looks like the Zephyr can only remember 10 locos at a time, which would be a problem for me as I like the consists. Would this limit still apply if I'm connecting a DT402 to the Zephyr?
Click to expand...

The current version of the Zephyr, the Zephyr Xtra, has 20 slots(the original Zephyr was advertised as only having 10, although it actually had 12). The Super Chief has 120. If you use the command station consisting functions, then each loco in a consist will take up a slot, so that can be a problem with 20 slots; however, if you use advanced consisting and program CV19 manually then each locomotive running individually and each running consist would take one slot each(locomotives and consists on the layout but not running would not take a slot).
 
If I connect the DT402 to a Zephyr, does the number of slots increase or is that restricted by the Zephyr's base station component? At the very least I'm going to need a DT402 for the club layouts.

Semi-related question about the slots- I currently do advanced consisting, but Digitrax's 'preferred' method appears to be saving the consist on the throttle only and sending individual commands to each engine (brute force I believe it's known as?). The club also does things this way, which I personally find bewildering as it's slower and less efficient with the slots as you've said above. With the PowerCab you create an advanced consist but never actually select the consist's short address, you select the lead or rear loco as normal and the PowerCab secretly uses the consist address to send the commands. Does an advanced consist work the same way with Digitrax? I'd like to be able to still form advanced consists despite what the club does. It's a club rule that all locos use a long address so it shouldn't interfere with anything.
 
Connecting a DT402 to a Zephyr does not increase the number of slots, that is a limit of the command station. You can configure the Zephyr to default to advanced consisting, but to build an advanced consist you have to use the consist address(which must be from 1-127) as the "Top" address and then use the consist address to select and run the consist. Since you still have to use the consist address to run it, I don't see any advantage to using the command station functions to build an advanced consist, and since it takes more slots, I just do advanced consists manually. I find it just as simple and quick to build them that way any way.
 
railfan said:
In a nutshell....how would a system using a DB150 and a UT4, compare to a zephyr extra?
Click to expand...
The DB150 has no built in throttle like the Zephyr. The UT4 cannot program and can not set any options on the DB150, so you would need a DT402 unless you have a PC with JMRI connected and use it for these functions.
 
Update!

Thanks again for all the replies, I ended up going with a Super Chief and will sell my PowerCab. The small saving I'd make by going with a lesser system or keeping both just didn't seem worth it. After reading the Digitrax manual cover-to-cover I'm finding that it's not so bad after all and I've actually found a few features that I prefer (*gasp*) over NCE. I still think the universal consisting is dumb and the display is woefully archaic - why they didn't use a full dot-matric display is beyond me!
 
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