Prodigy DCC

[william j brown]

Is any one using MRC Prodigy System. I'm thinking of buying this system.Any comment would be helpfull. My second choice would be The Prodige Advance System.

[Anonymous]

I have the prodigy and I love it. It does have its limitations, which have been addressed with the Prodigy Advance. If you don't have more than 32 locos running, the original can handle your needs. Be advised that the original can only hadle about 4 or 5 basic functins, so if you want ditch lights, horns, bells, etc.. you may want to go for the Advance. Just my opinion.

[Anonymous]

I've been running the prodigy advanced for about a week. It was easy to set up, and installed two decoders so far (mrc sound decoder stopped working after less than 30 minutes of run time...not sure what the deal was there - I probably screwed something up)... Anyway, "standard" decoder install was a snap, and basic programming was a snap... So far very pleased with the Prodigy Advance.

[RedLeader]

I've been operating the PA since Jan. It has been great and easy to use. Decoders behave very well, and programing is a snap. Consisting is also vey easy and works very well. I don't use sound decoders, so no input here. You may disconnect your cab to reconnect it in a another bus, and your info won't be erased. It is just plug-and-play. The yard feature is really fine. CV programing is also very easy. Really expandible. Only drawback, is power (2.5 amps) and no wireless is available for now. Design is compact and very user friendly. Great purchase. After testing it, I found it better (for my needs) than the Zephyr.

[tigerstripe]

Some people think the Prodigy is a basic or beginner system, and it is.
But I am really happy with mine. True it doesn't have some of the features of the Digitrax,
but for the price it is the best thing going. It features idiot proof programming (even I
figured it out in 5 minutes) and I prefer the rotary style throttle. I have had no problems
with my BLI M1a, but you only get the light, bell, whistle, and coupler crash/air release
functions. all the other functions stay in auto mode.
I think it gives you enough to keep you happy without overloading on features that I will
rarely use anyway.

[johncolley]

I would suggest you spend the extra bit and get the Prodigy Advance. It does more and is expandable and upgradeable. At half the price of the "big guys" it is a good spend. You can get a bigger power supply as the command station is good for 3 1/2 amps.

[tomytuna]

Well here is my 2ents worth. I run the original PA. Looked into the " Advanced" and dicided to stay with original.
1. Not running more then 32 engines at 1 time.
2. have 4 controllers set up at different locatations, for operating sessions
3. New engines coming out with ditch lights work just fine. ( have new Atlas Gold DASH 8)
4. I am not a computer geek.....
Cannot beat the price.....
Well..that's it....Tom

[william j brown]

thanks all of you for your input.I'm leaning toward the Advanced.

[Pennsy58]

I started with the prodigy system, then went to the PA when it came out. Both systems to me are a breeze. I never found the prodigy restrictive for what I do. I just want to play with my trains. Yes, you do miss out on some of the sounds from BLI engines. But I was still happy. I do like the four digit addressing on the PA. Just look at the engine, type in the number, and go. Having a number roster on the prodigy is not a big deal though. You cant go wrong with either system when you consider the features together with the price.
If you think that down the road you will get more and more interested in DCC, I would agree that you would be better off going with the advance system. Quite a few more and improved features for just a tad more in price.

[Anonymous]

I have the Prodigy but wish I had waited for the Advance. As Johncolley mentioned the Advance is "upgradeable and expandable." For the difference in price, I would opt to "cover all bases." I bought mine through "Micro-Mart" and saved a few bucks. You're gonna love it.

[Anonymous]

Been running the PA for 3 days. It has been a very easy intro to DCC and I love it. I have a double loop on an 8x8 layout and I can run 2 trains on fhe main and 1 in the yard all at once by myself. Very satisfying!

[Anonymous]

THe biggest downside to the Prodigy Advance is the inability to run a regular DC analog loco on the track... I only say this because I was using a PA and was having all sorts of trouble getting things to work right, and ended up with a non-functional railroad b/c all of my dcc equipped locos expect one failed to function properly... And the one that did work was a B unit that doesn't even look like a locomotive... So I was stuck. I got rid of my Prodigy Advance and ordered a Digitrax Zephyr, mainly because it was totally expandable and could run a DC locomotive on it, for those times when I just really screw something up and need to run straight DC :) As you can tell, I have NO confidence in my abilities to hook up even a plug-n-play decoder at this point :)

[Anonymous]

Petejung, how long do you suppose running DC and DCC together will remain trouble free? There is a magazine, "Model Railroad News" that carry excellent articles every week on DCC. I hope Digitrax Zephyr has overcome some of the hazzards of combining the two operating systems simultaneously. A peek at some of the precautions of this practice might be worth your while. Regards

[Anonymous]

I'm planning on using the DC and DCC together as more of a test bed than a full time solution... Something I can fall back on while I get my DCC installation skills up to snuff.

[Anonymous]

I too, almost went and sent my Prodigy Advance system back to where I bought it. After having one decoder totally FAIL to program, and then having some issues with some old locos while converting to DCC, I was at a loss.

Come to find out, I did have a BAD DECODER! And to make matters worse, while the PA system says ease of use, their Instruction manual is not what it should be. It is lacking in many areas.

After a month of trial and error, a few more decoder installs and programing, I am in much better shape and have a better opinion of the PA System.

Chris

[Anonymous]

NYC56, I would be interested in hearing about the "many areas" the PA maual is lacking. I now have only Prodigy and considering going to "Advance." Fortunately, I am armed with many issues of "Thinking DCC" from Model Railroad News magazine but if the "Advance" instruction manual is "lacking," I would appreciate being forewarned. Thanks

[Anonymous]

Ted,

What I found was that the manual just didn't explain things well when it came to actually PROGRAMING a decoder. It was very hit and miss.

Of course please chalk some of this up to me being brand new to the DCC World. It's been an interesting month, and I've learned a lot from it.

My Instruction manual from the sealed factory box was a printed on a Copier, and also had white out on a few typos. I still think this is quite strange. I have been told that in short order that a .PDF file will be available on the MRC Website.

Chris

[Anonymous]

Yes Chris, the field of translating technical data from Asian languages to European [origin] languages remains inadequate. Remember the days of the first V.C.R. American markets? The translated instruction manuals left the consumer at "wits end" for programming "timed recordings," et al. Heaven forbid if you bought a Japanese made entertainment center of "stacked" stereo, V.C.R., casette, disc, T.V. components with ONE remote for all functions. I heard tell of nervous breakdowns occuring...lol! Thanks for the warning. T.D.K.