Digitrax advertising claims it is but Mike Polsgrove in his book "DCC Projects & Applications" states that: "the PM42 requires a Digitrax throttle." I have the Power Cab and an unopened PM42. I would like to use the PM42 as four circuit breakers for my N scale RR.
Considering the purpose and functions of the PM42, I see no reason why it would not work with any brand of DCC system.
Go to the Digitrax web site and read their PM42 documentation.
http://www.digitrax.com/prd_powerman_pm42.php
If in doubt, why not connect the PM42 to a piece of flex track and create a short circuit by placing something across the rails and see what happens. If the PM42 shuts the track down before the NCE PowerCab does, you should be okay using it.
The PM42 needs a Digitrax throttle to program the settings. If the defaults work fine, no problem - but the defaults likely won't with a PowerCab because it is set to trip at 3 amps. You also cannot change any section to be an autoreverse, either.
Theroretically you do not need a Digitrax throttle to do this, just a working loconet connection - but that means a device that can be the Loconet master since there is no Digitrax command station, meaning a Locobuffer USB, hooked to a computer using appropriate software (there is a PM42 configuration utility in JMRI).
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks all. I was able to return the PM42 and exchange it for some other things. I will use the simple NCE CP6 circuit board for an easy solution to my sub-district problem.