I've had 3 different laptops and my desktop, all with Windows 7 64-bit. My PR3 has worked on all of them, with both JMRI and Soundloader, as well as Loconet Checker and the DigiIPL program to update my DT402 throttle.
In fact I just configured my latest laptop to take to the train show, with both JMRI and the Loksound software, with both the PR3 and Loksound Programmer attached as hardware. Works perfectly fine. My program/test track was modified with a DPDT toggle feeding the rails from either hte PR3 or Lokprogrammer. Now, so long as I don;t forget a cable or power supply - got it all in my box of gear to take so if I forget that I'm minus a lot of important stuff.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I use the Locobuffer USB and it works fine with all my computers with various software. Good support too. Interfaced with DCS200, etc.
http://www.rr-cirkits.com/
Richard
Curt Webb I would caution you with the Digitrax PR-3 and a laptop. I want to get the PR-3 for Christmas this year but I noticed in the system requirements that Windows 7 is not on the OS compatible list. I emailed Digitrax and they responded it will work with the 32 bit windows 7 but not the 64 bit version.
I would caution you with the Digitrax PR-3 and a laptop. I want to get the PR-3 for Christmas this year but I noticed in the system requirements that Windows 7 is not on the OS compatible list. I emailed Digitrax and they responded it will work with the 32 bit windows 7 but not the 64 bit version.
Not sure why they would have told you that.
Both my layout computer and my office computer run 64-bit Win7, and my PR3 works just fine with both of them.
None of that "compatibility mode" stuff is needed, either (especially since that only applies to programs, and not hardware/drivers).
Just download the zip file with the drivers from the Digitrax Web site and follow the Vista installation instructions. Some of the Win7 screens/prompts will be slightly different than what's shown for Vista, but they're close enough that it shouldn't be a problem to follow along.
Edit: Here's a link to the zip file with the PR3 instructions and drivers.
Vista instructions are located in the PR3 Help.pdf file
Vista 32 and 64-bit drivers are in the win_xp_vista32_64 folder.
Microsoft's web site has an "XP Compatibility Mode" module you can load into Windows 7 which avoids most conflicts with the 64 bit version.
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j372/curtwbb/
ba&prr The 20 locos is how many addresses the command station can hold in it's memory. 20 throttles is what the max number of throttles can be hooked up to the Zypher. Joe
The 20 locos is how many addresses the command station can hold in it's memory. 20 throttles is what the max number of throttles can be hooked up to the Zypher. Joe
Thank you sir. I'm planning on getting the Zephyr soon.
Mr. LMD, Owner, founder
The Central Chicago & Illinois Railroad
galaxy I asked a similar question till I discovered the answer was in programming 2 locos for one address slot. You can nto run two controllers, UNLESS THE TRACK WORK IS SEPARATE FORM EACH OTHER. I skimmed over the 3 pages of answers you got. I see a lot of goobledy-gook, and not sure a clear answer as to how you can have all your locos programmed in. Not sure my ansower wil be clear either. I have the EZ Command. It is true that it can only run 10 loces, {9 if you want to leave #10 clear for turning on/off lights like I do.} Unless you program more than one loco to an address. AS LONG AS YOU DON"T RUN THEM AT THE SAME TIME, you can program in 20 locos {18 if you save #10}. How? By programming more than one loco for an address slot. Heres an example: Slot one has CSX GP35 and CSX SD35 programmed into it. Slot two has NS F7 and NS F9 programmed into it. Slot 3 has BNSF GP40 and BNSF BNSF GE33 programed into it. If you ONLY run ONE of those two you have programmed into a slot, YOu will have no Problems! You can run EITHER CSX GP35 OR CSX SD35 . And You can trade off locos as you wish. You cannot run all these 6 locos at a time. You can run three. You can run two or three from DIFFERING slots {if your EZC willhandle 3 locos}. I have 14 locos programed into the 9 sltos on my EZC. Now, for a consist, I also have a F series A and B set that I have programmed to run together {both} on one slot ,so those two I would load on track in proper order and turn on that slot#. It will run them as a consist after I have set the pair up for running together. Hope this helps Keep in mind you have to remove the "dead ones" you are not using from the layout as you cannot have them all sitting there idle as you will have a conflict and they won't run! OR put them on a switched off spur so there is no conflict.
I asked a similar question till I discovered the answer was in programming 2 locos for one address slot. You can nto run two controllers, UNLESS THE TRACK WORK IS SEPARATE FORM EACH OTHER.
I skimmed over the 3 pages of answers you got. I see a lot of goobledy-gook, and not sure a clear answer as to how you can have all your locos programmed in. Not sure my ansower wil be clear either.
I have the EZ Command. It is true that it can only run 10 loces, {9 if you want to leave #10 clear for turning on/off lights like I do.} Unless you program more than one loco to an address.
AS LONG AS YOU DON"T RUN THEM AT THE SAME TIME, you can program in 20 locos {18 if you save #10}.
How?
By programming more than one loco for an address slot.
Heres an example:
Slot one has CSX GP35 and CSX SD35 programmed into it.
Slot two has NS F7 and NS F9 programmed into it.
Slot 3 has BNSF GP40 and BNSF BNSF GE33 programed into it.
If you ONLY run ONE of those two you have programmed into a slot, YOu will have no Problems! You can run EITHER CSX GP35 OR CSX SD35 . And You can trade off locos as you wish.
You cannot run all these 6 locos at a time. You can run three. You can run two or three from DIFFERING slots {if your EZC willhandle 3 locos}.
I have 14 locos programed into the 9 sltos on my EZC.
Now, for a consist, I also have a F series A and B set that I have programmed to run together {both} on one slot ,so those two I would load on track in proper order and turn on that slot#. It will run them as a consist after I have set the pair up for running together.
Hope this helps
Keep in mind you have to remove the "dead ones" you are not using from the layout as you cannot have them all sitting there idle as you will have a conflict and they won't run! OR put them on a switched off spur so there is no conflict.
Thank you.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
tstage Maybe it has already been said; maybe it hasn't. When you program a locomotive with a decoder installed into it, it's the decoder that you are programming - i.e giving it a 2 or 4-digit address; NOT the DCC system. Once the decoder is programmed, a locomotive can then be "called up" (to use Steve's good analogy of a telephone) with any DCC system. The address and any CV (configuration variables) settings are stored in the decoder itself. That's why when you purchase a decoder you get a decoder manual with it. It generally tells you what the decoder can do are what default values are for some or all the CVs. Does that make a little more sense now? Or, is it still clear as mud? Tom
Maybe it has already been said; maybe it hasn't. When you program a locomotive with a decoder installed into it, it's the decoder that you are programming - i.e giving it a 2 or 4-digit address; NOT the DCC system. Once the decoder is programmed, a locomotive can then be "called up" (to use Steve's good analogy of a telephone) with any DCC system.
The address and any CV (configuration variables) settings are stored in the decoder itself. That's why when you purchase a decoder you get a decoder manual with it. It generally tells you what the decoder can do are what default values are for some or all the CVs.
Does that make a little more sense now? Or, is it still clear as mud?
Tom
it's perfectly clear and understandable the way you said it. I do not know why anyone did not explain it that way instead of taking the hard way and explaining it in very long paragraphs.
Thank you sir.
I'm done with this post since a few modelers do not understand that i have a LEARNING DISABILITY.
The best way I can understand things is visually like i stated before and one modeler who I am quite grateful for his patience and respect sending me a video of how he used the Digitrax Zepyhr in a youtube video. This is why I have not posted anything for the last few weeks because the only place where people who do not understand or take the time to read when i say i have a disability is this website.
I'm sorry for being a 22 year old man asking for advices which is hard for me to understand alittle bit and people keep being disrespectful.
Maybe it has already been said; maybe it hasn't. When you program a locomotive with a decoder installed into it, it's the decoder that you are programming - i.e. giving it a 2 or 4-digit address; NOT the DCC system. Once the decoder is programmed, a locomotive can then be "called up" (to use Steve's good analogy of a telephone) or selected with any DCC system using the address that is programmed into the decoder.
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
But you don;t "program your locos into the system". Each loco has an address that gets programmed into it. You can own 1000 locos, each with a unique address.
You select one at a time to control it on the DCC system. One throttle, one loco (I am leaving out consists - say you put three locos on the headof a train - that gets controlled as one loco). You cna let one run uncontrolled while you select another - say leave a train circlign thelayotu while you operate a switcher, and you CVAN do this 20 times on the Zephyr Xtra, but 19 trains runnign around your layout uncontrolled is just asking for disaster.
You can hook up additional throttles - 19 of them, plus the one built in to the Zephyr itself, and have 20 trains under control, if you have 20 peopel to handle the throttles.
The key is, the loco address are NOT permanently stored in the Zephyr itself. They are selected as you run them. The capacity is how many you cna run at a time - like I said, you cna own 1000 unuqie locos, and do not need a DC system that can 'store' 1000 locos - there isn't one made, actually.
Your responses indicate you don't quite have a handle on how this works. You CAN utilize a feature called the 'recall stack' to access previously used locos, but unless you are flippign back and forth betwen 3 or 4 locos tops, I find it much easier (and less buttons to press) to just select the loco as designed. Worst case, the loco address is a full 4 digits - 1234. To select this loco on the Zephyr requires 6 button presses - Loco, 1, 2, 3, 4, Enter. To access this loco fromt he recall stack requires pressing Loco, then as many as 19 presses to scroll through the list of locos, then Enter. If 1234 was just used 2 locos ago, it would be a total of 4 button presses, but if it was 10 locos ago, it would be 12 button presses - so it's easier to just key in the address.
I don;t knwo how to make it more clear. The LOCO has an address. You don;t load the DCC system with the loco ahead of time, you select a loco when you want to operate it. It is, as I said, nearly the opposite of the Bachmann, where you DID assign a loco to one fo the buttons. The Bachmann system attempts to completely insulate you fromt he workings of DCC - what it actually did when you assigned a loco to button 1 was program the LOCO to address 1. With a full-featured DCC system, the address can be anything from 1-9999, and when you want to run a given loco, you tell the system what loco you want to run. It's perhaps a subtle but very important distinction.
ANother example. Sitting here in front of me is an Atlas Trainmaster number 802. If I want to run this loco, I can take it upstairs and on my Zephyr dial in 802 and run it. If I take it to the club layout, I put it on the track, pick up a throttle, adn select 802, and off it goes. If I take it to a friend's house, I pick up a throttle, and dial in 802. It is in no way tied to my Zephyr. It's 802 wherever I go, and I need not do anythign on any other DCC system to make it know about 802, I just say "run loco 802" and it runs.
Stevert Mr. LMD: I'm just looking for a DCC controller that will allow me to program all of my locos into one controller with or without throttles. No, no, you're still not understanding! With any DCC system (except, apparently, the EZ Command), you don't program locos into anything. You use the throttle to select a loco, or more accurately a specific address, and then you use the throttle to control that address. Doesn't matter if the throttle is built-in or external. You're using it, along with the command station, to select and control an address. Think of it in terms of the old, bakelite dial telephones. They didn't store any numbers, but you could call virtually anyone as long as you dialed their number. DCC systems work on a similar concept; You don't program addresses (locos) into them, but instead you select any valid address you want and control that address. And any locos on the layout that are not selected will do nothing.
Mr. LMD: I'm just looking for a DCC controller that will allow me to program all of my locos into one controller with or without throttles.
No, no, you're still not understanding!
With any DCC system (except, apparently, the EZ Command), you don't program locos into anything.
You use the throttle to select a loco, or more accurately a specific address, and then you use the throttle to control that address. Doesn't matter if the throttle is built-in or external. You're using it, along with the command station, to select and control an address.
Think of it in terms of the old, bakelite dial telephones. They didn't store any numbers, but you could call virtually anyone as long as you dialed their number.
DCC systems work on a similar concept; You don't program addresses (locos) into them, but instead you select any valid address you want and control that address.
And any locos on the layout that are not selected will do nothing.
That is not what I see in the Digitrax video that a fellow modeler posted. It said I can program/address the locos into the controller by following a few steps.
Mr. LMDI'm just looking for a DCC controller that will allow me to program all of my locos into one controller with or without throttles.
rrinker I'm thinking you still don't quite understand the way it works with Digitrax and (far as I know) every DCC system EXCEPT the Bachmann EZ. Perhaps my example will help. I actually have the older original Zephyr. It can control 10 locos at a time. At last count I have 16 locos with DCC decoders in them, plus another 4 waiting - they are undecorated units that need some details and painting first, so it may be a while. At any rate, with the 16 that I have that will run on DCC, there is no issue that my Zephyr can only control 10 at a time. I can line them all up on the track if I wish. I've had more than 10 sitting on the layout. Or then there is the club layout. Huge - 28x120+ if we are in a venue that allows all the modules to be used. That layout has the Digitrax Super Chief (and a lot more equipment). The DCS100 that is the command station in that system can run either 22 or 120 locos. It comes set for 22 but you can set it to 120. Last time I looked, no one ever made the change to 120. One of the guys brings more than 22 locos just himself - he loves locos, and modern power, and pretty much fills up the tracks in the engine terminal with just his locos. He recently posted a picture and I can maybe count fromt here, but he had already put some away when the photo was taken. So there are all his engines sitting on the track, plus every other club member who brings locos, plus a good number that are club property. All sitting on the layout at the same time. Maybe 10 are in use at any given time, actually moving and being controlled. Far more thna can be controlled by the system are sitting on the layout though. --Randy
I'm thinking you still don't quite understand the way it works with Digitrax and (far as I know) every DCC system EXCEPT the Bachmann EZ.
Perhaps my example will help. I actually have the older original Zephyr. It can control 10 locos at a time. At last count I have 16 locos with DCC decoders in them, plus another 4 waiting - they are undecorated units that need some details and painting first, so it may be a while. At any rate, with the 16 that I have that will run on DCC, there is no issue that my Zephyr can only control 10 at a time. I can line them all up on the track if I wish. I've had more than 10 sitting on the layout.
Or then there is the club layout. Huge - 28x120+ if we are in a venue that allows all the modules to be used. That layout has the Digitrax Super Chief (and a lot more equipment). The DCS100 that is the command station in that system can run either 22 or 120 locos. It comes set for 22 but you can set it to 120. Last time I looked, no one ever made the change to 120. One of the guys brings more than 22 locos just himself - he loves locos, and modern power, and pretty much fills up the tracks in the engine terminal with just his locos. He recently posted a picture and I can maybe count fromt here, but he had already put some away when the photo was taken. So there are all his engines sitting on the track, plus every other club member who brings locos, plus a good number that are club property. All sitting on the layout at the same time. Maybe 10 are in use at any given time, actually moving and being controlled. Far more thna can be controlled by the system are sitting on the layout though.
i understand that the DCC allow the modeler to control all of their locomotives without complication.
I'm just looking for a DCC controller that will allow me to program all of my locos into one controller with or without throttles. I have 15, 17 within two weeks that I want to have on my layout so when one diesel loco or duo is done with their days work, I can place them back into the yard and allow me to play with one of my steam trains. I, myself, also have many of my locos needing DCC decorders and as soon as my layout is done, I will send one loco at a time to get converted to DCC to Mr. Lee (Western Maryland modeler) who will install them for me.
Thank you for your example.
Stevert Mr. LMD: That is why I contacted Digitrax because I wanted to know how many locomotives I can have on one of their controllers so I wouldnt have to pay a lot of money going through controllers til i found the right one. Sorry for jumping in here so late, but after this two-page thread I still get the impression that you're not familiar with how most DCC systems select and control a specific loco. Since the EZ Command does it differently than most others, that's probably the source of the confusion. Anyway, with most DCC systems, on your throttle you would select the loco you want to control at a given time, and you control it. When you want to control a different loco, you'd "drop" (different systems use different nomenclature/methods) the loco you were controlling, select the new one, and away you go. You're not limited to the ten or so that the EZ Command knows about. Instead, power and space considerations aside, you could have literally hundreds of locos on your layout, and as long as each has a unique address (again, something the EZ Command apparently isn't capable of), you could independently call up and run any of them. And up to the limits of the command station you're using, you could call up and run more than one if you have additional throttles. In the case of he Zephyr Extra, it would be 22 if you count the jump throttles.
Mr. LMD: That is why I contacted Digitrax because I wanted to know how many locomotives I can have on one of their controllers so I wouldnt have to pay a lot of money going through controllers til i found the right one.
Sorry for jumping in here so late, but after this two-page thread I still get the impression that you're not familiar with how most DCC systems select and control a specific loco. Since the EZ Command does it differently than most others, that's probably the source of the confusion.
Anyway, with most DCC systems, on your throttle you would select the loco you want to control at a given time, and you control it. When you want to control a different loco, you'd "drop" (different systems use different nomenclature/methods) the loco you were controlling, select the new one, and away you go.
You're not limited to the ten or so that the EZ Command knows about. Instead, power and space considerations aside, you could have literally hundreds of locos on your layout, and as long as each has a unique address (again, something the EZ Command apparently isn't capable of), you could independently call up and run any of them.
And up to the limits of the command station you're using, you could call up and run more than one if you have additional throttles. In the case of he Zephyr Extra, it would be 22 if you count the jump throttles.
There's no such thing as being late in helping fellow modelers lol. I know that all the locos have to have different address to be able to control them and i plan on programming my non-decorated/unlettered locos using their road numbers and since each one have different numbers it should be easy. I'm glad i'm dumping the EZ command because that put a limit on how many I could program into the system/controller.
since one of the recent modelers told me that the Zephyr already have one throttle in the controller i wouldn't have to buy another unless I expanded my loco roster or add lighting and power switches.
thank you and yes, i was getting the bachmann system mixed up with the other dcc controller brands.
Mr. LMDThat is why I contacted Digitrax because I wanted to know how many locomotives I can have on one of their controllers so I wouldnt have to pay a lot of money going through controllers til i found the right one.
Phoebe Vet Just the Zephyr. If you add a throttle then you can control two at once, In fact if you add the 402 series throttle, you can control three at once because the 402 can control two itself. Check out this video: I would run it full screen because it has some small letters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTQA11-UE50
Just the Zephyr. If you add a throttle then you can control two at once, In fact if you add the 402 series throttle, you can control three at once because the 402 can control two itself.
Check out this video: I would run it full screen because it has some small letters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTQA11-UE50
I will just stick to one controller/throttle since I do not have enough room for a larger "Railroad(s)". I know the $200 price range is high, but I work everyday and get paid every week to be able to afford the controller.
Thank you and thanks for the amazing video :)
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Phoebe Vet There is no additional wiring needed to add an additional throttle. Just plug it into the Zephyr. There is no additional load on your house wiring. You can add several additional throttles if you like, but you won't need to.The Zephyr has one throttle built in.
There is no additional wiring needed to add an additional throttle. Just plug it into the Zephyr. There is no additional load on your house wiring. You can add several additional throttles if you like, but you won't need to.The Zephyr has one throttle built in.
So how many boosters or throttles would i need for my basic future layout?
tstage My guess is that you are looking at DCC through the eyes of DC. With DC, in order to control two separate locomotives, you have to have two cabs [controllers] and run the locomotives on separate tracks/blocks. With DCC, you can operate several locomotives from the same DCC system - albeit the base unit or with the combination of the base unit and and extra throttle(s). The only need for adding an additional throttle is if someone else wants to run locomotives with you. The throttle uses the DCC system base unit for power. Tom
My guess is that you are looking at DCC through the eyes of DC. With DC, in order to control two separate locomotives, you have to have two cabs [controllers] and run the locomotives on separate tracks/blocks.
With DCC, you can operate several locomotives from the same DCC system - albeit the base unit or with the combination of the base unit and and extra throttle(s). The only need for adding an additional throttle is if someone else wants to run locomotives with you. The throttle uses the DCC system base unit for power.
I know i can run many more locos with DCC control. However, i do not want to run all of my locos at once, but i do want to have them all on my layout when i want to run them independently when the others are in their respective places. Just like when other modelers wanna run one of their locos or trains while the others arent being used, i want to do the same thing with mine. That is what I posted to the modelers at the beginning of my post.
I have 15, soon to be 17 locomotives, and an outdated Bachmann EZ command that a fellow modeler told me to get rid of. I want to have all of my locos on ONE controller so when I want to run them, I will have to have more than one DCC controller because a controller can only have so many locos.
That is why I contacted Digitrax because I wanted to know how many locomotives I can have on one of their controllers so I wouldnt have to pay a lot of money going through controllers til i found the right one.
I'm sorry if i'm not that clear to anyone who is posting, I do have a learning disability and typing things out isn't my best way of explaining things.
tstage Extra controller or extra throttle? There is a difference. You can not operate two DCC systems [controllers] on the same layout. You can, however, add an extra throttle(s) to a DCC system. Tom
Extra controller or extra throttle? There is a difference. You can not operate two DCC systems [controllers] on the same layout. You can, however, add an extra throttle(s) to a DCC system.
Yes i know that now after the first person told me that. I was talking about the controller not throttle because I still do not know what that is until I did some research about it.
maxman Mr. LMD: tstage: But you're not going to run 20 locomotives simultaneously. You said earlier that you would only run 2-3 at a time. So, the "20" number is really meaningless then. I'm NOT saying that you shouldn't get the Zephyr Xtra. It's a very nice system and will serve you very well. Your conclusions for getting it just doesn't make sense - at least to me. Tom I know what you mean and I'm sorry if I didn't clarify it right. I want to have all of my locomotives on one system without having an extra controller just to control them. I still don't think we are all on the same page concerning what you want to do. What exactly do you mean "have all my locomotives on one system without having an extra controller just to control them"? Are you looking for a system where you can enter all your locomotive numbers onto the controller at one time and then scroll through the list every time you want to run one of them? I don't believe that there is any DCC system out there that will do that. Looking at page 17 of the manual for the Zephyr Extra (http://www.digitrax.com/static/apps/products/starter-sets/dcs51/documents/ZephyrXtra.pdf) it comes with a factory default recall stack of two locomotives. The instructions indicate that you can change this to either 4 or 8. The recall stack is where you can pre-enter the numbers for different locos and then "recall" them one at a time to run them. So the most you can store is eight. That doesn't mean that you cannot run a 9th loco. But if you want to run this additional loco from the list, one of the other 8 has to drop off. When you spoke to the Digitrax rep and he told you that you could run 20 locos, I suspect that he meant that there was power enough to do so. I doubt that he meant that you could store that many locos in the recall stack (unless they have changed something and the manual I referenced from their website is not the latest and greatest). The next question is how many trains do you want to have moving at the same time? I believe that you mentioned three. So okay, with the Zephyr you can get the first train moving, recall the loco number for the second train and get it moving, and do the same for the third. But you need to realize that you are only actually controlling one train at a time. So if you get occupied with the first moving train and suddenly notice that the third will crash into the second unless you slow it down, you will have to recall its loco number to regain control. To be able to control more than one train simultaneously will require another controller (handset).
Mr. LMD: tstage: But you're not going to run 20 locomotives simultaneously. You said earlier that you would only run 2-3 at a time. So, the "20" number is really meaningless then. I'm NOT saying that you shouldn't get the Zephyr Xtra. It's a very nice system and will serve you very well. Your conclusions for getting it just doesn't make sense - at least to me. Tom I know what you mean and I'm sorry if I didn't clarify it right. I want to have all of my locomotives on one system without having an extra controller just to control them.
tstage: But you're not going to run 20 locomotives simultaneously. You said earlier that you would only run 2-3 at a time. So, the "20" number is really meaningless then. I'm NOT saying that you shouldn't get the Zephyr Xtra. It's a very nice system and will serve you very well. Your conclusions for getting it just doesn't make sense - at least to me. Tom
But you're not going to run 20 locomotives simultaneously. You said earlier that you would only run 2-3 at a time. So, the "20" number is really meaningless then.
I'm NOT saying that you shouldn't get the Zephyr Xtra. It's a very nice system and will serve you very well. Your conclusions for getting it just doesn't make sense - at least to me.
I know what you mean and I'm sorry if I didn't clarify it right. I want to have all of my locomotives on one system without having an extra controller just to control them.
I still don't think we are all on the same page concerning what you want to do. What exactly do you mean "have all my locomotives on one system without having an extra controller just to control them"?
Are you looking for a system where you can enter all your locomotive numbers onto the controller at one time and then scroll through the list every time you want to run one of them? I don't believe that there is any DCC system out there that will do that.
Looking at page 17 of the manual for the Zephyr Extra (http://www.digitrax.com/static/apps/products/starter-sets/dcs51/documents/ZephyrXtra.pdf) it comes with a factory default recall stack of two locomotives. The instructions indicate that you can change this to either 4 or 8. The recall stack is where you can pre-enter the numbers for different locos and then "recall" them one at a time to run them. So the most you can store is eight. That doesn't mean that you cannot run a 9th loco. But if you want to run this additional loco from the list, one of the other 8 has to drop off. When you spoke to the Digitrax rep and he told you that you could run 20 locos, I suspect that he meant that there was power enough to do so. I doubt that he meant that you could store that many locos in the recall stack (unless they have changed something and the manual I referenced from their website is not the latest and greatest).
The next question is how many trains do you want to have moving at the same time? I believe that you mentioned three. So okay, with the Zephyr you can get the first train moving, recall the loco number for the second train and get it moving, and do the same for the third. But you need to realize that you are only actually controlling one train at a time. So if you get occupied with the first moving train and suddenly notice that the third will crash into the second unless you slow it down, you will have to recall its loco number to regain control. To be able to control more than one train simultaneously will require another controller (handset).
Q1: What exactly do you mean "have all my locomotives on one system without having an extra controller just to control them"?
A1: I want to have all of my locos under one controller so i do not have to wire two controllers for my layout.
Q2: Are you looking for a system where you can enter all your locomotive numbers onto the controller at one time and then scroll through the list every time you want to run one of them? I don't believe that there is any DCC system out there that will do that.
A2: I'm not looking for a controller that function likes that because there probably any that exist. I just one my locomotives on one controller WITHOUT needing a second controller because I do not want to have extra power on my current house electric grid due to its old age.
Extra controller...or extra throttle? There is a difference. You can not operate two DCC systems [controllers] on the same layout. You can, however, add an extra throttle(s) to a DCC system.
Mr. LMD tstage: But you're not going to run 20 locomotives simultaneously. You said earlier that you would only run 2-3 at a time. So, the "20" number is really meaningless then. I'm NOT saying that you shouldn't get the Zephyr Xtra. It's a very nice system and will serve you very well. Your conclusions for getting it just doesn't make sense - at least to me. Tom I know what you mean and I'm sorry if I didn't clarify it right. I want to have all of my locomotives on one system without having an extra controller just to control them.