Hi, I am looking at the 2 DCC systems. What would be the better choice for a 14ft shelf layout I am planning? Would run 2 loco's at a time.
The NCE Power Cab.
This has been discussed here many times before. If you do a search in the box at the upper right, you should be able to find more specific answers if you want them.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
No contest. NCE hands down. I use a Powercab and have added an extra throttle 06. Works great and I am very happy with my decision.
You can pick up Prodigy express system at very good discounts. The problem is that ANY expansion is very expensive! Also, you cannot use Decoder Pro from a PC to program. This may not seem like a big issue to beginners, but after 6 months, you will want a Decoder Pro interface - Trust Me!
The NCE Power Cab is a very nice starter system, and can be expanded. It also supports a special USB attachment so you can get you PC with Decoder Pro going. It has somewhere between 1.7 and 2.0 amp capacity depending on the documentation you read. A friend has a Power Cab - a slick little system. It has a nice hand-held throttle that is also the command station. One can add a second NCE throttle to the system.
Another option is a Digitrax Zephyr Xtra - The 'street' price is around $170-175. It has a built-in throttle, but will support addditional Digitrax hand-held throttles and any of the LocoNet devices. It has a 3 amp capacity and you can run up to 20 engines.
I have a Digitrax Chief system for the layout, but I bought the Zephyr Xtra for programming/testing in the 'Man Cave' upstairs. I am very impressed with the unit. When I bought my Chief in the late 90's, there was nothing with the same features in a low end system at the time. IIRC, the original Zephyr was introduced at the 2001 NMRA St Louis show.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
I vote for NCE because it's design is better,
MRC makes good DC packs but their DCC equipment is lacking in the electronics design.
To me, Digitrax is a close second to NCE. That bias probably has more to do with it's high adaption rate in my area, Grand Rapids Michigan.
-Marc
If all you want to do is the shelf layout, with no expansion to speak of, either will do just fine. I am a Digitrax user myself, but have used both the MRC and the NCE systems you reference. The feel very similar in the hand, they both have a largish hammer head design. If anything the MRC is easler to handle because I happen to like the knob they use for speed control. The MRC LCD display is larger and easier to read. The LCD provides more plain English type information. The learning curve on each is not exactly steep, but the MRC is simpler in this regard.
SteelMonsters I vote for NCE because it's design is better, MRC makes good DC packs but their DCC equipment is lacking in the electronics design.
Frankly I don't see any basis for comments like this. There is nothing fundamentaly wrong with the design of the Prodigy Express, in fact I would say it is quite well desgined, probably the easiest to use, and certainly the simplest of the 2 to install because it does not require the mounting of the connection panel. It does the job for which it was designed quite well indeed.
Now I am no fan of MRC, the company, they have made numerous poor decisions regarding DCC and have had more than one false start. However, to be fair, these later systems do not seem to suffer from unreliability issues, in total contrast to the decoders, and aside from the expansion capability, and the refusal of MRC to release the information so that Decoder Pro can work, they seem to be quite capable and well designed.
MRC decoders are utter rubbish and not worth the money, but this does not extrapolate to the DCC command systems IMO.
The comments regarding cost and expansion capabilities are very valid and based on fact. For the size of layout that you are considering, expansion may not be an issue? but think carefully about your possible end point and cost out the two systems when expanded to that level.
If you end up with a decent roster of locomotives and get into messing with CV's, then the aforementioned Decoder Pro is excellent. If you went MRC, all is not lost, since you can get a stand alone programming environment like a Digitrax PR3 to use Decoder Pro.
So in conclusion, both will do the job of running a small shelf layout very well. You may have a preference over one, compared to the other because of look and feel? NCE is made in the US, MRC is made in China. The MRC system is discounted very heavily on-line, so if you go that route shop around.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
I am going with the NCE Power Cab. Thanks for all the info!
Something I always suggest when this question comes up is, Service and Support. NCE is made in the U.S. (Webster, New York). NCE has been fast in answering questions and providing service turn-around time.
Everything MRC sells is made in China. In my personal experience, MRC's service is very poor. A sound decoder that was dead on arrival came back in even worse condition and will never be installed because it is likely to catch fire.