Dynamis is fairly capable, although it is a stripped down reduced feature set version of a system ESU no longer sells - effectively a dead end. Not having used one, I can't comment on the programming, but the whole system seems rather cumbersome, with the fairly large hand held unit and the requirement for more or less line of sight to the IR base. Other DCC systems such as NCE and Digitrax have multiple throttles, fancy ones with all the buttons for programming as well as simple ones with a knob and a direction switch to just run trains. Plus the option of using Android and IOS handheld devices as throttles via the free JMRI software. The features offered this way are similar to RailPro in that you cna scroll through roster pictures of your locos to select one. This is something common on European DCC systems but has always semeed like a more difficult way to me - maybe for the non-readers, although it does make sense in European modeling where locos do not have nice 4 digit or shorter numbers. In the US, where practically every railroad used a 4 digit or shorter number, it's just as easy or easier to use the cab number as the selection address instead of a photo of the unit - especially when you have say 5 F units in the same paint scheme, differing only by cab number. Key the number into the throttle and go, no scrolling through images.
As you've seen, Loksound has very good sound and excellent motor control. RailPro has some sounds but thus far not the variety that is available for Loksound or other DCC sound decoders. They seem to always be adding more, maybe they will eventuially catch up.
Ring seems to be a solid company (but then again, so did GM). My concern is that all these various systems are not compatible with one another, leaving you (at the present) stuck with a single vendor system. With DCC, you could replace the Dynamis with another brand system and your locos would all continue to operate just as they do now. Not so with RailPro or any of the current competitors. Pre-DCC, there was the Lenz Digital system, which became the baseline for NMRA DCC because Lenz gave up their patents. All the other command control systems at the time have drifted off into obscurity. Some of them were better than what Lenz Digital offered at the time, but DCC has since grown and added features. What happens if/when a direct radio standard is established? Once you can buy that nifty handheld from any one of several companies, and use it with loco receivers from any of several companies, where does that leave RailPro, unless Ring becomes the Lenz of direct radio? There is at least one other system out there today that sends stnadard NMRA DCC packets, but via radio direct to a receiver in the loco instead of through the rails. You use whatever DCC decoder you want with their receiver in the loco, thr protocol is NMRA standard, only the transmitter and receiver modules are proprietary at this time.
--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 have no experience programming with the Dynamis system. Does it give you any prompts to walk you through programming - albeit sound or non-sound decoders? Programming with my NCE Power Cab still takes some button-pushing but the buttons are are clearly labeled and intintuitive.
Decoders - sound or non-sound - are crammed full of features you can opt to choose or not choose. If you want a particular kind of whistle, bell or horn or special light-effects (e.g. ditch lights, Mars lights, strobes, etc.) then you have to read the decoder manual to know how to access your decoder to turn on or off those features with the DCC system you are using. With DCC you can get into it as light or as deeply as you want.
Again, I don't know how the Dynamis is to program with but the Power Cab is pretty straightforward.
If your son has grown up with iPads and smartphones, there is software that can be downloaded so that you can use either as a throttle on your layout. One version uses bluetooth with it's own decoders. It's in its infancy but features are continually being added regularly. Another version can be used with your current DCC system and decoders, alough I'm not sure how it works with the Dynamis. Other folks who are more qualified can answer that question.
I prefer hand-held throttles over smartphones because I don't have to continually look at the screen to change speeds or to operate the bell or whistle. I know where the button is on my throttle and can pretty much do all that one-handed and without looking.
But...to each his own. And that's the beauty of this hobby of ours that there are features and avenues that appeal to a variety of likes and preferences. I'm sure others will chime in on how DCC compares to RailPro.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I have just recently gotten into DCC, with a Bachmann Dynamis system ($65 on ebay, can't beat it) and now have 4 DCC equipped locos, including my first with sound that I just installed today. I reall, reealy like sound and will be doing all sound from here on out. What I don't like is the complexity of programming DCC decoders. It seems very non-21st century to me, and my 6 year old son who I claim to be building the layout for doesn't really care for the DCC controller as he has grown up with iPads and smartphones and it is very clunky in comparison. I imagine other systems would be similar.
Today while browsing the the web, I came accross the RailPro system, and my first thought was that this is what DCC should be.
So my question is for people who have used both, which do you prefer? I am not very far in to DCC, maybe $200, so $$$-wise switching isn't that big a deal.
The sound decoder I installed today is a Loksound Select V4.0, into a Proto2k SW9/1200 (I know, it was a terrible choice for my first install, but the results were phenominal). The sound is awesome, and the motor control is incredible. How does RailPro compare? And what does the future look like for RailPro as far as longevity?
There are no HO scale MRR clubs around me that I am aware of (Austin, TX), so that is not an issue. Heck, there is only one hobby shop left here that sells trains.