What about the new NCE SB3 ?

[Harley-Davidson]

NCE released a new booster for the PowerCab, the SB3, which Litchfield Station announces than can get "28 functions". Does anybody knows something about this topic?. Thanks.

[cacole]

Litchfield Station has made no such statements about the number of functions.  A power booster is not going to add any more functions to a PowerCab, it will just add more power output to the track (3 Amps instead of 1.7)..  The Smart Booster 3 allows up to 3 additional cabs and allows the PowerCab to be unplugged from the layout so it can be moved to another location without shutting the whole system down.

Here is the information provided by Bruce Petrarca at Litchfield Station:

http://litchfieldstation.com/xcart/home.php?cat=27&sort=orderby&sort_direction=0&page=2

[Harley-Davidson]

Cacole: if you make click at "more data & discounts" of that booster, you will read: This booster is an add-on to the PowerCab system. Brings the total Amperage available to the system to 3 Amps. Allows a total of four cabs to be used (the PowerCab plus three more). When the SmartBooster is used, the PowerCab can be unplugged from the system and moved between throttle panels. Recommended 115 volt power supply PS315 - click on link in RELATED PRODUCTS below! If you need more power on your layout, add a DB3 Power Station and a PS315 for each Power Station - click on links in RELATED PRODUCTS below! System limits of SB3 with PowerCab: Maximum number of cabs: 4 (PowerCab plus 3) Maximum number of simultaneous trains: 12 or as limited by system power Functions controlled: 29 - the SmartBooster provides control of functions 0 to 28 with the PowerCab Short Addresses for Locos: 1 - 127 Long Addresses for locos: 0 - 9999 Accessory address range: 1 - 2044 Signal Address range: 1 - 2044 Maximum number of advanced consists: 16 on addresses 112 to 127 Maximum number of old consists: 8 Offers optional function refresh option - keep your headlights on after a power interruption from dirty track, etc. 524-026 Details   Weight 0.68 lbs Price: US $77.96 Options   Order Qty var min_avail = 1; var avail = 26-1; var product_avail = 0; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  Add to cart

22%

[tstage]

Chuck,

Doc is correct.  It was a surprise to me, as well.  If you go to the NCE web site, you can read the Smart Booster manual online.  On pg. 4, under Changes from Power Cab V.1.10: the SB manual states that two things have been added to the Smart Booster to increase the Power Cab's capabilities:

• F13-F28: Control of F13-F28 has been added.  To access these function numbers, program the OPTION key on your Power Cab or Pro Cab to a value of 122.
  
• Function Refresh: Function refresh has been added to help keep the lights and sound functions working on locomotives that don't remember the state of their functions on dirty track.
  

It appears that these changes will affect both the Power Cab AND Pro Cab used with the Smart Booster.

From the explanation on pg. 4, to access the additional function is just a push of the OPTION key:

• Pressing OPTION once gives you access to F10-F19
• Pressing OPTION a second time gives you access to F20-F28
• Pressing OPTION a third time takes you back to F10-F19
• Pressing PROG/ESC aborts the operation
  

Also, by pressing the EXPN key, you will now be able to see the status of F1-F14 displayed on the first line of the LCD screen, and F15-F28 on the second line.  Press EXPN again returns the screen to the normal display again.  (The original screen only shows you the status of F1-F6.)

I should be receiving my Smart Booster in the mail either tomorrow or Monday.  I will definitely look forward to seeing how practical these changes are in reality and functionality.

Tom

[canazar]

Great news...    Keep us posted.   It looks like I will be getting a smart booster as well.  I need it. 

[tstage]

Woohoo!  According to the USPS tracking number web page, it looks like my Smart Booster arrived at my local post office early this morning and will be showing up on my front porch this afternoon sometime.   Looking forward to trying it out tonight, when I get home from work.

Tom

[tstage]

Bummer!  I guess the PO decided they didn't want to deliver it today afterall - even though it arrived at 5 AM.  Oh, well.  Looks like it will be tomorrow instead...

Tom

[Driline]

Bummer!  I guess the PO decided they didn't want to deliver it today afterall - even though it arrived at 5 AM.  Oh, well.  Looks like it will be tomorrow instead...

Tom

Yes, Tom, please give us an NCE Power Cab users  review of this product. Please start a new thread as it will make it easier for us to find it.

Thanks..

[tstage]

Will do, Frank.

Tom

[tstage]

Bummer II.  The time that the mailman decides to deliver the Smart Booster today is the time when nobody would be home...and the package is insured.   So, it looks like I'll have to wait another day and pick up my Smart Booster at the PO in the morning.

Normally, the PO delivers the mail on our street anywhere between 2PM and 5:30 PM.  Today, the postman comes @ 11 AM. Go figure.

Tom

[CAZEPHYR]

The capability of handling 29 functions will be great, but how many of these are usable today??

It seems like the most functions are about 20 now in use.

Is this an omen for the future of the DCC world /

 

 

System limits of SB3 with PowerCab:

Maximum number of cabs: 4 (PowerCab plus 3)

Maximum number of simultaneous trains: 12 or as limited by system power

Functions controlled: 29 - the SmartBooster provides control of functions 0 to 28 with the PowerCab

Short Addresses for Locos: 1 - 127

Long Addresses for locos: 0 - 9999

Accessory address range: 1 - 2044

Signal Address range: 1 - 2044

Maximum number of advanced consists: 16 on addresses 112 to 127

Maximum number of old consists: 8 Offers optional function refresh option - keep your headlights on after a power interruption from dirty track, etc.

524-026

[tstage]

Cazephyr,

29 functions does seem like a lot, doesn't it?  I guess NCE decided to give themselves some buffer for future function development.

What additional functions will be coming down the road will prove to be interesting, to say the least.  How many of those will actually turn out to be practical is another story.  My fear is that some will become "gimicky".

Tom

[spidge]

Tom, who did you order your Smartbooster through? I have one paid for and haven't seen any info yet.

[tstage]

John,

I ordered mine through Empire Northern Models last week.  I think Tim is located just down the road from NCE.  So, he probably gets a jump start on everyone else.  (Yep, just checked.  680 and 899 Ridge Road, respectively.)

I'm going to be leaving in 15 minutes or so to pick up my Smart Booster at the PO and to drop off some post cards.  I'm hoping to, at least, post a picture or two before heading off to work this morning.

Tom

P.S.  John, would you post that cute picture of your daughter again with the train?  (The one you used to use in your signature.)  Everytime I see your profile name I think of her.  She must be a real joy to come home to.

[spidge]

I don't remember using a picture with either daughter in the signature, but I would feel a bit uncomfortable with it so I may heve deletted it altogether. Thanks for the interest.

In the summerI ordered an sb3 from Litchfield station and have e-mailed as to the status, but no response just yet.

I look foreward to your review and hopefully I will be able to add to it.

[CAZEPHYR]

Cazephyr,

29 functions does seem like a lot, doesn't it?  I guess NCE decided to give themselves some buffer for future function development.

What additional functions will be coming down the road will prove to be interesting, to say the least.  How many of those will actually turn out to be practical is another story.  My fear is that some will become "gimicky".

Tom

 

Tom

It might be a sign that many more functions and options are being planned.   With the use of a 16 bit processors like the Tsunami uses along with the faster speeds of the small processors, we can probably look forward to many sounds and ways of using them that are not even thought of today. 

I would like the option of controlling the intensity of the chuffs and be able to change the duration of the chuffs much like the reverse level changes the sound at speed.  I am using the Tsunami and it does change the intensity volume and has rod clank, which I like, but it still could use some improvements.

And yes, some will become "gimicky".     

  Romans TNT

[tstage]

I don't remember using a picture with either daughter in the signature, but I would feel a bit uncomfortable with it so I may heve deletted it altogether. Thanks for the interest.

Sorry, John.  Maybe I was thinking of someone else but I thought it was your daughter.  She was all of a year old in the picture and you can see her smile curling up and around her pacifier as she is seated behind a locomotive.   Just the cutest picture.  Anyway, sorry about that.  I can understand your reluctance with posting pictures of your family on a public forum.

Tom

[tstage]

I actually picked up my Smart Booster at the PO this morning and took a few initial pictures, which I'll have to wait till I get home this evening in order to post on the forum .  I'm also hoping I'll have a chance to play around with it a little, as well.

Tom

[Harley-Davidson]

CAZEPHYR: My new excellent MTH HO K´4 has 28 functions, but to get all it I need the MTH DCS system. This booster should be, instead, a cheaper solution.

[tstage]

I thought that some of the functions of the MTH K-4 were only accessible through their DCS system because that's the way MTH designed it; NOT because other systems didn't have the capacity to access all the functions.

At any rate, I successfully hooked up the NCE Smart Booster to my layout, took pictures, and already have a good draft of a review done.  I'm hoping to be able to post it either by tomorrow night or Friday sometime.

Tom

[fmilhaupt]

Cazephyr,

29 functions does seem like a lot, doesn't it?  I guess NCE decided to give themselves some buffer for future function development.

What additional functions will be coming down the road will prove to be interesting, to say the least.  How many of those will actually turn out to be practical is another story.  My fear is that some will become "gimicky".

Tom

I'm pretty certain that the specs for 28 functions in the formal DCC spec were approved by the NMRA in 2005. It'll be interesting to see how other manufacturers address this.

I can't find the reference (it may have been on the Tony's Train Exchange site), but I read somewhere that one of the ideas behind this is to use the additional functions more like registers to create complex function-control logic (e.g. If Fn20 is on, and Fn0 is on, turn on Fn26).

Given the limited number of buttons people seem to be willing to put up with on a controller and alternatively the limited amount of complexity that people will accept in trying to turn functions on and off, I could see the additional functions being likely to be used in more automated, computer-assisted applications.

Granted, I've already run into the annoying situation of installing a sound decoder which wouldn't permit me to re-map its "brake release" or other such noise to some other function, so I could keep my lighting function definitions uniform across my locomotive fleet. Personally, I'd have loved to have been able to re-map that sound to Function 24 or some other high number to get it out of my way.

[simon1966]

The user interface for lots of functions certainly needs to be considered. I use a Digitrax UT4 throttle with my Zephyr and some of the functions require a double key press to access. IMO having to press a Fn Key and then a button to access a function key means that it will be seldom used. The Powercab has more directly accessible functions than the UT4 throttle but still requires double key presses to get to the higher functions. The 2nd issue is labelling. Some method of displaying what the functions all do is essential. I suspect that most of us struggle to remember a dozen functions especially when they are mapped differently from decoder to decoder let alone 20! With current throttle design, we are really starting to enter a realm where the extra features are almost worthless because they are impractical to use.

One of the features that I really like in the Decoder Pro application is to label all the fuction buttons when I create a throttle for a specific loco. Somehow, this ability needs to translate into the hand held device. I wonder if future throttles will do away with the majority of the hard keys and buttons and give us a touch screen that we can more easily customize?

[rrinker]

 You mena like the ESU ECoS command stationt hey demonstrated at the National Train Show this year? It has an LCD touch screen as well as dixed buttons witht he labels ont he LCD so the functionalty can be changed via software as it runs. Only thing is, it is a console type system, I don't know what sort of functionality their handhelds will offer, but it's certainly possible to have an 'active' touch screen. The other problem is that ESU went tot he typical German 'overengineering' approach with their knobs. Rather than use encoders, they used potentiometers. But to avoid the problem of speed matching with a potentiometer control (like the Zephyr or UT4 - if you re-aquire a running loco and the knob isn't EXACTLY wher eit was, the train speed will change), ESU MOTORIZED the potentiometer, like some high-end audio gear. So dial up a runnign train, and the knob will move to match the speed rather than the train changing speed. Good idea, but using an encoder would be a LOT simpler - as in the DT400 throttle, pick up a running loco and the speed remains constant because the knob's physical position has nothign to do with the actual speed.
 But yes, a dymanic touch screen is certainly needed with all these functions. I don't personally see the need for so many, but then I don't model the modern era with a UFO-like number of blinky lights all over each loco.

                              --Randy

[tstage]

For those interested, I just posted a review of the NCE Smart Booster in the General Discussion forum.

Tom