DCC system comparison | Digtrax - NCE | Model Railroad Hobbyist

[co]

Thanks for this video. I'm just starting out at 52yrs old and trying to wrap my head around DCC. This gave me another good piece of understanding. Much appreciated.

[cprtrain]

Have operated for over 40 years and love DCC. NCE is easy to learn and use. Love it.

[subwayaz]

Great class that was much needed. Appreciate it. And yes please keep them coming Especially in the DCC area

[uptownphotography]

What type battery does the smaller NCE throttle use? Nice video also.

[onlysmurf]

Thanks Bruce.
Excellent video on the Digitrax & Nce systems.
Often wondered what the difference between the two systems was, now I know.
I have wireless Nce myself & I love it.

[tjseid]

They have the digitrax duplex radio system which you dont have to plug in to select a loco and program and such. Also you can type in the numbers for the system instead of spinning the knob.

[WoundedBeark]

I can leave the batteries in my MRC unit with no issues, and they get recharged if I plug the wireless handset into the unit overnight. Bigger and easier to read screen in my opinion too. Have you guys done a review on the Prodigy Advanced systems?

[CarmineRC]

I'm under 60, so the natural choice was NCE for me! LOL!! :)
Seriously ( because I see there's a TROLL on here shooting down half the
When it came down to stuff we do often, like CV's and consist shuffling, NCE is hands down the most user friendly of the two.

NCE users NEVER have to calculate CV 29. Programming starting voltage, or speed matching is a breeze.
When you use NCE - you'll never need to know what a *BINARY* is!!!

If you're running two separate trains with one throttle, switching between the two is a one button breeze!

There's quite a few more reasons why NCE is a better choice...
Essentially, it's powerful & flexible enough for advanced modelers, AND user-friendly enough for novices to jump right in!!! :)

In my 9 years with DCC, I have never ONCE heard that about Digitrax.
[Yet, most ol' timers SWEAR by them!!]

[uptownphotography]

Nice and clear video. I honestly don't know where to start to convert my layout to DCC. It's a large home layout and will have about 350 to 400 feet on mainline once all the track is installed. I would like to run 2 to 4 locomotives and have radio control.

My other problem is I am old school and have many older Brass Steam Locomotives and if possible i will like to convert some of those especially my 3 Sierras. (It's a mountain railroad with steep grades). The other brass I am not sure if it will be worth the expense (and time) to covert as I have about 30 older brass locos total. Any input is surely welcome.

[Cruithne]

I don't know about the US but in the UK handheld DC controllers are available from Gaugemaster. They're sold separately so you should be able to connect one to a US voltage transformer.

[motorman]

Can you do a video with the NCE pro power cab on how to read values and CVs I am trying to read F 11 for lighting on my Metroliner car and I don't know how to get the value was programmed into that CV see if you could please maybe help me and explain to me how to get the value out of F11 it's for the HO scale Walters Metroliner

[HungryGuyStories]

Excellent comparison and review! I know this video is 5 years old, so you might not even see this comment. But If you do and you're still making videos, I'd like to see a review and demonstration of the ECOS and MRC systems.

[Chessie]

Glad to have a video that explained the difference between Digitrax and NCE. Our club uses Digitrax, but have always wondered how NCE was. I see many people in the various magazines use both, possibly with a slight nudge to NCE. Now I can see why. It seems a little more user friendly. Thanks!

[WhiteRiverRails]

Awesome and helpful video! Can you program cv's on the NCE as easy as you can on the digitrax?

[isaiahfurrow]

Thanks again for this video!  I found it very helpful in deciding on a DCC system.  I live in an area that does not afford much opportunity to see or try many of the DCC systems.  I did get to check out some Digitrax gear and the UT4 and DT402 throttles at a store and also during a visit to a club layout.  I'm not near enough to a club to participate so going with what they have was not really an issue.  I did like some of what Loconet had to offer, and the Zephyr would probably been as much power and functionality as I would have needed.  I like the 402 throttles, and some of the other Digitrax products seemed like a good all around package.  I could see it working out well for many.   The things I didn't like, or that didn't fit for me, were the Zephyr's stationary form factor, and that I didn't particularly like the UT4 throttles.  My plans don't really have a great spot for a stationary throttle, such as a yard, at least not at this point.  To get where I was wanting to be, at least at this point, the Digitrax system was going to be a little more costly, and in the long term the same was true. 
   I ultimately chose the Power Cab system along with a Cab06p engineer throttle.  I will likely add a third throttle at some point.  Along with this I've also picked up an SB5 smart booster and a CAT5 UTP panel.  I've made an "adapter cable" per the provided instructions and all is well.  At this point, the SB5 and panel are stored away waiting for me to get to building.  For my space and goals, NCE fit nicely, The power cab was a great starting point at a good price.  The limitations of the NCE starter set fit into my plans nicely as well, I still only have 2 locomotives, one with sound and one without.  My space and plans will never accommodate more operators than the SB5 will allow for, nor do I plan to utilize a computer for operations or signaling/detection.  Loconet is nice, but I don't plan to use more than NCE will offer. 
  I like the interface and throttle on the Power Cab, as well as the NCE engineer throttle offerings.  I think with the new SB5 and Cab06 throttles, NCE really deserves a look, and may just tick all of the right boxes for those who won't use the additional features Loconet offers, or won't need more than 6 cabs, or have a club to join that uses Digitrax.  These are the main differences that sold me on the NCE system.   Thanks again for the video as it was a great help for me, clearly demonstrating the use of the two systems and their throttles.   Maybe you could put up a video showing the Zephyr Extra and the Power Cab, and their respective upgrade paths, highlighting some key differences in the systems.  That would help folks immensely!  Thanks again!

[g.stephens]

Interesting, NCE seems the hands down "winner", although Digitrax has updated their gear a lot over the past couple of years. I, however operate with a Lenz system, and the NCE is almost an exact copy of the Lenz system (the throttle's have nearly the same way to set addresses and CV's). The major issue I have with Lenz, is that the manuals are translated from German, and a lot of the syntax is goofy and difficult to figure out. However, I found better translations through the Yahoo Lenz group and just printed them out. I didn't see whether either of the two systems have a "scrolling" feature. That is, there's a button on the Lenz throttles that allow the operator to scroll through the list of engine addresses that have been entered into the system, so no "obtaining" the address manually each time.

[Chitwn]

Was trying to figure out which one I would want to go with when I start on my layout this spring and it's clear that I want NCE although my local model club uses digitrax and I'm more familiar with that.  NCE looks so much more user friendly!!!
Nice review!

[paulkirkmanMYTRAINS]

Excellent video. I am making the switch to DCC and have been trying to decide between digitrax and NCE and your detailed video helped alot. As a former electronics tech I love keeping everything as simple as posssible. And wireless cabs with a pig tail hitting thanks. I have chosen NCE.
Thanks

[TrashMan]

Excellent, I have been waiting for such a training video. Please keep them coming.

[gunfighterzero]

if you need that much instruction on how to put in a 9v battery then DCC is too complicated for you