DCC Control

[hawaiiho]

I have both the Bachmann Dynamis and the NCE Power Cab.
I am  happy with both
The Dynamis has the advantage of having a wireless handheld throttle, while the Power Cab is tethered. The Dynamis will store a lot more locomotives at a time than the Power Cab. I have operated two sound locomotives at a time with both units(no problems).
The basic Power Cab has the advantage of offering full programing(ie, read and write CVs). While the basic Dynamis will only write CVs and  requires a very expensive upgrade to read CVs.
The Power Cab also offers  more options to expand at more reasonable prices. The Dynamis is limited in expandability and expensive to expand.

I guess it comes down to,  you must make your choice as to which is the most important to you.

[Doneldon]

John-

I was just rereading these posts and I noticed that I somehow thought you have an NCE unit but you don't, so let me revise my comments.

The Bachmann Dynamis is a full featured control system (except for reading CVs) for which you already have a radio throttle and a five amp booster. I suggest you stay with Bachmann since the Dynamis will be cheaper than NCE or Digitrax and you already have several compatible components. NCE and Digitrax are fine products but you already have a good Bachmann inventory. Also, you can use your booster with the EZ Command controller for now, giving you lots of power, so you can wait to buy the Dynamis until it fits into your budget or you find a great deal at your LHS, online or at ebay.
                                                                                                                          -- D

[hawaiiho]

John-

I was just rereading these posts and I noticed that I somehow thought you have an NCE unit but you don't, so let me revise my comments.

The Bachmann Dynamis is a full featured control system (except for reading CVs) for which you already have a radio throttle and a five amp booster. I suggest you stay with Bachmann since the Dynamis will be cheaper than NCE or Digitrax and you already have several compatible components. NCE and Digitrax are fine products but you already have a good Bachmann inventory. Also, you can use your booster with the EZ Command controller for now, giving you lots of power, so you can wait to buy the Dynamis until it fits into your budget or you find a great deal at your LHS, online or at ebay.
                                                                                                                          -- D

As previously posted the EZ Command and Dynamis components are not interchangable. So, it appears that to get  your Dynamis  up to the power level of your EZ Command would require, not only the purchase of a Dynamis System, but the additon of the Dynamis Pro Box.
Someone check me on that.

[Doneldon]

HI HO-

The booster will work with any DCC system, including Dynamis. You are right that the wireless doesn't work with the EZ Command. That's why I suggested getting the Dynamis.

                                                                                    -- D

[hawaiiho]

HI HO-

The booster will work with any DCC system, including Dynamis. You are right that the wireless doesn't work with the EZ Command. That's why I suggested getting the Dynamis.
                                                                                     -- D

You, of course, are correct. After I posted, I dug out my Dynamis manual and there it was.

As the old saying goes,   If all else fails, read the manual.

[John Honeck Sr]

Thank you for all the info. I do have one more question and I know this a Bachmann forum. I have the Bachman 5 amp booster and a Bachmann reverse loop module. I'm thinking of buying a Digitrax Zephyr Xtra Starter set controller. My question is will my Bachmann stuff work with the Digitrax system? I have asked Digitrax support people and did not receive a answer, because they did  not know about the Bachmann systems, but was told they think they will work. Is it compatible?

[ACY]

If your Digitrax system is NMRA compliant the Bachmann products will work.

[Jim Banner]

Your Bachmann equipment will work just fine with a Zephyr Xtra.  The only known problem with the original Digitrax Zephyr was difficulty programming Bachmann and other decoders made by Lenz.  The problem was solved by connecting a 1000 ohm resistor across the rails of the programming track while programming.  The Xtra overcomes this by using "blast mode" programming if you don't like fiddling with resistors.

The Zephyr has a lot of other goof things going for it as well.  As a starter set, it combines a throttle, a command station and a booster all in one box.  Normally the three parts work together to form a complete system.  But as your railroad grows, you can use the parts separately and combine them in various ways with other Digitrax and non-Digitrax equipment.  You asked specifically about using it with the Bachmann 5 amp booster.  You can do this two ways.  One way is to connect the booster input to the track output of the Zephyr.  The other is connect the booster input to the LocoNet, the bus that connects Digitrax throttles and other pieces to one another.  With the latter connection, you can use the Bachmann booster and the Zephyr's built in booster both at once to power two different areas of you layout.  And that is just the start.  List goes on.

Jim