Daylight, I started DCC with EZ Command & like its simplicity & ease of use.  I think the discounted price is about $80.  I went on eBay & bought a used one for $40; it has worked well for 10 months so far.  I think I've gotten my money's worth already.  As my layout grew & I added several locomotives with sound, I bought Bachmann's 5 amp booster, which cost about 3 times as much as my EZ Command!

Among the cheapest locomotives with sound are BLI's BlueLine DC with sound.  I've bought two, but I also bought DCC decoders to install.  I discovered that, if I wanted them to perform like my locomotives that came with DCC, I would have to get a DCC system that would program.  I decided to get the Digitrax Zephyr.  I could not find it cheaper on eBay than from an Internet store, $155.  I immediately programmed my BLI locos to have momentum for gradual starts & stops to avoid uncouplings.

The Zephyr will give you 2.5 amps to run more locomotives than EZ Command's 1.5.  Some say EZ Command actually puts out only 1 amp.

 Bob, I like the brake feature on the Zephyr.  It stops a locomotive gradually, in contrast to the Stop button on the EZ Command.  Releasing the Stop button causes uncouplings with my trains, because they rush back to the speeds at which they were running.  However, the Zephyr's brake stops only the locomotive currently addressed, but EZ Command's Stop stops all locos.  To stop all locos with the Zephyr, one presses the Power button.

  Take a look at this:  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330335995141&indexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting
Of the 3 Rivarossi Hiawatha F7s I've seen on eBay, one sold for $265; one went unsold at $450; & this one has been bid up to $500!  They don't have sound or even DCC.  It seems a good time to make a DCC one.

Thanks, Greg.  I just did connect my new Zephyr to my Bachmann 5 amp booster, which yields performance almost as good as EZ Command + booster.  Thus, I now have the capability to program locomotive decoders, plus a spare command station.

 Thanks, Bob & Jim, for the help & encouragement.

I did connect my LifeLike power pack for a jump throttle.  Since the dial turns only about 150 degrees for forward speed (about half what EZ Command & Zephyr's throttles have), one can't make small adjustments in speed.

 I connected my Bachmann 5 amp booster to my Digitrax Zephyr tonight.  I almost didn't, because I didn't want to cut the plug off the cable that connects the booster to EZ Command & not be able to connect the booster to EZ Command.  I finally had a brainstorm:  I checked the booster's instructions & found in its box a second cable designed for connecting the booster to other brands of DCC systems!

With the booster set to 14 Volts, I measured 15.8 v on the tracks; with the booster set to 18 Volts, I got 19 v on the tracks.  With the booster at 18v, the speeds of my trains are about what they are with EZ Command & the booster set to 18 v.  I ran 3 trains simultaneously, including 4 locos with sound & am satisfied with their performance.

Next, I'll connect the power pack from my LifeLike DC train set for a jump throttle.  Thanks for all of your help, & I hope my experience will help to confirm for others that the Zephyr & Bachmann booster will work together.

jward, thanks for the advice.  I will have more respect for the decoder tester.
  Suppose a beginner gets a Zephyr & doesn't have spare wires from other train equipment, doesn't know what gauge to use, doesn't know how to connect a programming track, & is unaware of model train forums?  He looks at Digitrax's Quick Start poster & reads "attach your train layout wires to these terminals" & wonders what wires, & how they attach to the track?  The documentation does not explain.  Thus, the Zephyr Quick Start Guide does not get him off to a quick start.

 Thanks, Jim.

 I tested the Digitrax Zephyr with each train alone on the layout.  The Intermountain F7A-B reached 54, compared with 50 when all 3 trains were on the tracks & running, compared with 80 with EZ Command + 5 amp booster.  The BlueLine Heavy Mikado reached 79, compared to 118 with EZ Command + 5 amp booster.  The BlueLine SD40-2 reached 55.

  Strangely, the SD40-2 pulled its 14 cars at 100 with EZ Command, before I programmed its CV3 & CV4 from 0 to 5; then its top speed dropped to 67 (70 with no other locos on the layout)!  I reduced CVs 3 & 4 to 3, but the SD40-2's top speed remained the same.  In contrast, the Mikado runs just as fast with its CVs 3 & 4 increased from 0 to 3 as it did when they were 0!

Let me confirm, Jim:  If the Bachmann booster has optically isolated inputs, I can connect the Zephyr to the booster & the booster to the track, but connecting both the Zephyr & the booster to the track, even insulated districts, should not be done.  I wouldn't need 5 + 2.5 amps, anyway.  Now, I had to switch the Bachmann booster from 14 volts to 18 volts with EZ Command, because 14 volts yielded no more power than EZ Command alone.  Because the Zephyr has a lower voltage than EZ Command, should the booster be set back to 14 volts?  Would 18 damage the Zephyr?

I found that I didn't need to solder the wires to the alligator clips.  With the holes in their handles & their plastic sleeves, I just had to hook the wire through the hole & replace the sleeve.   

 Thanks, Trainsrock.  Thanks, Bob, for explaining that UP owns the SP locomotives.  If each locomotive's number is unique, then your links to 1476 & 2050 show the same locomotives I saw here.  It's nice to know where they go.

I was disappointed that most of the cars didn't have names of railroads on them or companies whose product they were carrying.

 Did anyone else see the latest episode of I Love Toy Trains:  Celebrity Layouts, Part 3?  I enjoyed Mandy Patinkin's discussion of his Lionel layout & its origin with a set he received at age 8.

 Thanks, Tim, Rusty, Bob, Jim & Axim1 for your help!  I am impressed by so much response.

  I was surprised that Digitrax does not provide wires to connect it to the tracks, as Bachmann & LifeLike do.  I can use the Bachmann wires.  What is worse is the absence of wires for a programming track.  Today, I went to Radio Shack & bought clips to which I can solder wires, so I can connect the bare ends to the Zephyr & clip the other ends to the rails.  For $155, they ought to include program track wires.  The decoder & loconet cable tester they do include is something I may never use.

Rusty, I have one set of feeders to each of my 3 ovals.

Tim, I thought that an F7A-B passenger train would go faster than 50.

Thanks for the links, Bob.  I will test the speed of each locomotive alone on the layout & compare it with top speed under Bachmann.

Oh, I suppose my digital multimeter does not do what a rampmeter does. 


Bill

 I received my Digitrax Zephyr Wednesday, two days from Arizona to Wisconsin!  It does run 4 sound locomotives (F7A-B included) on my 3 connected ovals.  However, they run slower than with EZ Command & its 5 amp booster.  The F7A-B passenger train reaches 80 with EZ Command + booster but only 50 with Zephyr.  I haven't found information about the length of layout as a factor in consumption of power, but I have about 117'.

  I succeeded in programming acceleration & deceleration momentum into my BlueLine Heavy Mikado & BlueLine SD40-2, both with Digitrax DN123 decoders.  I used a programming track so that I could read the existing values, all of which were 0.  I set the Mikado's momentum to 3 & 3; I set the SD-40-2 to 5 & 5.

  My BLI manual recommended programming the sound in operations mode.  I succeeded in reducing the master volume from maximum 15 to 10.

If I could be sure that it won't cause damage, I would try connecting the Bachmann booster to the Zephyr.  I will ask Digitrax, but I'm sure they want people to buy their boosters.  I posted the question on Yahoo\Groups\Digitrax & recived the following reply:

"Try the following at your own risk as it's only speculation based on the info
that Bachmann provides on their web site.

It should work. From the little info available on Bachmann's web site, their 5
amp booster is optoisolated same as the Lenz boosters. You would need to connect the track A and Track B terminals of the Zephyr to the inputs of the Bachmann booster. No ground (common) needed with optoisolation. Not sure if doing so would affect the use of the Zephyr's 2.5 amp track power to an independent power district. You may wind up with just the one 5 amp district available.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/ez_content/Images/booster.jpg

You could also try making up a special loconet cable with a standard 6 pin jack on one end to plug into one of the Zephyr's loconet ports. Strip the other end and connect only the outside (1 and 6) wires to the Bachmann booster input. Make sure you completely insulate the 4 middle wires. Not sure if Railsync will haveenough power to drive the Bachmann booster but it may just work.

With either method, you would still need to observe proper rail phase. Simply swapping the input wires at the Bachmann booster should take care of that.

Personally, I would try the Railsync method if I had a Bachmann booster around. Of course I've been known to blow up perfectly good equipment trying off the wall stuff."

 Thanks for the links, Bob.  They should keep me busy.

  Thanks for identifying the SP locomotives, Guilford Guy.  Now, I have an excuse to get an SP locomotive.   

 I've detected no regularity in the passage of trains here.  If I had a timetable, I'd be taking a lot of pictures.  Today, I got lucky.  After hearing the whistle at home, we drove a mile or so to the crossing.  I expected the train to have gone past, before we arrived.  Indeed, the crossing was empty.  I drove over the tracks & parked, anyway, & they appeared.  Since I'd once seen a UP switcher on a siding here & see UP trucks by the office, I expected to see a UP locomotive.  Instead, I saw two Southern Pacific 4-axle locomotives in consist!  I see a small UP sign on them, too.  Among other cars, they picked up two tank cars from the nearby Quality Liquid Feeds storage station.  I don't know whether the QLF tank trucks bring the feed to be stored & loaded into the tank cars, or it is the other way around.

  Perhaps, someone can identify the model of the locos:
http://s547.photobucket.com/albums/hh465/wlaine/Local%20Trains/