Yes, I looked there, but it is really focused on the European version and not updated for the North American market (i.e. the prices in British pounds, links take you to the UK Bachmann website, etc.)

If the North American version only has EcosLink, then advertising that as "PC Interface" is more than misleading, because by itself, Ecoslink is not a PC interface, it is bus/device interface... for which nobody has created a means in the open source / JMRI world yet to connect to your computer that I am aware of.

Thanks John. Interesting... Bachmann has been advertising it here as having one... both on the product listing on their online catalog and in the Model Railroader and Model Railroad News full page ads.  That's not to say it is a "mistake" between the marketing dept and the actual product specs.  However, I speculate it is one of the reasons it was delayed so long in coming on the market in the US.

Then, only a month ago ESU the company that designed the Dynamis system for Bachmann announced at the Hartford Train Show their new "Navigator" infrared wireless DCC set for about $250 and supposedly includes all the equivalent features of the Dynamis Pro (programming track, CV values, PC interface, etc.) and one handset.  There's no timeframe given and you can't order it yet, but looking at the pictures it is identical to the Dynamis Pro except the box is white instead of dark grey. 

I can only HOPE the US version has one! or my base system is going on eBay.

Hi John,

I attempted to contact you directly rather then sending this posting a little of track, but no matter what it seemed the "verification letters" wouldn't work.   Nevertheless...

I asked the question about the nature of the PC interface on this forum in another post, hoping for a direct answer from the Bach-man, but so far no luck. Since you're the first person on here I have seen who physically has a pro box... I thought I would ask:   What type of PC interface is included in the pro box? Is it USB? EcosLink (which is not a PC interface at all)?  Documented?  There is no documentation on the website, the European version of the Pro box does not have an interface... and before I jump for one, I'd like to learn more about this interface.

None of the few hobby shops around me have one yet. And, today I was at a train show and no vendors there had them yet either.  Any info you can provide would be GREATLY appreciated.

Regards,
John.

Now a bit more than a month later I still haven't seen any units in stores or online and the Walthers site still shows not in stock but now with an "Unknown" arrival date. 

More importantly, I am very curious as to the technical details of the "PC Interface" that was originally announced to be available with the Pro system when released... and just recently mentioned in the Bachmann advertisement in Model Railroader this month.   It's one of the reasons I bought the Dynamis system... but then the release of the "Pro" box in Europe did not include a real PC interface leading many there (and here) to express frustration and disappointment--questioning their DCC investment.

There's no documentation on this interface anywhere (yet) that I can find. Will the Bach-man be providing further details here or on the website? Is it USB? Something else? Will it allow for remote control or decoder programming and so on with programs like JMRI, or Railroad&Co?  It would be GREAT so that these groups can get going on devleopment/integration and the rest of us can get the most of our investment in this otherwise fine DCC product!!  If it is just EcosLink, that's not exactly a PC interface. Inquiring minds want to know!! 

Thx!

Having recently converted to Bachmann EZ-Command DCC, I thought I should go through my passenger equipment to determine if it is safe to use on the higher AC voltage of DCC systems. I have noticed that many aftermarket car lighting systems make a distinction between those for DC vs. DCC.

Does anyone know if the Amfleet car lighting is usable on DCC or what the max voltage is of the bulbs?  I don't really want to disassemble the car and look at the lighting and hookup and see if there is a board with limiting resistors or anything.  And, I'd rather not have them burn out prematurely!

Does anyone know or dealt with this issue themselves?  TIA.

I have called before rather than emailing and have promptly received a response within a day.  The website says you can use this number:
Telephone: 800-356-3910 (toll free; US and Canada residents only.)

I have a Bachmann EZ-Command control unit and several brand new Bachmann DCC equipped locomotives. One of them is a CP Rail GP-35 that after a less than a minute or so of running stops dead and the control unit's  direction, function, and stop LED lights flash rapidly and a rather loud clicking noise comes from the inside the unit. The speed control and stop button and anything don't work at this point. The only thing to do is pull the power plug and let it "reset".

Is this a short in the loco?  A problem with the onboard DCC decoder?  None of the other locomotives do this and there is nothing in the EZ-Command manual that explains this type of control unit behaviour.  The first time it happened it scared me half to death and I thought I had just fried the unit and burned up the good money I spent on converting to DCC!!

aha. indeed 1K ohm... you'd think I'd I could do multiplication and division and know the difference between K and Meg being in the software business for my real job.  Thanks for your correction.  I used 2 of the supplied 510 ohm resistors in series and it works great... as does the decoder. My first DCC conversion is complete today!

Great! Thanks... that makes sense. I figured it couldn't be more than what was applied to the track but didn't know for sure how that worked.  I measured the track voltage for the EZ-Command station and it appears to be about 18 volts according to my multi-meter.  The LEDs came with 510 ohm resistors, which would probably work just fine with their current rating and it would still be under the 100 ma rating of the function output.  I could hook two in series I guess to double the resistance value.  That much I remember from electronics shop in high school.  Or I could just go buy some 1 meg ohm resistors!  Now if only I could figure out how to isolate the motor properly.... 

I am retrofitting an old Model Power/ROCO FA-1 to DCC using an EZ-Command 2 function decoder #44913 and while the instruction sheet indicates the maximum current for the function outputs (headlights) it doesn't indicate what the voltage is. I want to swap out the lamp with an LED. In order to calculate the correct resistor value, I need that info. I checked the NMRA website for the DCC standards and couldn't find anything there that made sense to me.  Does anyone know?  TIA   John.