Swapping Systems

 When last we met I was awaiting parts for the Digitrax Zephyr.

The plug arrived, I wired some track wiring to it, plugged it in and set the system up...only to find that half the power cord had not been included either.

So, back to Amazon I went for a power cord to run from the wall to the AC/DC adapter. It is a standard cord like you would find on a laptop computer, so no big deal, just the frustration of not having it included to deal with.

The cord arrived and I hooked it up. It works just like it is supposed to, running trains flawlessly...except for the Atlas redbird. The decoder is acting up on that again, once again it is hesitating between the application of throttle and the movement on the loco at the initial roll-on. After that initial roll-on it is fine. 

Just to make sure I hooked the NCE up to it and got the same results. Check the momentum, yep it's off, looks like that decoder is going flakey again. I don't think I'll bother sending it in for repair, I'll just put another decoder in it and call it good.

As a side note, one thing that I like about the Zephyr that I don't have with the PowerCab is the ability to see what is already programmed into each of the CV's. I'm sure there is a way to do it with the PowerCab but I haven't discovered it yet. Perhaps it will be in the version 1.65 book when it arrives.

At any rate, I have a third (count them, THREE!!!) DCC system to play with; the NCE PowerCab (which I love), the Digitrax Zephyr (which looks to be just as good as it is advertised to be), and the Bachmann Dynamis wireless system (which has an annoying tendency to have throttle to base station communication issues but is otherwise OK). One of these days when the PowerCab has returned from it's test and check I'll have to do a side-by-side comparison of all of them.

But for now I am building a shelf for the Zephyr to sit on while the PowerCab gets sent to Webster NY to have its cab bus system checked out. Hopefully when it comes back it will be fully operational and not only will I be able to use my new Cab06 throttle with it, but I will also be able to use my WFD-31 and control trains with my cell phone.