I've never understood going to DCC and getting tied to a stationary throttle. As far as I know, Digitrax Zephyr is the only maker that does that.
Ed Kozlowsky Sanford, Maine >________________________________ >From: Bill Nielsen <[email protected]> >To: [email protected] >Sent: Wednesday, November 9, 2011 9:11 AM >Subject: {S-Scale List} Re: MRC Tech 6 > > > >Hi Bill & Alex, > >I just went online to re-check the MRC website and they have several products >called "Tech Six". The only complete system using the Tech 6 label was their >001201, rated at 7 amps, selling for about $279. The other Tech 6 items are >add on accessories rather than complete systems, one being the "Black Box" >which is hooked up between your existing DC power pack and your layout. The >Black Box super-imposes a control signal on your track power so that you can >control a dual-mode DCC sound loco's functions while running it on DC. The >other item listed as "Tech 6" is a walk around tethered throttle for use with >the Black Box, to allow you to move out of reach of your power pack (as far as >the cable will allow). Information I found on the MRC website suggests that >you may run either 1 DC loco OR up to 5 DCC locos, but posts on other sites >indicate that the only DCC loco address the Tech 6 will control is the DCC >default address of 03. If this is true, I don't see how the unit can run up to 5 DCC locos, if they all have to be set at the same address. In any case, it appears that the Tech 6 is only able to run one system at a time, either DC OR DCC, not both DC and DCC simultaneously. > >Digitrax' Zephyr can operate one DC loco while also running DCC units, >but the nature of doing this causes overheating of the DC unit's motor. It has >also been found that having the DCC loco decoders programed to have their >analog capabilities enabled can result in runaways on DCC layouts, so the two >different systems don't really play nicely together. > >Hope this helps, >Bill in FL > >--- In [email protected], "Bill Nielsen" <wrangler@...> wrote: >> >> I know that there were some posts about this unit burning out some OEM >> boards on Atlas lococ, and when I tried to find more technical info on the >> Tech 6 a couple of years ago, I couldn't. MRC has a habit of changing a >> product while keeping the name the same, and don't regularly update their >> website, while at the same time they're very guarded about keeping their >> technology a secret, so it's hard to get accurate and up-to-date information >> about their products. Their advertised price for the Tech 6 was higher than >> what most of the entry level DCC systems were going for at the time, and I >> wondered where they thought the market was for for that item at that price. >> >> After not finding enough information on the Tech 6, I decided it wasn't for >> me, so I stopped looking. I still think that if you want an entry level DCC >> system, the ONE to buy is the Digitrax Zephyr Xtra (with a street price of >> less than $175), simply because it is a fuller, more feature rich system >> than the other entry level systems, and should be good for 90% of most home >> layouts (and many clubs). It's two shortcomings are only three amps of >> power, which can be cured by adding a booster such as CVP's Zonemaster (7 >> amps), and it's limit of 10 throttles. Since most of the other entry level >> systems are limited to two or three throttles, I don't see this as a great >> disadvantage. Besides, what percentage of home layouts actually need more >> than 10 throttles? >> >> Regards, >> Bill in FL >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> --- In [email protected], "Willam Fraley" <wjfraley@> wrote: >> > >> > Has anyone operating in DC jumped into the new MRC Tech 6 operating system? >> > >> > Sounds interesting ..... >> > >> > >> > >> > Bill (Fraley) >> > >> > >> > >> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >> > >> > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
