One of the most frequently asked model railroad questions on the web is “Should I buy NCE or Digitrax?” I have a question in return, why? This has been a topic that has been had since the mid-2000’s when both companies first released their respective starter DCC systems. Comparing the two companies has resulted in many arguments and ended friendships, yet people still want to know which system they should invest in. Well, Jordan and I put together a video to sort it out. We thought it would only be about ten or fifteen minutes, but it turned into a forty-eight minute long discussion comparing the two systems. I highly encourage people to go watch the video, but for those of you who don’t have that much time, this article is a summary of our thoughts.
What is DCC?
Before going into the systems themselves, we ought to clarify what DCC is. Digital Command Control (DCC) is a technology that is now in its fourth decade of existence and it has become the control system of choice for most model railroaders. DCC uses electrical signals mixed with DC current to communicate between a command station and locomotives on the track. Each locomotive is assigned its own number, usually the locomotive number on the cab, and signals which are not meant for a certain locomotive do not trigger a response from any engine except for one with that decoder number.
DCC is also a one-way communication system. Signals are sent to decoders which respond to commands, but they don’t talk back like how components communicate within a computer. Radio Control works in a similar way, except that model railroaders have the advantage of always running their trains on metal rails which can carry electrical signals more efficiently than radio waves. The end result is that DCC systems allow model railroaders to run multiple trains at once on the same track without interfering with each other. DCC not only saves on wiring and the complexity of block control, but also offers model railroaders more features than hobbyists in the past could ever dream of!
NCE Power Cab vs Digitrax Zephyr Express
Convinced you want to invest in DCC? I don’t just throw the word “invest” out there to sound smart (okay, maybe sometimes), getting into DCC is indeed an investment. Every locomotive will need a decoder and the upfront costs are at least double that of buying an analog DC controller. Looking at the market, there are a lot of options available, but the two most common are offerings from NCE and Digitrax and hobby shops will stock at least one of these two systems.
The NCE corporation produces a basic DCC starter system called the “Power Cab” which has been in production since 2006. Retailing with an MSRP of $249, this system can typically found for just under $200 if you know where to look. The handheld throttle doubles as a command station which differs from the more advanced DCC systems out there which has a command station located somewhere on the train layout. This means that you cannot unplug the Power Cab and move to another phone jack without also losing power to the train layout. The good news though is that with the addition of more throttles or a WiFi system, its possible to use throttles with the Power Cab and walk around with trains as they run instead of being limited to the length of the cable tether.
Digitrax came out with its original Zephyr at about the same time as NCE’s Power Cab, but in 2019 the system got a much-needed update. The Zephyr Express came out in January of 2019 and features soft-touch buttons and a backlit LCD screen along with a throttle similar to that of an old power pack all in a single device that can be mounted somewhere on the train layout. The issue with this system is that more throttles are needed to move outside of arms’ reach of the command station / master throttle. The good news though is that since the Zephyr Express doesn’t need to fit in the palm of one’s hand like a TV remote there is room inside to boost the amperage all the way to 3 Amps, which in this day and age is going to be five or six DCC-equipped HO scale locomotives.
The two systems are very comparable to each other outside the obvious differences in design philosophy, but here’s a breakdown as to where one system outshines the other:
Price
Both the Power Cab and Zephyr Express can be found at right around the $200 mark and their MSRP is only about $10 apart, which these days isn’t a whole lot. That’s what, three candy bars? A large iced coffee? So the two starters systems are in a dead heat with each other in terms of price and it shows just how far a little competition goes in a small industry like model railroading. Due to each other’s presence, the price stays low enough that someone can easily get started with either DCC system.
Where the two companies diverge in price is in the higher-end products. Digitrax takes a clear win here with a fully modular approach that allows a customer to build the system which suits their needs. NCE also has a modular system of components but they don’t always play together seamlessly. More importantly, the price of NCE components tends to be more than that of Digitrax. The point then must go to Digitrax for its better value for money.
User Interface
Jordan and I agree that NCE really shines in terms of how easy it is to pick up and understand the basics of the system. People from all ages can easily learn how the Power Cab works and many of the functions translate directly to the bigger Pro Cab systems. In fact, I can take my Power Cab and use it as a regular throttle on a bigger NCE system. That is something which is more difficult to do with the Zephyr Express which might lead some people to conclude that they should just bite the bullet on a bigger system and skip the Zephyr completely.
The shape of the throttle and the button layout on the Power Cab is also very well done and hasn’t changed in a significant way since the system’s introduction nearly twenty years ago. To be fair to Digitrax, in 2019 and 2020 the company did an overhaul on many of its products and now Digitrax throttles have integrated some features found on NCE throttles including better ergonomics and soft touch keys in a simple layout that is more intuitive. Even so, NCE is still the better of the two systems in this category.
Capabilities
Just how much can you do with DCC? That’s what this category is all about and Digitrax takes this one without much debate. NCE can do a lot of things, but when it comes to more complicated tasks like designing routes with JMRI or putting in a fully automated signaling system, we’ve found that Digitrax is simply the better system.
Expansion
Jordan may disagree on this and I will concede that it is situation dependent, but between the two systems NCE just feels like the better system when it comes to expansion. Digitrax is more customizable, but if you are starting with the Zephyr Express you are going to always have one throttle (the Zephyr) which is at a fixed location on the train layout. Sometimes that isn’t a big deal, but other times it is a problem, and that situation specifically is when you want to go play with other people on a larger train layout. The Power Cab’s ability to also act as a mobile throttle gives it an edge here, though I will admit that it is a small edge. When it comes to building a large DCC system, Digitrax’s larger variety of products gives it more options for expansion, but a caveat there is that Digitrax throttles have undergone about three major overhauls whereas NCE throttles have remained pretty much the same. If you have an older Digitrax system and want to update your throttles, you’ll either need to run two radio systems in parallel or you will have to retire all your throttles at once and then purchase new ones.
External Capabilities
To put it simply, if you are wanting to supplement your DCC system with third party options, then Digitrax has more products on the market which play well with its system. NCE has its own corner of the market too. For instance, WiFi-Trax out of Australia makes a WiFi throttle board that can communicate with phone apps, giving users the ability to easily control their trains with a smartphone instead of a dedicated throttle. Digitrax though has all that and more.
Which one should I buy?
That is the question we asked ourselves and to be honest, if we were both operating completely independently of a club, then we both would likely have Digitrax systems. I personally would opt for the more advanced system options with walkaround capabilities, but Jordan is quite happy with his Zephyr Express. The reason why I own an NCE system is because my local train club, the Black Hills Railway Society, uses the NCE system for its club layout. You can check out the organization on their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BlackHillsRailwaySociety
Jordan’s local club operates Digitrax and so that just makes that company more attractive to what he needs. That club is the James Valley Model Railroad Association: https://www.facebook.com/JVMRRA/
The two systems are indeed quite comparable to each other beyond these differences so really it is a matter of personal preference or what other people are using in your local area if that matters to you. I know for my Black Hills and Fort Pierre railroad I won’t be using either system since that will be an island unto itself. But then again, perhaps a Zephyr would be more user-friendly down the road when that layout is inherited by a museum or gallery? Well, that’s a whole different can of worms and I’ll leave it at that for now.
