Mark
Gurries posted this about the Power Cab from NCE.
This
will provide a NCE starter system at a price of just a little more
than a standard Procab.
This
will give NCE a starter set to compete with the likes of Digitrax,
EasyDCC etc and will allow a new modeller
to DCC to have most of the features that the standard NCE system provides and
allow operator to upgrade to multi operations later with additional throttles.
See
the Power cab photo at
http://www.zip.com.au/~mrc/nce-019.htm
-----Original
Message-----From: Mark Gurries Sent: Friday,
Subject: [DCC4EVERYONE] Some Power
Cab system information
Preliminary information SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
Pieces picked up over time but I have not had a
in depth conversation with NCE on this for some time. The project was put on the back burner when
the radio problem showed up.
As a System (operating in command station mode), the
NCE Power Cab is a handheld:
1) Command station
2) 1 Amp booster
3) Programming Track System
in one. It comes
with a special UTP cab panel and a wall adapter (12VDC 1 Amp?).
The key limitation of the system is memory which will
lead to operational limitations such as the following:
1) May not support all NCE 63 cabs addresses but some
limited subset.
2) May not support full Pro cab recall depth of
6. May be stuck at 2.
3) May not support command station based macros.
4) No computer interface support.
5) May limit the total number of consist allowed.
6) May not remember all operational setting from
previous session when powered down.
7) May not support fast clock.
From a hardware standpoint there are these potential
limitations.
1) 1 Amp output cannot be combined with other
boosters to increase the power output.
You must use a booster to increase power.
2) No walkaround
Capability. You cannot unplug the PowerCab when your are using
it. Otherwise the layout will come to
full stop. It must be connected to the
layout at all times. (This may change)
The only time it can function as a walkaround is when
it operating as a standard Pro-Cab and not as a command station.
I suspect the UTP panel looks like a standard UTP cab
panel that accepts a 12V wall adapter but has special connection for track
power. The cab
use wires #1 and #6 for track power. (These are the reserved wires on the cab
bus.) This panel also provides a powered
cab bus connection so
you can run a standard cab bus and run for cabs to run
more trains.
The programing track output
comes out of a seperate connection on the side/bottom
of the cab someplace.
The NCE Smart Booster is 3 Amp booster for the layout
(track) It use the 1 Amp output of the
Power cab as a control bus signal input but does NOT combine the 1 Amp output
power cab with it 3 amp rating to give you 4 amps. You just get 3 amps. I have no information about the packaging of
the 3 Amp Smart booster.
There is a bit of naming history here. At one time the Power Cab was called the
Smart Cab. The Smart Booster does not
mean the booster is Smart. It just means
it works with the Smart Cab which we are calling the Power Cab today. (But the term "smart" may take on a
new meaning later. For example, it may
"cache" all the DCC packets so you can do walkaround
with the Power Cab but it will still kill all the other cabs! This would also
prevent standard boosters from being used.
Compromise again!)
The system is designed to compete with products like
the Digitrax Zephyr and the MRC Prodigy Advance.
I do not know if you can connect a PB-105 booster to
the system DIRECTLY to get a 5 amp system.
Again this information is preliminary and not
guaranteed to be fully accurate. Some of
this stuff may be old ideas or limitations.
As problems are discovered along the way in the design process, changes
or new limitations or compromises will emerge.
As with anything, will only know the true capabilities
when it is done and released.
This project was started over a year ago and a
prototype of the PowerCab was demonstrated at the
PREVIOUS 2004 NMRA convention. NCE just
started writing more code for it last few weeks to show off more features for this
2005 NMRA train show coming this weekend.
I have no production date information but whatever
NCE says it is, do not count on it based on history of product delivery. For those of you
planning on purchasing a NCE system, I would not wait for
this PowerCab product. It could be a very long wait leaving one with
lots of frustration. Do not get me
wrong, the product will ship....just someday....
Hope this helps.
Best Regards,
Mark Gurries
Linear Technology
Power Supply & Battery Charger Applications
Engineer/Manager
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Model Railroad Club and NMRA DCC presentations are
at:
http://www.siliconvalleylines.com/index.html
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Audio Enthusiast (Love SAE equipment)
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/gurriesm/
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